Jamboree 5U Program

Our Jamboree 5U program for the Fall 2023/Spring 2024 season is for players born in 2019.

The 5U player activity (practice and game) will be on Saturdays from September 9th to November 4th (not on September 16th) as follows:

• 9:30 - 10:30 am, Girls
• 10:45 - 11:45 am, Boys

Just a reminder, but at 5U all players must attend with an adult who will be their practice partner / coach for the day. AYSO provides experienced coaches to oversee the activities, provide guidance to parents and players, and keep things on schedule. The adult partners need not wear shin guards, but should be dressed appropriately to kick a soccer ball with their player. The coaches will demonstrate a technique and then the Parent-Child will practice the technique for a few minutes, while the coaches observe and make suggestions for improvements, etc.  We'll go through a number of techniques over about 20 - 25 minutes, and then we'll take a break and get ready for the game.
At this point, we'll put the kids into teams of four or five players - depending on how many kids show up that day.  Teams will be assigned a field and the parents will then oversee a short 20 minute game, with the coaches again observing and offering suggestions. 

Kids won't meet as a group until the first game day. At that time, they'll need to be ready with the five soccer S's:
 
Shirt - At that first meeting, we'll provide each child with an AYSO soccer jersey.  This jersey color will be unique to the 5U program, so they will need a different uniform when they move to 6U.  To keep the cost minimal, we only provide one jersey to our 5U players, and ask parents to provide the rest of the gear.  We should have fine weather in most of the season, but if it's cold it's perfectly fine to bundle them up in layers of clothing, just remember to keep the jersey on the outside so they can tell which team they're on.
 
Shorts - Any color shorts are fine, but black is typical.  As with the shirt, when it's cold it's fine to wear long pants.
 
Socks - Any color socks are fine, but again black is typical.  The socks do need to be long enough to go over, and cover, the shin guards.  Just ask for soccer socks, and you'll be fine.  
 
Shin Guards - These are mandatory for all AYSO practices / games, so make sure you have a pair that fits comfortably.  You can purchase these from most of the local big name retailers or soccer outlets.

Shoes - No requirement on special shoes at this age group, you can wear cleats or regular tennis shoes as you prefer.  The big difference is that tennis shoes have thicker soles and that makes it a little harder to get their feet under the ball.  If you choose to wear cleats just make sure you get a pair that does not have a "toe cleat".  That's the big difference between soccer shoes, and shoes designed for other sports.
 
Ball - We will use a Size 3 soccer ball at this age group, and they'll keep that same ball size until they turn 8 years old.
 
All of our games are held at the Tuma Soccer Complex, at the intersection of C Avenue and County Home Road in Cedar Rapids.

Slides of 5U Fall Parent Information Session (August 14, 2022)