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| Frequently Asked Questions When is the McSwain recreational soccer season? Some coaches start their practices in late July, most coaches start early to mid August. The first game is played the first Saturday after Labor Day. Games are played Saturdays through mid November. Some teams play in post-season tournaments, usually lasting two more, additional weekends. Why do we have to sign up so far before the season? The logistics of determining how many want to play, finding coaches, buying uniforms, reporting to CYSA (California Youth Soccer Association) for insurance and sanctioning, scheduling games, and the fact that every one is a volunteer, requires that signups be in spring. Why is it important to sign up as soon as possible? In the past, we have had problems with too many children in an age bracket for one team, but not enough for two, or too many for two teams, but not enough for three, etc. So, to be fair, we have to take them first come first served. When we have enough for one team, everyone who signs up goes on a waiting list until we have enough for two teams, and so forth. We don’t like to turn people away, but some times we have to. How many days a week will it be? Most coaches practice twice a week after school and the games are played on Saturday. Where will the games be? In the rec league, the games will be at McSwain School or in Atwater, Merced and occasionally Livingston. See the maps. If my child is placed on a team, will she get to play? Because this is a recreational league, most coaches are very fair about playing time. If your child has participated in practice, your child’s coach should play her a minimum of half of the game. On the competitive teams, it is entirely up to the coach’s discretion. What age brackets do you have at McSwain? Under 8, Under 10, Under 12, Under 14 for boys and Under 15 for girls. How do you determine soccer age? A child’s age for soccer this season is determined by how many years old they are on July 31 of this year. Example: If a child will be 9 years old on July 31 then she is UNDER 10 for soccer. If a child is 10 years old on July 31 then he is UNDER 12. Are any of the teams coed? In McSwain, and in the Merced and Atwater leagues that we play with, the teams are classified as boy teams and girl teams. Boy and girl teams do not play regular games against each other. It hasn’t happened here at McSwain yet, but a girl can play on a boy team. If there is even one boy on a team roster, the team has to be classified as a boy team, and therefore play against boy teams only. Why do need to see the birth certificate? We need to see the "Certificate of Live Birth" to conform to California Youth Soccer Association (CYSA) rules and regulations and to be sure that we put children in the appropriate age bracket, in order to be sure that the teams are fair. What do you need for proof of age? We need to see a passport or a "Certificate of Live Birth" issued usually by the county in which the child was born. Hospital birth certificates or announcements or church baptism forms are not good enough! For the recreation league, having a soccer board member verify the age by looking at a copy of the "Certificate of Live Birth" the first year you sign your child up is all that is required. If your child goes on to play competitive soccer, be prepared to furnish a copy every year. If you don’t have a certified copy of your child’s "Certificate of Live Birth", get one! You will need it for many things as your child goes through life, such as school, social security, sports, passports, driver’s license (heaven forbid!), etc., etc. Why do you need a picture (every year)? Each season the soccer league prepares a new player pass for each player that is about like a drivers license. It has your child’s photo, birthday, name and team on it. That way, an unscrupulous coach cannot bring in a "ringer" and we know that all the children playing are playing on the correct team and covered by insurance. What kind of photo do you want? A small 1" wide by 1.5" tall is preferable, like the photo on your driver’s license. The little stick on ones that you can buy with school photos are perfect! No Polaroid photos are allowed. What else will I have to do? McSwain Soccer League is an all-volunteer organization. We need every family’s help in making this happen. We will ask you as a parent or guardian to volunteer some of your time when you sign your children up. Our reasonable registration fees are not enough money to pay for everything that we need to run the league. Please see the volunteer page. Can my 5 year old play? If the child will not be 6 years old on July 31, they can play UNDER 6 in Merced or Atwater Youth Soccer Leagues. The youngest age bracket at McSwain is UNDER 8. However, if your child will turn 6 anytime this year, we will let them play under 8. Please use your better judgment on this, if your child is under 6 and small or shy or not very athletic, then play them under 6 somewhere else or just wait a year. Soccer should be a fun experience for the very young, don’t put them in a situation where they will not have fun or cannot compete. Can both of my children be on the same team? If they are the same gender and fall in the same age bracket, then by all means we will put them on the same team if it is at all possible. If they are not the same age bracket, they can NOT play together. You can petition the soccer board to move one of your children up to an older age bracket, but no one can play down in a younger bracket (without a letter from a physician justifying the move). Generally, we only move a child whose birthday is very close to the July 31 break point up to the next age bracket. Let your child have fun with children their own age! It has been our experience, when you move children up to an older age bracket, it makes both the team they are on and the one they should be on weaker. Can I coach my child’s team? Returning coaches in good standing are given priority at coaching again. Other than that, we always need good coaches. If you haven’t done so already, we will assist you in attending a CYSA approved coaching clinic before the season starts. The clinics for first time coaches are one evening and one Saturday morning. The coaching clinics are really fun and informational. How do you pick the teams? We have a joint meeting of the Soccer Board and the coaches and we honestly try to pick even fair teams so that all of our teams are competitive with each other. We do not approve or allow "stacked" teams in the recreational leagues. What if my child can only come to the game every other week? According to CYSA, children should be registered where they live more than half of the time. A player coming to only half the games is ok for younger players (under 8 and under 10), but it can be a disadvantage to older teams. If you have ever been a coach, you know that it is much better for everyone if all players can come to every game. With these things in mind, they are welcome to sign up here at McSwain. Can we get our money back if it doesn’t work out? No. If your child participates at all even in just one practice, then we have to play for the CYSA insurance. We will have ordered a uniform, potentially turned someone else away and so forth. What is the difference between Recreational and Competitive Soccer? McSwain is first and foremost a recreational or rec soccer league. In recreational soccer, the emphasis is on learning about, enjoying, and PLAYing the game of soccer and not so much on winning. Most of the information presented here is regarding the Recreation or REC league play. After a child is over 10, has some experience playing soccer, is above average in ability, and wants to, he or she may consider competitive soccer. Generally you have to go to "try outs" and be selected to get on a competitive teams. We do sponsor a few competitive soccer teams. If you didn’t know the answer to this question, your child should be playing recreational or rec soccer. Is McSwain Soccer a nonprofit organization? Yes, please see our public disclosure page. |
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