Spring Soccer in SYSA

Spring Soccer 2012 [updated 2-7-12]
Welcome to SYSA Spring Soccer in 2012!!!

TEAM REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN. You must read the IMPORTANT section below about the new changes BEFORE beginning registration.

Players looking for teams to play on, click here.

The Spirit of Spring Soccer
Spring Soccer was started by Neil Callahan in 2002. The idea was to give kids a chance to play some fun soccer in the off season and improve their skills by getting more touches on the ball. Spring Soccer should not be about winning or losing, uber coaching, standings or scores or stressed out players. Please take Neil's vision for Spring Soccer to heart and just let the kids play and enjoy the game in a safe, creative way.

2012 Fees
Team registration fees and roster sizes for 2012 Spring Soccer are listed here:

Spring Soccer Schedule
Here is the tentative schedule for 2012. All games are on Sundays.

IMPORTANT: All Coaches and Players Should Review These NEW Changes for 2012
In order to address some of the concerns that our families and coaches have expressed to us, we have made some modifications and improvements for the 2012 season. Please take a look at these changes BEFORE registering your team.

NEW! Competitive Strength and Team Placement -- We have added new items to the registration form to help our schedulers place teams of equal ability into the same leagues. Before you begin registration, please review the options below so you will be able to make a choice during registration about your team's strength.

You will need to choose from one of these options when you register:

• Recreational Level 1 (least competitive) -- New team with inexperienced players; looking for a fun and easy soccer experience; not very competitive.
• Recreational Level 2 (more competitive) -- Experienced players; team played in the fall; looking for good competition.
• Super Recreational/Select (most competitive) -- Many or mostly select players; looking for serious competition; finished fall season at or near the top of your SYSA rec season bracket.

NEW! For U9, U10, and U11Teams ONLY
Playing Up a Year For More Competition -- In order to help us create more balanced leagues, we are asking teams if they would be willing to play in a league with players that are one year older. This age difference is one way to create better competition for stronger teams. You will be asked to answer this questions during registration. Please be prepared to say yes or no.

• For U9, U10, & U11 teams ONLY: To better guarantee similar strength of competition and a more challenging experience for your players, is your team willing to play-up an additional year? Yes or No

NEW! Assigning Individual Players to Teams -- In previous years, we've left it up to families to find teams that needed players. This has presented more problems as the size of SYSA Spring Soccer has grown. To make it easier for individual players, SYSA will be actively assigning players to teams that do not have full rosters. We are currently working out some details on how this will work.Please have patience as we implement this new system.

Players looking for teams to play on, click here for details.

To register as a player new to SYSA

NOTE: Individual players only need to register if they were NOT on a team with an SYSA club in fall 2011. If you played in fall 2011, your registration is still valid for spring.

Players not on an SYSA fall team will need to register with SYSA in order to play Spring Soccer. You should try to find a team to play on first (see "Players looking for teams to play on" above). If you can't, SYSA will try to place you on a team, but we cannot guarantee you we will find a team, or that the team will be in your neighborhood. In reality, playing on a neighborhood team does not matter much in the spring, since there are no team practices, only games. If we can't find a team for an individual player, we will refund the registration fee.

In addition, please note that:
-- There is a $20 fee to register with SYSA to cover insurance.
-- A copy of a birth certificate or passport must be provided.
-- All players must give a printed, signed medical release form to the coach or manager of the team. If you played in SYSA in the fall, your previous coach should have that form. If you need to print a form to give to the coach/manager of your new spring team, click here.

To register as a player new to SYSA:

1. Click REGISTRATION in the left column of this page.
2. Click MEMBER LOGIN and create a new account.
3. Click Register Now to begin registration.
4. Select Players New to SYSA and complete registration.

2012 Contact Information
Get in touch with the following people for questions or concerns. Emails are generally answered within 48 hours or less.

Registration questions
(Please include team name, age, gender, and club in email subject line.)
Paige Blomsø, SYSA Registrar: pfblomso@hotmail.com.

