What opportunities are there to volunteer with TOPS?

TOPS is always looking for enthusiastic individuals who can make a difference in the lives of our athletes. We need coaches, assistant coaches, and volunteers to serve as buddies, who can attend practices and games to help each player reach their full ability. We also need talented individuals to serve in administrative positions. We can use help ordering uniforms, setting up fields, soliciting donations, and with other activities. Let us know if you can help by contributing your talents and time. We also can use help on a limited basis, for example, a soccer team, coach, or company that would like to help at one of our practices. For more information about volunteering, contact Lynda Ison, the LYSA TOPSoccer League Director, at TOPSoccerLEX@gmail.com. 

What are the requirements for different volunteer roles with TOPS?

Head Coach: Individual must be at least 18 years of age, preferably with experience coaching and/or working with persons with disabilities. However, experience is not required; just the strong desire to enable players to have fun. Training can be provided. Head coaches are asked to attend all practice sessions for their assigned team(s). Additional time may be required for pre-season training and session planning. 

Assistant Coach: Individual must be at least 16 years of age; preferably with experience coaching and/or experience working with persons with disabilities. However, experience is not required; just the strong desire to enable players to have fun. Training can be provided. Assistant coaches are asked to attend all practice sessions for their assigned team(s). Additional time may be required for pre-season training and session planning. 

Buddy: Individual must be at least 12 years of age, preferably with some experience playing soccer and/or experience engaging with persons with disabilities. However, experience is not required; just the strong desire to enable players to have fun. Training can be provided. Buddies are encouraged to attend all practice sessions for their assigned team(s). Part-time positions are available. Additional time may be required for pre-season training. 

Administrative Staff (requires appointment by LYSA Board and/or TOPSoccer Director): Provide oversight and management of TOPSoccer program, sessions, and/or special events. Example Roles: TOPSoccer Director, Co-Director, Volunteer Coordinator, Family Coordinator, Committee Chair, Subcommittee Chair or Member; LYSA Board Member. Time commitment varies by role. 

Session/Special Event Support Staff (requires sign up as opportunities arise): Specific requirements and time commitment depend upon role and commitment made by volunteer. 

What is a TOPSoccer Buddy? 

A TOPSoccer Buddy is an invaluable volunteer who works directly with individual players or with a team of several players on the field. The support buddies provide to players may include pushing a wheelchair, cheering players while they scrimmage, guiding a player on the field, or just helping a player to focus & participate in practices and games. Buddies can be a caregiver, an aide, a family member, a same-aged peer, a teenager, or an adult. They can be a soccer player, someone who works with children or adults with special needs, or someone without any experience at all. The main requirement is that they have a strong desire to help players have fun in a safe playing environment. 

The role of the buddy may include but not be limited to: 
   • Enables player to participate/play 
   • Assists/Directs/Guides/Teaches in a FUN but safe learning environment 
   • Continuously monitor and assess the player 
   • Role varies widely depending upon needs of the player 
   • Interact with players, coaches, parents
 Physical needs: 
   • Create safe playing situations by creating safety zones around the player 
   • Create opportunities for play 
   • Provide assistance as needed 
   • Assist player to get into position to play
Cognitive needs: 
   • Create safe playing situations by creating safety zones around the player 
   • Provide instruction directly during play 
   • Model desired skill 
   • Help to define the space and “strategies”
Behavioral needs: 
   • Create safe playing situations by creating safety zones around the player 
   • Provide 1:1 assistance to model desired behaviors 
   • Assist player to focus on the activity 
   • Use a quiet “time out” as needed without being negative
Sensory needs: 
   • Create safe playing situations by creating safety zones around the player 
   • Provide stability in an often-chaotic environment 
   • Guide and direct, often not touching player directly, but being nearby 
   • Create space around the player 
   • Allow for quiet time
Hearing needs: 
   • Create safe playing situations by creating safety zones around the player 
   • Show activity and environment 
   • Ensure player understands instructions 
   • Use touch/sign language/pictures to direct and guide 
   • Direct the ball to the player for touches and contact

How do I sign up to volunteer? 

All volunteers must register through the LYSA registration system. The link to register to volunteer with LYSA TOPSoccer is located on the Register to Play/Volunteer section of the LYSA TOPSoccer webpage. 

Note: Youth volunteers under the age of 18 years will need their parent or legal guardian to complete and sign their online registration form, with the registration account set up under the parent or legal guardian's name and email address. 

What are the risk management requirements for adult volunteers?

US Youth Soccer (USYS), a national affiliate member of the national governing body for the sport of soccer in the United Sates, the US Soccer Federation (US Soccer), has developed a comprehensive abuse prevention program. The framework of this program uses a multi-layered approach to keep kids safe, including: required policies and best practice guidelines; mandatory screening such as criminal background checks; training and education such as SafeSport training courses; and monitoring, supervision, and mandatory reporting. 

USYS’s risk management policy was recently updated to reflect changes to US Soccer’s SafeSport framework and USSF Policy 212-3. These  changes, which became effective 01 January 2022, apply to all US Soccer members and their affiliates, such as US Youth Soccer (USYS), Kentucky Youth Soccer Association (KYSA), and Lexington Youth Soccer Association (LYSA). 

As part of the KYSA risk management policy, all LYSA TOPSoccer adult volunteers aged 18 years and older on or before the final session date of the season must complete a background check every two years and SafeSport training every year. The policy applies to all LYSA TOPSoccer adult volunteers because all adult volunteers have the potential to have contact with youth players under the age of 18 years. Youth volunteers aged 17 years or older on or before the 31st of December of the current season may apply to complete SafeSport training in advance of their 18th birthday if they have parental consent.  For questions about the risk management requirements, please contact Lynda Ison, LYSA TOPSoccer League Director, at TOPSoccerLEX@gmail.com. 

How to complete the background check & SafeSport training requirements: 
KYSA will email adult registrants information and links to complete background checks and SafeSport training after they register to volunteer through the LYSA registration system. 

Adult volunteers who plan to continue volunteering or working in youth amateur sports will complete the SafeSport training on an annual basis. The initial course, the SafeSport Trained Core Course, takes approximately 90 minutes to complete and covers topics such as sexual misconduct & awareness, mandatory reporting, and physical & emotional misconduct (including bullying, hazing, & harassment). Refresher courses, which take about 20-30 minutes, are completed each calendar year up until four years after the initial SafeSport Trained Core Course was completed, when the training cycle repeats (1. SafeSport Trained Core Course, 2. Refresher Course, 3. Refresher Course, 4. Refresher Course, repeat cycle [1-4], etc). 
 

 

Volunteers are critical to our program. A special thank you to everyone who has helped us since we began in 2009. We could not have TOPS without you!!!!!