Worcester Youth Soccer League

Parents Corner

This section should provide helpful information for all parents. We want you to be aware of the Worcester Youth Soccer League’s philosophy and how we expect everyone to conduct themselves at practices and at games. I just signed my child up for soccer, now what do I do?
The main point is to relax and let your child have fun. Especially at the earliest ages soccer is all about being with friends, playing with a ball with a few simple rules. At the basic level the rules are easy. The ball is shared with your teammates, it is kept away from the other team, everyone plays fair, everyone gets time with the ball and basically everyone has fun.

Your goal as a parent is to be supportive. To do this here are a couple of guiding points:

Give consistent encouragement and support to your child regardless of the degree of success, the level of skill or the amount of time they are on the field. Remember they are children.
Stress the importance of respect, for their teammates for the other team, for the referees and for the coaches.
Avoid putting pressure on children about playing time and performance, stress the enjoyment and if they had a good time.
Always be positive it is not only about wining and losing it is about learning the game and getting better at playing it.

Remember why your child is playing; to have fun, to be with their friends, to make new friends, to improve and learn, to feel good and to wear the uniform.

What Your Child Needs

Ball – Each child should have his or her own age appropriate ball and bring it to team practice. U6-U8 size 3, U10-U12 size 4, U14+ size 5
Shin guards – required for practice and games.
Soccer shoes – baseball or football type shoes with square or rectangular cleats near the toe are not allowed. Soccer shoes are available in most sporting goods stores
Water bottle – needed for practice and games. Soccer is a very active sport and keeping your child hydrated is very important.
No Jewelry – please remember to remove all jewelry before practices and games.

What To Expect

Practices

Expect one practice during a weeknight and one game on a Saturday (some Sundays are used for holiday weekend makeups). Practice locations are usually in the area where you live (school or park) or sometimes where your games are played on the weekends. Practices run anywhere from 45 minutes to 1 hour depending on the coach and the age group. Please refer to CALENDAR PAGE for dates when you will know team selection and game schedules. Coaches will mainly use email for communication and sometimes the telephone.

Practices will vary from coach to coach but all are modeled on the Mass Youth Soccer curriculum and all coaches should have the same goals for each age group. As the Worcester Youth Soccer League is reliant on volunteers for coaches the practice schedule is at the coaches’ discretion. During the team selection process coaches and coordinators try to align children from the same family, school zip code or special request to make it easier to make practices and keep friends together. Practices are an important part of the soccer experience. This is where the coach can teach the children the basic rules of the game, encourage teamwork and promote the fun elements of soccer.

Practices should follow the same basic approach and can be broken up into 4 basic elements:

Warm-up – prepares the player for practice, young players need very little stretching but more preparation will be added to practice as your child gets older
Individual activities – introduction of the topic for the practice
Small group activities – extension of the individual activity
The game – the best way to learn the game is to play it.

Games

At recreational level games are played on Saturdays and Sundays against other teams from the league. These are “small sided games” as recommended by the US youth soccer organization and supported by the Massachusetts Youth Soccer organization. All ages can play "Small Sided Games", but it has a definite developmental impact on our younger soccer players. US Youth Soccer recommendations for "number of players" at the various age groups are as follows: U6 - 3 against 3 with no goal keepers
U7 - 4 against 4 with no goal keepers
U8 - 4 against 4 with no goal keepers
U10 - 6 against 6 with goal keepers
U12 - 8 against 8 with goal keepers
U14 - 11 against 11 with goal keepers

The reason for small sided games are many;

Because we want our young soccer players to touch the soccer ball more often and become more skillful with it! (Individual technical development)
Because we want our young soccer players to make more, less-complicated decisions during the game! (Tactical development)
Because we want our young soccer players to be more physically efficient in the field space they are playing in! (Reduced field size)
Because we want our young soccer players to have more individual teaching time with the coach! Less players on the field and less players on the team will guarantee this! (Need to feel worthy and need to feel important)
Because we want our young soccer players to have more, involved playing time in the game! (More opportunity to solve problems that only the game presents)
Because we want our young soccer players to have more opportunity to play on both sides of the ball! (More exposure to attacking and defending situations)
Because we want our young soccer players to have more opportunities to score goals! (Pure excitement)

The "Small-Sided" environment is a developmentally appropriate environment for our young soccer players. It's a fun environment that focuses on the young soccer player.

It just makes sense doesn't it?

