League Excess Insurance Coverage Information

·      As an affiliate of U.S. Youth Soccer, Massachusetts Youth Soccer Association, Inc. has obtained and maintains insurance for its Membership. Insurance coverage through Massachusetts Youth Soccer, both general liability and medical, extends only to soccer-related events that are fully sanctioned by Mass Youth Soccer. 

·      The various types of coverage included in the Massachusetts Youth Soccer insurance policies can be found at the following link: http://www.mayouthsoccer.org/members/excess_soccer_accident_medical_coverage/

NYSA By-Laws

·      See current by-laws as of 2/12/2020

MYSA Safe Soccer Platform / CORI

Last year Congress passed the Abuse Prevention Act and U.S. Soccer established requirements for all adults involved in youth soccer know as US Soccer’s Safe Soccer Framework.  In support, and collective efforts to provide the safest possible soccer environment for all players and participants, Massachusetts Youth Soccer created MA Safe Soccer.

What does this mean to you as an adult involved in your organization’s soccer activities? The key elements are:

·      Expansion of Background Checks, including State and National Sex Offender Searches 

·      Abuse Prevention

·      Education and Training 

·      Concussion Training:  CDC’s Heads Up Coaches Course 

·      Use of New Membership Management System for Adult Registrations 

·      Adherence to new Mass Youth Soccer Player and Participant Safety Policy 

·      New MA Safe Soccer Platform

Safety Above All:  

Our mission, vision and belief statements stress that our youth participants’ health, safety and wellbeing are driving factors in all that we do and in the services we provide to our members.  From the day a young child first registers to play through their final years as a teenager, Massachusetts Youth Soccer is dedicated to providing the best possible environment.

Massachusetts Youth Soccer Safe Soccer Statement: 

The MA Safe Soccer platform provides all Massachusetts Youth Soccer participants (players, coaches, referees, administrators, volunteers and parents) the tools to make their soccer experience safe, healthy and free from emotional, physical or sexual abuse.

There is a lot of information in this document, do I really need to read this?

It is imperative that all adults involved with youth soccer at the town, league and state levels read, understand and practice what is put forth in this document.  There is a lot to understand so reading a few times may help.  In addition, Mass Youth Soccer will provide webinars, newsletters, meetings and are always available by email and phone to answer questions.  We appreciate how serious you take the safety and wellbeing of our children so that we can provide them the best possible soccer experience possible.

ABUSE PREVENTION EDUCATION AND TRAINING

We all know our children derive countless benefits from playing sports.  These include having fun, as well as making new friends, learning teamwork, learning how to win and lose, improving fitness, and many more.  Yet, unfortunately, we know there are possible downsides to being actively involved in sports, inherent risks that potentially jeopardize our children’s health and wellness.  Just as we try our best to teach our children about properly warming up, playing safely and understanding the rules, there are other risks we must be prepared to mitigate.   Abuse in youth sports is more prevalent than most of us think.  Abuse comes in many different forms:  physical, neglect, emotional/psychological and sexual.  Abuse manifests itself through acts of misconduct, including bullying, hazing, harassment (including sexual harassment), emotional misconduct, physical misconduct, and sexual misconduct.  A recent study published in JAMA Pediatrics found that around 1 million children per year experience some form of abuse in a youth sports setting.  Of the participants surveyed for this study, 64% reported suffering from some form of emotional and/or verbal abuse while participating in youth sports.   These include being called names by adults during practice/games, having “mean things” yelled at them, being punished for their athletic performance during a game, etc.  Of those who reported experiencing abuse, 6.4% also reported some kind of sexual abuse.   Education and training all adults involved in youth sports can help address and possibly thwart one of the most preventable injuries in youth sports: child abuse.  By becoming more aware and learning how to become more engaged, we can all have an impact on reducing abuse rates and improve the youth soccer experience for all.

All participating adults (persons age 18 and older) must complete an Annual Mass Youth Soccer Adult Registration and possess an Adult Credential

Every adult member of all organizations affiliated with Massachusetts Youth Soccer must complete the following Registration Requirements. 

1    Complete a Mass Youth Soccer Online Adult Registration.

2    Be CORI Approved.

3    National Background Check (NBGC) Approved (NBGC includes the State and National Sex Offender Registry Searches).

◦                      Completing the Mass Youth Soccer Adult Registration is inclusive of adding the information needed and submission of both the CORI and National background checks.

◦                      Adults will have one Risk Status and Risk Expire Date visible in their registration account; this is the combination of the review of both the CORI and National background check reports.

4    Completed the SafeSport Abuse Prevention Training and be checked as verified/approved.  Policy information and how to complete this training are found in the "SafeSport Abuse Prevention Training Help Guide".

5    Complete the Center for Disease Control (CDC) Concussion Training and be checked as verified/approved.  Policy and how to complete this training are found in the "Concussion Training Help Guide".   IMPORTANT instructions for this training has changed since last year; please check the help guide.

As a participating adult, you are also required to review the Risk Management Policies listed below.

1   Athlete and Participant Safety Policies, known as "MA SAFE SOCCER"; this includes Abuse Prevention mandatory reporting information.

2   New:  Return to Soccer Activities Guidelines.

3   Weather Policy

4   Goal Safety

5   US Soccer Recognize to Recover

Prior to completing your online adult registration, confirm with the organization you would like to participate with that your services are needed for this registration year.

Please use the provided URL to review the Commonwealth of Mass CORI Policy Information:  https://www.mayouthsoccer.org/programs/cori/

IMPORTANT: If you were registered as an Adult with Mass Youth Soccer in 2019/20 you will have information that has been migrated to the new registration system.

The links to both complete your Mass Youth Soccer Adult Registration, and to log back into your completed registration account are located at the bottom of this webpage.

MASS YOUTH SOCCER ADULT REGISTRATION PROCESS

1   Never registered with Mass Youth Soccer Assoc., you are required to do so to volunteer/coach for any Mass Youth Soccer Assoc. affiliated organization.  Please use the U.S. Soccer Connect Adult Registration Portal link below and create a new account to complete your adult registration.

•   You will be required to upload a head shot photo during the Adult Registration process.

•   Please make sure to have a photo available on the system (computer, phone, tablet, pad) you are using to register. 

•   Please use your full legal first and last name (no shortened version) when completing your adult registration. This is especially important for processing both your CORI and National background check.

•   You will be submitting and agreeing to both background checks listed above.

•   Make sure to use the same first and last name, and email address to compete your adult registration and to set up your Safe Sport and Centers for Disease Control training course accounts.

•   Please double check when choosing your organization(s) for your Adult/CORI Registration.

•   Please make note of your Username and Password as they are needed to access your account.

•   Please print the CORI Acknowledgement form to bring to your organization’s Risk Manager along with a government photo ID.

•   If you are having difficulties call the U.S. Soccer Connect Helpline at (800) 808-7195 or (855) 703-2558 for assistance.

1   Returning Users - Previously registered adults will register for the current registration year as a Returning User via the U.S. Soccer Connect Adult Registration Portal link below. NOTE: This is also the only way to add another organization to your adult registration.

•   All registration directions that must be followed can be found on the landing page of the US Soccer Connect Adult Registration Portal. 

To complete your Adult Registration click the following link:  U.S. Soccer Connect Adult Registration Portal.

PLEASE NOTE: Once you have completed your Adult Registration, you should use the U.S. Soccer Connect Login Portal to find training links and review registration information.