Sportsmanship & Player Protection
- Sportsmanship: please show the utmost sportsmanship. Act like your spouse, kids and mother are watching you (they probably are)
- Women will be protected by referees (i.e. 50/50 ball between male and female is not 50/50 - male must soften his challenge)
- No hard strikes of the ball by a male player should be taken when a female field player is directly in front. This will be considered dangerous play.
- Do not charge the goalkeeper!
- No more than two goals by any individual player will be counted per game. A ball played into the goal (from a direct shot or deflection by a defender) by a player who has already scored twice will result in a goal-kick.
- Fun - Fair - Safe.
- No slide-tackling.
- To prevent blow-outs, managers may agree to fair play rules such as goals by females count as 2, extra field players allowed if goal differential is three or more, etc. and/or should encourage play such as two-touch limits, etc.
- Referees may require players to exit the field of play for a 5-minute cooling off period should it be necessary.
- Referees are encouraged to issue cautions and send-offs for rules and league style-of-play infractions, and/or document concerns and issues about specific players on game reports.
- The offside rule will only be enforced for blatant and obvious infractions, but players should not be purposely and/or continually taking advantage of being in an offside position.
Format of Play
- 8v8 including GKs.
- Maximum of 6 men on the field (meaning 2 women) unless agreed upon by team captains and referee prior to the game.
- Games will be two 30-minute halves with a 3-5-minute halftime break. Lights go out at 10:00pm.
- Free and unlimited substitutions when ball is out of play at Referee's discretion. All players must play at least half of each game.
Equipment/Fields
- Ball size: 5 (each team must supply one game ball).
- Matches will be played using the black U-12 lines and the move-able U-12 goals.
- All players must be wearing shin guards with socks fully covering them. While soccer cleats or turf shoes are strongly recommended, tennis/running shoes are allowed. However, baseball/football/softball cleats are prohibited.
- No pets, weapons, alcohol, tobacco, other controlled substances, noise makers, etc. will be allowed at the field.
- Teams shall wear shirts/jerseys of the same color, each with a unique number on the back.
Rules
- DO NOT HARASS the referees, especially the youth ones.
- Cautions (yellow card): A player receiving a caution must exit the game for 3 minutes with no substitution allowed.
- Send-offs (red card): A player sent-off must leave the field immediately and is ineligible to return to the league until after a review by the discipline committee.
- The offside rule will only be enforced for blatant and obvious infractions, but players should not be purposely and/or continually taking advantage of being in an offside position.
- Infractions described above (hard play/strike against women and/or slide-tackling) are considered "dangerous play" and will be awarded an indirect free kick.
Goalkeepers may not punt or drop kick the ball. After holding the ball, the GK may only kick the ball when it is in contact with the ground. Any kick of a ball that is bouncing or off the ground will be considered a drop-kick.
AYSO/FIFA laws of the game apply unless noted.
Rosters/Lineup
- Only registered players may play in any match.
- Players must present a current league-issued Player ID card to the referee prior to each match (or when entering the field of play if late) in order to play. No ID Card = No Play - No Exceptions!
- Guest players (who have their ID card) are allowed, but limited to giving a team up to one substitute player.
- The use of unregistered players of guest players beyond the limit could result in disciplinary action including possible suspensions.
Discipline
- The Discipline committee shall consist of a Director and 2-3 other members, including the head referee of the adult league. Members shall be recruited by the Director subject to approval by the League Director.
- The Discipline Committee shall have discretion to review any and all cautions and send-offs issued, on-the field/sidelines incidents, any behavior detrimental to the league and/or anything referred by the Competition Committee or League Director..
- A send-off (red card) or second caution (yellow-card) during the same season automatically results in suspension for the remainder of the season or until the discipline committee adjusts the suspension.