Referees

All recreational games are refereed by teenagers from Worcester. These teens are also learning the game from a different angle. Many are players from Worcester youth and have earned their referee license by completing the first stages of the national referee licensing program. They also start with the youngest recreational players and develop as they progress to referee the older ages. Please be respectful of the referees as they are there to help your children learn the game of soccer and to have fun. You will notice that they will be teaching the children how to play, how to play safely, how to play fairly, and how to have fun.

Never played Soccer before – here are some of the basics

Field of play – goal line to goal line represents the length and touchline to touchline represents the width.
U6 20-30 yards long by 15-20 yards wide
U8 25-35 yards long by 20-30 yards wide
U10 45-60 yards long by 35-45 yards wide
U12 75-80 yards long by 50 yards wide
U14+ 100-130 yards long by 50-100 yards wide

Simple soccer rules you need to know as a parent.

No Hands

Only the goalkeeper can handle the ball and only in the penalty area, if another player handles the ball a direct free kick is awarded. To clarify first, the rule for a hand ball includes using any part of the body from the tips of the fingers to the shoulder. Second, the proper way to look at this soccer rule is that a player cannot “handle” the ball. A ball that is kicked and hits a player’s hand or arm is not a hand ball. This means that the referee must use his or her own judgment to some extent in determining whether or not a hand ball is accidental contact or a purposeful attempt to gain an advantage. Believe it or not, there is also a situation in which the goalie cannot use his/her hands. This is sometimes called the back-pass rule. Goalkeepers cannot pick up a pass that came directly from one of their teammates. In this case, the goalkeeper must use his feet..

Throw-ins

A throw-in is taken when the ball crosses a sideline and leaves the field. The two basic soccer rules for a proper throw-in are to have both feet on the ground and to throw the ball with both hands over the head. For teaching purposes it is common to allow players under the age of 8 to take more than 1 attempt.

Corner Kicks & Goal Kicks

A corner kick or goal kick is taken when the ball leaves the field across the goal line. If the attacking team kicks it out, play is restarted with a goal kick. If the defending team kicks it out, play is restarted with a corner kick. The goal kick is taken from anywhere inside the “goalie box”. It can be taken by any player, not just the goalkeeper. At U6 and U8 often the referee will help placing the ball in the right place. The corner kick is taken from the corner nearest to where the ball left the field. You may be confused at times in youth soccer games to see a goal kick retaken. This is because the FIFA soccer rules state that the ball is not back “in play” until it leaves the penalty area. No one can touch the ball until it leaves the penalty area, and if the ball is not kicked properly to leave the area, the kick must be retaken.

Fouls

The common rule of thumb on fouls is “If it looks like a foul, it probably is.” A player cannot kick, trip, jump at, charge, strike, push, hold, or spit at an opponent. Soccer can be a physical, contact sport when two opposing players both want the soccer ball and no parent likes it when someone loses the ball and ends up on the ground! What you need to know as a parent is that bumping or going shoulder-to-shoulder while competing for a ball is not a foul until the hands or elbows come up. This is a bit of a judgment call and not all referees will call it the same way. Some soccer rules are actually not black-and-white. Remember though, the referee is ALWAYS right and they are learning too.

Direct and Indirect Free Kicks

The simple difference between the two is this: On a direct kick you can score by kicking the ball directly into the goal. On an indirect kick you cannot score. An indirect kick must be touched by another player before it can go into the goal – that is the kicker and a second person. As a parent on the sideline, you can tell whether the kick is direct or indirect by looking at the referee. For an indirect kick, the referee will hold one arm straight up in the air until the second person touches the ball. No arm up, it’s a direct kick.

Penalty Kick

A penalty kick results from a contact foul or hand ball by the defending team within the penalty area. The ball is placed on the penalty spot, 12 yards in front of the center of the goal. All players must remain outside the penalty area and the penalty arc until the ball is kicked. The goalkeeper must have both feet on the goal line until the ball is kicked.

Two-touch Rule

A player cannot touch the ball twice in a row when putting the ball in play. You will see this called many times in youth soccer. It applies everywhere. You will see it frequently on kick-offs, corner kicks, goal kicks or direct and indirect kicks. If a kid barely hits the ball and decides to take another swipe at it, that is a two-touch. This also applies to throw-ins. A kid cannot throw the ball in and then kick it.