Schedule questions
(Please include team name, age, gender in email subject line)
Phoebe Russell, SYSA Scheduler: phoeberuss@comcast.net

Field setup,goals,or day of game questions
Ken Sloan, SYSA Spring Soccer Program Coordinator : sysa.springsoccer@comcast.net
Please call Ken with ONLY with questions related to field setup or other game day questions. He does not solve registration or scheduling problems. 206-551-0117

General spring soccerquestions, concerns, praise:
Ed D'Alessandro, SYSA Executive Director: execdir@sysa.org

Everything below here in RED refers to last year, 2011. Use it only for reference for 2012. Some features may change.
We've left much of last year's 2011 Spring Soccer information posted below as a reference. There are currently no teams or players registered. [posted 1-23-12]

2011 Survey Results

Thanks to all the coaches and managers who participated in the online survey of spring soccer in SYSA. You can view a summary of the results by clicking here.

SYSA staff and board will be using the results and comments to make any changes that we can to improve the playing experience for our families. Thank you for your input, ideas, and continued participation in Spring Soccer!

TEAM CONTACT INFORMATION: We strongly suggest you contact the team you are playing before your game on Sunday. All U9, U10, U11, and U12 coaches should have received a list of all teams in their gender/age in email. If you did not, please contact the SYSA Registrar and we will resend the list.

COACHES MEETING: Click here for the presentation from the Coaches Meeting on Sunday, March 13.

FIELD NUMBERING CHART: Click here for a chart of field numbers at spring soccer fields with multiple field configurations. (Cleveland, Eckstein, Interbay, Garfield, LW2, North City, Rainier Beach, Shoreline A/B, Van Asselt, Whitman)

Special information for U9 Teams

ALL U9 FAMILIES SCHEDULED TO PLAY AT ARENA SPORTS MUST REGISTER ONLINE AND COMPLETE THEIR WAIVER. PLEASE GO TO www.arenasports.net to register.

For complete, step-by-step, printable registration instructions, click here.

NOTE: Molded style cleats are not allowed on Arena Sports indoor fields. Players should wear artificial turf shoes, running shoes, or sneakers.

TO RESCHEDULE A GAME:

Please note: SYSA has limited ability to reschedule games. There are over 2,100 games scheduled for spring soccer this year, available fields are near capacity, and a 3-way dialogue (you, your opponent, and the SYSA scheduler) can be time consuming and ineffective. Additionally, a rescheduled game will almost always require that one or both teams play two games on the rescheduled date. Therefore, if you need to reschedule, please follow these steps:

1. Contact your opponent right away.
2. Reach an agreement with your opponent on days and times that are acceptable for both teams.
3. Send the request with the acceptable parameters in order of preference to seattleyouthsoccer@yahoo.com. Include your teams age, gender, and names in the subject line.

SYSA will reschedule the game within your parameters if possible. But we cannot guarantee your game will be rescheduled.

Number of players on the field

There has been some confusion about the number of players on the field at one time. Please follow these guidelines:

At the older ages, there should never be more than 8 players on the field, including the goal keeper. This means 7 field players, plus one goal keeper -- NOT 8 players, plus one goal keeper. That would be 9 players.

PRACTICE FIELDS ARE NOT AVAILABLE from Seattle Parks for spring soccer teams.

Please DO NOT send requests to Seattle Parks for a practice field. These get routed right to our field assigner. There are NO fields available for practice in the spring. Seattle and Shoreline Parks have been extremely accommodating is assigning us our game fields. We appreciate your understanding of this reality.

General Information
Please read the FAQ, Rules, and Coaches Page before emailing SYSA with questions. Most of the answers to the questions we are asked are found in these documents. Thanks!

Frequently Asked Questions

Spring Soccer Rules

Coaches Page

To Find Your Fall Team ID Number, Go To the Registration Page

Respect The 5 Minute Rule
All games MUST end 5 minutes before the hour. NO EXCEPTIONS. Please respect the teams and players with games after yours. END YOUR GAME ON TIME!