Unfortunately, signing up to volunteer is fairly complicated. Please read this section completely. We thank you profusely for volunteering and apologize for the difficulty of this system. Please note: All screenshots are of the desktop view. When viewing this site from a mobile device, the layouts may be slightly different. ¿No habla inglés?
Getting started
The very first step is to create an account. If you haven't done that yet, please start there.
To get started from the My Account page, click "Volunteer" in the left column, then click the "Find Volunteer Roles" button in the upper right corner. You will also be given the opportunity to volunteer immediately after registering your children.
If you don't have a child playing, or you have already signed up to volunteer for this season, the first step will be to select the program. AYSO Region 42 does not run Extra or United programs, so there is only one in the list. If your child is registered to play but you have not yet volunteered, you will not see this screen.
Selecting volunteer roles
First, please understand that in order to be assigned to a team, you have to be signed up as a volunteer in that division. This can be problematic if you want to (for example) coach in a division that your child is not playing in. For coaches and team parents, this process is self-explanatory. However, for referees, signing up in a division does NOT mean you will necessarily be refereeing games there. For example, if your child is playing in 12U but you are a Regional referee, you still must sign up as a referee for the 12U division so that your child's team can get the credit and the referee points, even though you will still be officiating 10U games. The division that you sign up in determines which team you can be assigned to.
If you have children registered to play
If you have children registered to play, the system will show you volunteer roles for the divisions your children are eligible for. For most people, this is the desired outcome. However, if you want to do something like coach in a division that your child is not playing in, you may click the "Show More" link underneath the list, in which case you will be shown the program selection screen, as shown above, after which you will see all roles for all divisions (although the display order is somewhat odd; this bug has been reported to the vendor).
Signing up to volunteer for any division
If you are registered as a volunteer without any children playing, or you come to the volunteer sign-up after first volunteering for your child's division, the system will show you all of the available divisions. In order to be assigned to a team as a coach, referee, or team parent, you must sign up as a volunteer in that division. Thus, if you want to be a coach in 10U Boys, scroll to that section (you can make the sections collapse, as shown below) and sign up there.
We have also set up three pseudo-divisions that are for general sign-ups.These can be found at the very bottom of the list.
- Board Members: Sign up as "Other" if you are a board member or would like to become one (you may also use the "Other" role in your child's division)
- Coaches: If you want to coach but are undecided about which division, you can use this section. At a later date, you will need to sign up in the correct division as explained above so that you can be allocated to a team.
- Referees: Use this division only if you do not plan on being one of designated referees for a team. If you need to be assigned to a team, please volunteer in the correct division as explained above. Youth referees should sign up here.
Because they are set as playing divisions, these three pseudo-divisions will show all the volunteer roles, even though they may not be applicable (for example. signing up as Head Coach in the Board Members division).
Important!
Please note that a volunteer application is required for each position. If you choose more than one role, you will have to fill out that many forms. Instead, please do one role initially, complete the process, and then go back and do the additional roles afterward. The application is still required, but the form will already include the data you entered the first time.
Who is volunteering?
Next, you will be asked to select who is volunteering. Every volunteer should have their own login. You will see the following:
Please select the person who will be volunteering. If they are not listed, you must invite them as a new account user (the rightmost option). In the example above, Sample User is going to volunteer himself, because his avatar (on the left) is selected. If his wife, Sample2 is volunteering, then he would select the middle picture instead. If his son, Sample Jr. wants to be a youth referee, or his mother-in-law wants to be the team coach, then he must send them an invitation. IMPORTANT: When you invite a new account user to volunteer, they will get the invitation via email and they must use the link in it in order to create their login. Otherwise it's going to cause more problems later on.
Volunteer application form
In the volunteer application form, new volunteers (meaning this is the first time you have ever volunteered for AYSO in any region), please be sure to use your full legal name (for example, Katherine instead of Kate). This is because a background check will be performed, and any mismatches may cause delays or worse, incorrect results.
Returning volunteers should use their name (first, middle, and last), birth date, and last 4 digits of the Social Security Number exactly as it was entered in eAYSO (even if eAYSO has a mistake). This will allow the system to find your existing record so that your certifications will carry over. We recommend opening eAYSO in another tab or window for reference.
IMPORTANT: Please ensure that the full name, gender, and birth date are correct before submitting the form. Once you have an AYSO ID (created when you start the eSignature process), you will not be able to change these. If you make a mistake after you have an AYSO ID, you will have to delete the volunteer record and create a new one from scratch.
eSignature
After you finish the volunteer form, you will be asked to use eSign to electronically sign the document. If you are a returning volunteer, in the upper right corner of the
page, your AYSO ID should be the same as in the old eAYSO system. If they do not match, as stated above, you will have to delete the volunteer record and start over.
Scroll down the page to the signature section.
Next, scroll to the bottom of the page and click "Continue to review". After confirming the information on the form, scroll to the bottom of the page and click "Submit signed volunteer application".
Repeat this process for any additional volunteer roles you would like to do. A new eSignature is required for each role.
Background check
All adult volunteers must submit to a background check every year, which is performed by a third-party vendor called Sterling Volunteers. After completing the eSignature, if you have not yet done the check for this year, you will get an email from them with a link to their web site. Please check your inbox and/or spam folder to find it. Each background check costs $25, which is paid by Region 42, although you do have the option to pay it yourself if you wish. Youth volunteers are not subject to background checks.
You may determine your background check status by going to the Volunteer tab from the My Account page. You will see a listing for each person and each position. In the upper right, it will indicate the status. Examples:
No Status: This means you have not yet authorized the background check. Click the Details button under the picture, scroll to the bottom to submit the form. If eSignature is required, please complete that. If not, just continue and you will receive the background check email.
Background check pending: The vendor is the process of conducting the check, so all you can do is wait for them to finish. Typically they will finish in 1–3 business days, but it may take longer depending on their workload. If your check is taking an extra-long time, you may call them at 1-855-326-1860 for information.
Background check passed: Hooray! You're good to go!
Youth volunteers: Background checks are not performed for youth volunteers, so their status will be indicated as shown below. No further action is required.
Background check failed: A failed background check may not necessarily mean you cannot volunteer. It may be the case that you are prevented from being a coach, but you could be a referee or Team Parent instead. For example, this is a person who is not allowed to coach:
Help: Invalid eSignature
If you are told that there is a problem with your eSignature, please follow these steps:
- Log in to your account and go to the Volunteer tab
- Underneath the name of the affected volunteer, click the Details button
- Scroll to the bottom of the page and click the Update button
- The next screen will offer the chance to do/redo the eSignature