Yellow and Red Cards

This is the way punishment is given in soccer. The FIFA soccer rules give the guidelines for when to give a yellow card to a player and when to give a red card. If a player is given two yellow cards in the same game, that is equal to a red card. A red card can be given at any time without the player first receiving a yellow card. When a player gets a red card, they must leave the game and their team must play short. An ejected player cannot be replaced.

Offside

This is without a doubt the least understood rule by parents and coaches alike. This is not enforced for U6-U8 age groups. The first thing to know is that you cannot be offside on a corner kick, goal kick, or throw-in. Also, it is not an offense for a player to be in an offside position. The player must be involved in active play as determined by the referee to be called offside. An offensive or attacking player can’t be ahead of the ball and involved in the play unless there is a defender between him and the goalkeeper. You can’t be offside if you are standing on your half of the field. Also, the offside rule applies when the ball is kicked, not when the player receives the ball. To be honest with you, this can be a hard rule to understand. Don’t get too hung up on it. Trust the referees. If you really want to learn the offside rule, and the details for all of the rules of the game please visit the referees page on the website.

Common Terms

Field Definitions

	Center Circle
Definition:	A circular marking with a 10-yard radius in the “center” of the field from which kickoffs are taken to start or restart the game. Purpose: Simply a reference line for the referee and defenders. Defenders must be as least 10 yards away from the ball prior to start or restart.

	End Line
Definition:	The boundary line extending from corner to corner along its width at each end also called goal line.

	Midfield Line
Definition:	A line in the center of the soccer field that divides the field in half along its width and runs parallel to the goals. Purpose: Used for start and restart as well as for calling offside. A player cannot be offside on their half of the field. Also called the center line.

	Penalty area
Definition:	The larger rectangle (18 x 44 yd. On a full size field) in front of the goal that includes the goal area. Purpose: Marks both where the goalkeeper is allowed to touch the ball with his hands AND the area where harsh fouls committed by the defending team result in penalty kicks.

	Penalty Mark (or Spot)
Definition:	The mark on the soccer field from which penalty kicks are taken.

	Touchline
Definition:	The line that runs along the length of each side of the field. Also called the sideline.

Position Terms

	Defender
Definition:	A player who works mainly in the defensive third of the field. They are primarily focused on stopping the opposition’s attackers from scoring.

	Midfielder
Definition:	A player generally positioned in the middle third of the field between the forwards and defenders. Their job is to link the defense and the offense through ball control and passing. They play both an attacking role and a defensive role.

	Forward
Definition:	They play in front of the rest of their team (or in the attacking third of the field) where they can take most of the shots.

	Goalkeeper
Definition:	I bet you know this one. The player positioned directly in front of the goal who tries to prevent shots from crossing the goalline; the only player allowed to use their hands and arms, though only within the 18-yard penalty area.

	Sweeper
Definition:	Not always used. In some formations, a single defender that plays closest to their own goal behind the rest of the defenders; a team's last line of defense in front of the goalkeeper.

Basic Soccer Action Terms

	Center of Cross
Definition:	A pass from either side of the field towards the middle of the field. It is used primarily to get the ball closer to the front of the goal.

	Shielding
Definition:	Used by the person with the ball to protect the ball from a defender; the ball carrier keeps their body between the ball and the defender.

	Slide Tackle
Definition:	A move where a player attempts to win the ball by sliding towards the ball. If the tackling player touches the ball first, he is allowed to make contact with the player controlling the ball. If the tackling player strikes the player before the ball, a foul is assessed. A tackle from behind is always a foul regardless of whether the tackler managed to get to the ball first.

	Cut Down the Angle
Definition:	When the goalie comes out of the goal several feet to make themselves closer and larger to an attacker. The effect is to leave the attacker less open net to shoot at.

	"Man On"
Definition:	The call a player makes to a teammate who is closely marked by an opposing player but may not be aware of it.

More to come...
Please re-visit this web page as we will update with additional information as requested. Please contact the player representatives with suggestions, comments and questions. We will be updating this site with links to additional parent resources and hopefully layouts of the Forest Grove setup as soon as the fields are marked. Most of the information is aimed at new parents entering the league as those who have been involved for a couple of years should be aware of the rules and league approach.

Again remember support your child, always be positive, and go have fun. If you want to really learn the game try getting involved or even playing yourself. The league is trying to expand its volunteer base and we are learning how to look for your assistance. Local leagues can be found through any internet search.