Oak Park, Illinois AYSO
Region 697
Oak Park American Youth Soccer Organization (Region 697) is part of the nationwide AYSO, a non-profit organization that works to build quality youth soccer programs in a fun environment. AYSO soccer is distinguished by five key principles:
- Everyone Plays - Our program’s goal is for kids to play soccer—so we mandate that every player on every team must play at least half of every game.
- Balanced Teams - Each year we form new teams as evenly balanced as possible—because it is fair and more fun when teams of equal ability play.
- Open Registration - Our program is open to all children between 6 and 19 years of age who want to register and play soccer. Interest and enthusiasm are the only criteria for playing.
- Positive Coaching - Encouragement of player effort provides for greater enjoyment by the players and ultimately leads to better-skilled and better-motivated players.
- Good Sportsmanship - We strive to create a positive environment based on mutual respect rather than a win-at-all-costs attitude, and our program is designed to instill good sportsmanship in every facet of AYSO.
We play two seasons: Spring (April through mid-June, with registration in Winter) and Fall (late August through early November, with registration in Spring). During the Spring season we have co-ed teams for boys and girls ages 10 and older. During the fall season, we have separate boys and girls teams for ages 6 - 13 and co-ed teams for those 14 and older. Games are usually played on Saturdays. See our FAQ page for more information about Oak Park AYSO and our programs. See our Join Us page for current registration information.
