YOUTH LEAGUES - INDOOR  SOCCER


2010 Youth Indoor Soccer Notes & Frequently Asked Questions
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Welcome! We would like to thank you for registering your team to play in the 2010 Summer or Winter Indoor Soccer League at the Sports Connection (formerly Sports Warehouse). We’re set for another exciting season! A staff member will review any rules/questions you have before the first game o the Summer season. There will be a Winter Captains/Coaches meeting on Sunday, November 7th from 7-8 PM.  Someone will be available to answer your questions during that time and go over rules & policies for the upcoming season.  Attendance is not mandatory but is highly recommended. 

Balances: All balances are due by the captain's meeting or first game at the latest.

Player's Cards: Player's Cards are NOT required for Youth Soccer.

Requests: We have honored most requests we had on file before schedules were created. For future scheduling conflicts, please submit your requests to Office@SportsConnectionNC.com. We will review all requests each Monday, and make any changes that are possible, then contact teams.

Divisions: We usually only have one division per age group. If we have enough teams to break into Competitive and Recreational divisions, we will. That is why we ask teams to specify. Normally, we just have the one division. In the event a few recreational teams are registered in an age level comprised of mainly competitive teams, we’ll inform those teams to see what they would like to do. If that is the situation with competitive teams, we’ll encourage them to move up.

Schedules: All games are not on the same day of the week, since many players have other obligations. For example, if all games were on Saturday mornings and some players also play basketball, you would be forced to decide which one to play. Now they are able to make both games sometimes.

 

Each team will play 7 regular season games and 1-2 playoff games.

 

We try to have all teams play at least their first game by Thanksgiving (for Winter season). From there, we try to have teams play at least every other week but there may be some weeks where you have more than one week in between games due to special requests, etc.

Game Durations: U9 - U12 teams will play two 18-minute halves. U13 - U18 teams will play two 20-minute halves. All teams will have a 2-minute halftime.

Winter Holidays: Most teams will play games during the holidays, including during the week. We understand some people travel, but many stay home and enjoy getting out of the house to play games and have relatives come watch. Teams can add players at anytime to a roster, even if just for a game or two over the holidays. We will NOT have games over July 4th weekend for the Summer Season.

Forfeits: If you must forfeit a game, PLEASE call us in advance so we can find a team to play in your place.

Bench Coach: There must be a parent on the bench of all youth games, including high school. 

Ages:  U9 means "under 9." The age group you play in is the age you were as of August 1, 2010. If you were 8 on August 1, you play U9. If you were 9, you play U10. The Sports Connection will ask for verification of age only if another team protests.

Rosters: Players can go to our website (SportsConnectionNC.com) and click on MySAM to load the MySAM website. From there, players can create their own account, fill out a waiver, and see their schedule and standings.  Team Managers can invite players to join their team from MySAM.  Players cannot join a Youth Soccer Team without an invite from the team manager or calling the Sports Connection office.

Rosters should be in place by the 1st game. You can add players at any time. However, only those on your roster by the completion of your 5th game will be eligible for playoffs. You can add players for your 6th & 7th game if needed, but they won't be able to play in the playoffs. Players found playing in a game and not on the team's roster will cause the team to forfeit that game and all previous games he/she has played in.

Minimum Numbers: Teams can play with a minimum of 4 players. Less players than that will result in a forfeit. The ref will start each game on time and play will begin once the minimum number of players are on the field. A team has 5 minutes from the start time to produce the minimum number of players in order to avoid a forfeit.

Pick-Up Players: If you need to pick-up a player for a game, they must fill out a waiver prior to play. If you are picking up a player from another team, the coordinator & opposing captain must OK the pick-up. There are no pick-up players allowed in playoffs.

Playing Up/Down: Teams can play UP a division, but now down.

House Teams: We attempt to form house teams. They are often combined age groups. We will provide T-Shirts for each player at their first game. SC Staff will coach the team initially until a parent wants to take over.

Wait Lists: We will continue to accept individual registrations and place them on a wait list for other teams to pick-up if needed. We will give contact info to captains who are looking for players, but make sure the captain tells us if they pick them up so we can then transfer the player to the correct team.

Equipment: All players must wear shin guards with socks covering them. No cleats are allowed. Flat-soled shoes work best. Teams should not bring their own soccer balls. All teams should have matching color jerseys with numbers. Goalkeepers must wear a jersey contrasting that of his/her team AND the opposing team. In the event of "same color" jersey conflict, the home team will wear a "dark color," and the visitors will wear a "light color." Teams should bring two jerseys just in case. We will also provide pinnies if needed. If your team informs us of your jersey color, we will note that in parentheses after your team name in the schedule so you can see what color your opponent is wearing.

Soccer Ball Sizes: U9 - U12 play with Size #4 balls. U13 and up play with size #5.

Cards: Blue Card - Three team or personal fouls result in a blue card, which results in a two-minute penalty that is over when that time expires or when the opposition scores a goal.

Yellow Card - Four personal fouls is a yellow card, which results in a two-minute HARD penalty that is over only after the two minutes expire.

Red Card - Five personal fouls is a red card, which results in a five-minute HARD penalty, ejection from game and additional 1-game suspension. A player receiving two red cards will be suspended for a minimum of one entire season.

Punting: There is no punting or drop kicks.

Injuries: Time will run continuously except for serious injuries.

Mercy Rules: When a team is down by 5 or more goals, they are allowed to add another player until they are within 3 goals, to which they will then return to normal strength.

Overtime: There will be no overtime periods or shootouts during the regular season.

During playoffs, we'll play 3-minute sudden death overtime where each team will remove 2 players (play 3v3 with keeper). If the match is still tied, we'll go to sudden death PK's.

Playoffs: Playoff brackets are on MySAM and the SC website.

 

At least the top 4 teams will advance to the playoffs at the end of the season.  All other teams in the league will each play in a consolation game.  In some larger divisions, more than 4 teams may advance to the playoff round.  Check our website and SAM program for details each season.

 

Prizes: The winning and runner-up teams in each league will receive medallions and/or Championship T-Shirts.

Referees: SC staff has trained the referees. Any suggestions/complaints should be forwarded to league management. The ref shall address captains at the start of each match. Those captains and/or coach should be the only person communicating issues to the ref during the game. All referee decisions are final.

SC Staff: There will always be an SC certified referee, coordinator and/or full-time staff member on hands during the games. They will be here to help you with roster procedures, rules questions, etc.

Sportsmanship: The primary focus of our league is fun. Please keep this in mind when competition becomes intense or when a referee makes a call you do not agree with. We value sportsmanship and referees have been instructed to keep sportsmanship and safety a priority. Unacceptable behavior may result in ejection/suspension from a game or the league. Fighting of any kind will result in automatic removal from the league.

Food/Drinks: Please do not bring ice chests and large amounts of food into the Sports Connection facility. Please do not have team parties at the end of games as we get congested with new teams entering for the next games. If you would like to rent a party room, please let us know.

Weather: If there is severe weather, please use your own judgment if it's safe to travel. Each person's comfort level to travel in bad weather is different. We as a norm do not cancel games, but that does not mean all players should risk injury by trying to make it to a game. It's just a game. If games are canceled, our website and rainout line are the first things updated. Click on "Rainouts" in the top right corner of our website. It's very difficult for us to make up games.

Rules: If you need additional insight into our rules and policies regarding the league, please click on the link for LEAGUE RULES.

SC Contact Info: SC phone number is 704-583-1444. Our website is www.SportsConnectionNC.com and Email: Office@SportsConnectionNC.com