Unless CYSA clubs, teams, and individuals have respect for their counterparts, all the rules in the world aren't going to create a healthy environment for the children to play in. Using CYSA's Specific Rule 4:06:04 to impose ethical, considerate, and respectful behavior on coaches and parents is an exercise in futility, places the child player in the middle of a battle between [usually] irrational, possessive, and needy adults, and is wasteful of everyone's time and other resources. If an outside agent induces a player playing on a SAYSO team to change teams, SAYSO will inform the outside agent's club president (not the agent or the receiving team's coach) of the impropriety. However, SAYSO will never charge another coach with poaching. If a player wants to leave SAYSO, SAYSO will sign the player's transfer form, and (except for the memories) that will be that.

* A coach may not, at any time directly on indirectly, approach a player for recruitment purposes that is registered on a team. This is both via oral and written communication.

* The coach cannot, at any time, be represented by third party administrator, coach, parent, or player) to recruit players.

* "Acceptable practice" includes the public notification of the team try-out (e.g. San Jose Mercury Venture Section, League web sites).
   
* Natural progression within a club's teams to advance the players is encouraged and should follow the club/league policies. The league's own disciplinary committee should handle any internal issues.

"Recruitment" shall be defined as:

(a) Making first contact with a player or parent from another team/club/league to discuss their program with the intent to recruit.

(b) Discussing the program with a player or parent from another team/club/league (after being contacted first) without notifying the parents of the District II policies and providing information regarding the appropriate league program in their "home" area.

(c) Using current players to persuade players from other teams/clubs/leagues to transfer.

(d) Providing incentives to players such as reductions in fees, trips, uniforms and other equipment.

(e) Using a position of authority to persuade or coerce a player to transfer. This may include adults involved with the District ODP program, adults involved with clinics and soccer schools, adults involved with high school programs or other nonaffiliated programs such as indoor soccer.

Violation of the recruiting prohibition shall be sanctioned as follows:

First offense: The Coach will be suspended from CYSA related activities for 90 days.  Depending on circumstances the PAD committee may chose to further disciplinary actions.

Second offense: The coach will be suspended from CYSA related activities for 180 days. Depending on circumstances the PAD committee may chose to further disciplinary actions.

Third offense: two-year suspension.

"CYSA related activities" include games, practices, team training assignments or any Board position.

Violations shall be considered as valid with confirming proof including additional witnesses to the alleged violation. No written documentation shall be required. The appropriate District II PAD shall adjudicate such violations. Due process as per PAD procedures shall be in force. Alleged violations should be reported in writing to the League as well as to the Assistant District Commissioner.

Each alleged violation shall be reviewed and shall be passed along to the appropriate District II PAD for investigation and adjudication.

Respective leagues shall be responsible for the actions of their competitive programs. All violations shall be reported to the Assistant District Commissioner for further action including sanctions against the responsible leagues."

The 'clarifications' below shouldn't be used to justify disrespectful and questionable recruiting practices among coaches. Conversely, CYSA Specific Rule 4:06:06 shouldn't be interpreted as broadly as CYSA PAD committees are requested.

Most accusations of poaching behavior actually describe unethical, inconsiderate, and disrespectful behavior among coaches and teams, but not chargeable poaching violations. "Poaching" is not a matter of civil or criminal law. Poaching is a CYSA concept, and it is narrowly defined at that. In most cases, and despite a strict reading of the rule, poaching requires the player to actually leave during the seasonal year. Merely inviting a player to leave is makes for a difficult poaching case, because there is no damage to the team until then, and because the penultimate proof of poaching is missing. It is difficult to distinguish between "attempts to induce" and "conversations about".

There are a lot of interpretations of the anti-poaching rule amongst coaches and administrators at all levels, and many of these interpretations are simply the wishful thinking of possessive coaches. The following clarifications can be used to distinguish between the actual CYSA rule and wishful thinking.

    1. The ''seasonal year" is over after a team plays State Cup or Association Cup or after a team's last tournament. The seasonal year doesn't include spring unless the team has a tournament in the spring, and even then, the issue is questionable. The "seasonal year" can be over in November if a team doesn't attend District Cup or a state competition.
    2. There isn't a poaching rule for US Club Soccer leagues. Players on CYSA teams can be recruited for US Club leagues without limitation.
    3. Prohibitions about advertising are not part of CYSA's poaching rule, and they violate constitutional freedom of speech and freedom of the press. Prohibitions about advertising that are 'interpreted' into CYSA's poaching rule don't make those interpretations part of CYSA's poaching rule or negate constitutional freedoms. No CYSA coach has ever been successfully charged for casting a too-wide net during recruiting activities, by advertising in the wrong newspaper, for handing out announcements, for putting up signs or banners, for emailing announcements, or for holding tryouts in the wrong city (league, district, zone, region, etc.).
    4. A player or parent is always free to make the first contact with another team, at any time, even during the fall; and when the first contact is initiated by the parent, there is no poaching. A parent is always free to take his/her child out of a situation that the parent deems unhealthy, unsafe, or unkind.
    5. Parents with preexisting relationships with other parents of players on other teams (i.e., parents of friends from school) cannot be forbidden to speak with each other, compare notes, or trade stories. Therefore, poaching allegations that involve friends with relationships that predate the teams basically cannot be upheld.
    6. A player can be recruited for the following seasonal year at any time, if the player is willing to wait that long to leave his/her current seasonal year team.    
    7. To be sustainable, each poaching prosecution must be done a certain way. Coaches charged with poaching violations have 'due process' rights under league, district, and state constitutions, rules, and bylaws. Existing policies and procedures must be followed, including those of adequate notice and appeal. Rulings must be consistent with USSF policies, procedures, constitutions, rules, and bylaws, as well as with the Amateur Athletic Act and USOC requirements. Appeals all the way to USSF are available.
    8. Even if a player is induced to leave a team during the seasonal year, and if a poaching indictment has been brought by the league, district, or state, the player will STILL end up playing for the new team because USSF mandates (and, the state associations subsequently agree with) the player's right to play anywhere, for anyone he/she chooses. Denying a child's choice to do anything places USSF in an indefensible situation, and CYSA (as a USSF affiliate through USYS ) has learned that USSF will generally always rule in favor the child. In these cases, the coach may be prosecuted for poaching and suspended by CYSA, but the player will be playing for the coach's new team anyway.
    9. Despite the limitations in clarifications 1. through 8. above, hastily-convened, improper ('illegal'), and uninformed CYSA, league, district, and state disciplinary committees (sometimes consisting of only a single individual) hold the upper hand. Part of their authority comes from the length and cost of the hearing and appeal process compared with the length of the playing season. Such committees or individuals simply suspend the coach from CYSA activities, and everyone within the league, district, or state association will uphold the decision, at least initially. If the coach doesn't formally object to the improper disciplinary action, the suspension is effectively 'upheld' for lack of any scrutiny. If the coach does object, the resulting appeal can take 6 months, during which the coach remains suspended anyway, and the suspension is effectively upheld. Allegations of poaching are usually emotionally charged affairs, and when a CYSA official or PAD committee with the authority to suspend and the desire to exhibit that authority becomes emotionally involved, there is little hope for the coach who has been accused of violating a CYSA rule.