Common Questions (FAQ)

This page has some questions that are asked quite frequently along with the answers. Please review these before calling or writing the Club with a question.

For questions specific to the House League, click here.
 

• How can I register?
• What happens after I drop off the registration form?
• Volunteering - What Help Does the Club Need (and What Do the Jobs Require)?
• What Happens on Clsong Day?
• Closing Day

• Can I make a Special Request (e.g. to have my child play with a friend)?
• I have two boys/girls who are quite close in age. Can the younger one play on the team with his/her older brother/sister?

• We are planning to take an extended vacation this coming summer. Should I still register my son/daughter?
• Depending on the schedules, we may have a conflict with other sports/activities. Should we still register?

• How do I know if a game is cancelled due to bad weather?
• When are player photos be taken?

• What About Tax Receipts?

Registration

You can register online, you can download a form and drop it at our office, you can come in to the office during the day from Monday to Thursday or you can come to an Open Registration. Click here to go to the registration page.

Once we get most of the registrations, we determine how many teams there will be in each division, ensure that there are enough coaches and convenors and we do an initial assignment of players to teams. The resulting team lists and pre-season schedules are posted at Mount Joy for the Orientation Night for each division. If you cannot make it to the Orientation Night, this information will be available at Mount Joy for several days. This information will tell you which team your son or daughter has been assigned to and when and where to show up for the first pre-season session. If your child is on a waiting list, he/she will not be on any of the team lists at the Orientation Night.

We primarily need Coaches and Convenors. The requirements and responsibilities for these positions are as follows:

• Convenor
  The Convenor is responsible for a Division (a set of teams in a specific age group and gender). This person gets the Division organized with a coach (and Assistant) assigned to every team and players assigned to the teams so that the teams are properly balanced. The Convenor monitors the operation of the Division during the season, acts as a communication link between the Club and the coaches and addresses any issues.
  
  A Convenor needs to be organized and be a good communicator. A Convenor needs to be able to deal with issues and the people who are involved. To do the job properly, a Convenor needs to understand Club policies (especially those on Special Requests and Team Balancing) and to ensure that they are followed.
   
• Coach
  The coach organizes a team, runs practices for the team and directs the team in games / scrimmages. The coach is a leader and a teacher. Some soccer knowledge and experience is a bonus but it is not mandatory, especially at the younger ages.  The Club provides training courses and materials as well as technical support. To be effective, the coach must be well organized, committed to the coaching job, willing to learn, willing to follow Club policies and take direction and able to communicate effectively with parents and the players.  

If your skills and interests do not fit either of these roles but you are willing to help in some other way, feel free to contact us (or mark the appropriate volunteer box on the registration form).

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The Micro Divisions each have their own Closing Day activities involving all players in the division. The U8 to U18 house league divisions have a Closing Day that revolves around the Championship play-off games and presentation of awards for the season.

Special Requests

The club does not accept special requests. For house league teams, a primary objective is to develop balanced teams. Special requests can severely complicate this process and they can also result in some teams being “stacked”. Thus we have adopted a firm “no special requests” policy. This is not as big an issue as some may think. Children can make new friends on the team and carpooling can often be arranged with other parents on the team.

We believe that players should play with their own age group as much as possible. We do not move players up to higher divisions for the sake of convenience. It would also be unfair to turn away a player who legitimately belongs in that age group as a result of taking a younger player. Rather than leave players on waiting lists however, we do occasionally move players up when a division is full and the next higher division needs additional players. This is only done at the club’s discretion. A registration cannot be accepted that is dependant on this or any other condition.

Vacations and Other Abscences

The club allows a player to miss a maximum of 3 games and/or practices in addition to a maximum of 3 weeks vacation during the summer season. If a player misses more than this number of games, he/she can be removed from the team. There are two main reasons for this. First of all, it is unfair to the coach and the other players on the team to have someone away for such a large part of the season. Second of all, there may be players on the waiting list who are available but aren’t getting the chance to play. Thus, we ask that you not register anyone who will be away for an extended period.

As in the previous point, you are making a commitment (on behalf of your child) to be at practices and games on a consistent basis (with the exception of 3 weeks or less vacation time). If you cannot meet this commitment, it is unfair to the coach and the other players. We provide you with a tentative schedule to assist you in your planning. The tentative schedule generally becomes the final schedule, however changes to these schedules may be necessary once we know how many players have registered for each of the divisions. If you register and then later withdraw (before the deadline) you will be charged the administrative fee.

During the Season

You may be notified if fields have been closed and/or games cancelled due to bad weather. This doesn't happen very often and it is usually because of continuous rain for a day or more. If a notification is provided, it will probably be by email or by posting on the Club website.

In the abscence of a field closing notification, coaches and their teams must show up at the field. 

• For the micro soccer ages (U4-U7) where there is no referee, the coaches should use their best judgement in determining if they should continue or cancel the session. Coaches should use the Club policy on cancellations due to weather in order to make their decision.
   
• For the House League ages (u8 - U18), if a game is scheduled, the referee shall have the sole authority to cancel the game due to weather. If a team does not show up to the field (in the expectation that the game will be cancelled), they may forfeit the game. If the referee does not show up within 15 minutes of the start of the game, the coaches may make the decision to cancel or proceed with the game based on the applicable Club policies.
   
• For the House League ages (u8 - U18), if a practice is scheduled, the coach(es) must use their best judgement in determining if they should continue or cancel the session. Coaches should use the Club policy on cancellations due to weather in order to make their decision.
   

Photos are generally taken in June. Please check the website for the schedule.

After the Season

Tax Receipts are made available after the season is completed and before they are required for tax returns.