Staff Report
Over 35 teams played for the Malibu Area Championship last month at Malibu Bluffs Park. First- and second-place champions in boys and girls U10 Division, and the first-place champions of girls and boys U12 Division received invitations to the area playoffs, which will be held on Dec. 2-3.
The girls and boys Malibu Area Under 19 Division teams played in Bakersfield on Nov. 11-12 and made it to the final round for the area championship. The girls and boys both tied in their final games, which ended in penalty kicks, taking home second place in the Area Championships. AYSO is proud of the hard work and time all the players have put in and of their coaches that helped take the team to the championships.
All core AYSO soccer players received trophies and T-shirts on closing day. Medals were earned by first- and second-place teams in each divisions’ championship game. After the area playoffs, selected All-Star players will play in the area All-Star Tournament to be held Jan. 13-14, 2024, and January 20-21, 2024, at Arroyo Vista Park in Moorpark.
AYSO Malibu has been providing soccer to Malibu for over four decades now. Programs provided by AYSO include core fall soccer, clinics, winter and summer camp training, spring soccer, All Stars, and united competitive soccer training and tournaments led by professional and certified soccer coaches and referees. Approved and trained parent volunteers help coach teams and referee games. Malibu AYSO began a new program this past year, providing Malibu Middle School soccer training, which has been a huge success, led by professional coach Liam Anderson.
AYSO hosted a Volunteer Appreciation Night at Malibu Brewery on Nov. 9 to thank over 60 volunteers this season that dedicated countless hours to help make this season successful for our Malibu youth, including board members, coaches, referees, and tent volunteers.
The Malibu AYSO board is run by community and parent volunteers and always welcomes new applicants. Malibu AYSO is grateful to announce the newest board member, Debby Tapia, who is the Area Direction for 10E. She is currently assistant regional commissioner and will be Malibu’s regional commissioner in the spring of 2024.
AYSO thanks the City of Malibu and SMMUSD for everything they do for AYSO and our community to make youth sports possible in Malibu.
Don’t miss AYSO’s outstanding spring soccer clinics and fall 2024 Player Registration and Ratings Day, which will be held in May of 2024. Malibu AYSO welcomes all players ages 3 to 18 from Malibu and surrounding areas to join. Please visit Malibuayso.org to register and get involved.