Frequently Asked Questions

TEAMS, GAMES AND PRACTICES
REGISTRATION
REFUNDS
HOW CAN I HELP?
MORE SOCCER

TEAMS, GAMES AND PRACTICES

When is practice? Practices usually last 1 to 1.5 hours. Each coach picks the day of the week, place and time; your coach will notify you. Coaches must wait until a call-in day to get their fields. This date is listed on our calendar of upcoming events. SCSA uses various Elementary School fields in Anderson Township and West Clermont county and Anderson Park District Fields.

What day of the week are the games played? The spring season consists of 5 games played on Sundays. The fall season, Dribblers and Trappers play 8 games and the other age groups play 10 games. The first game is played on the Saturday before Labor Day. No games are scheduled on Labor Day weekend.  On the first two weekends, most teams play on both Saturday and Sunday. Afterwards, most games are on Saturdays. The end of season tournament takes place on a Saturday and Sunday.

Where are games played? SCSA uses Anderson Park District Fields (Clear Creek, Riverside, Kellogg, and Veteran’s Park).

What are the rules and bylaws for the Southeast Cincinnati Soccer Association? The rules range from a simple 4v4 game with no goalkeepers or throw-ins for the youngest players to a full 11v11 game equivalent to high school rules.  Please CLICK HERE for the Official Rules Guide and Bylaws.

What is the uniform? At the youngest level, Dribblers and Trappers receive team T-shirts included as part of the registration fee. Older teams provide their own shirts or can continue to use these T-shirts. All boys need shorts (typically black),soccer socks (typically black), shin-guards and acceptable shoes. Metal cleats and baseball cleats (with a cleat in the middle front of the shoe) are not acceptable. Soccer shoes and gym shoes are acceptable.

Can boys play wearing a cast? Our league policy is this: hard casts = NO. Soft casts can be used provided they are wrapped in bubble wrap, such that the referee agrees the cast doesn’t pose a danger to others. Only your doctor can decide whether your son can play a rough game like soccer while healing.

REGISTRATION

When are tryouts?  There are no tryouts for SCSA rec soccer; boys of all abilities are welcome to play.
Can I request that my son play on his friends team? Our player placement guidelines require that we organize teams first and foremost by neighborhood, as represented by your son’s elementary school. You are welcome to request assignment with a teammate, but we can’t often accommodate those requests. Our overall goal is to have teams that are evenly matched in skill, because fair competition is more fun and more instructive.
How do we change teams? Our default is to keep your son on the same team he played on last year. When you register, you can request to change teams in the “comments” section (or write it on your paper registration). In that case your son enters the player pool and is added to any team that needs players (except for his previous team).
Will my son play for a different coach this spring?  Maybe. We try to keep teams together as much as possible. There are two reasons why we can’t always do this.

(1) Not everyone plays and or coaches in the spring, so often players must be moved to form spring teams. Usually, these boys return to their original team in the fall.

(2) Some divisions include boys born in two years. At some point those teams move up to the next division. This division change happens in the spring. If a boy is too young to move up with a team, he’ll be placed in a new team in a division that includes his age. Similarly if a boy is too old to stay with his team, he’ll placed in a new team in a division that includes his age.

Can we register for both spring and fall at the same time? No, you must register individually (at different times) for each season. Spring registration begins in January; Fall registration begins in May. You must register for each season you wish your son to play.

Why do you ask for our public elementary school? It’s a good way of determining your neighborhood, which helps in placing players on teams.

REFUNDS

If my son does not play, can I have a refund? When you register, you make a commitment to have your son join a team and play. We will refund the league fee if he can’t play. Reasons include early-season injuries, moving out of the area, or making the high school or select team. Contact president@scsa-soccer.org with your son’s name and the reason for the request. Requests made before registrations closes are almost always honored.

HOW CAN I HELP?

Do you need assistant coaches or other volunteers? YES! We encourage parents to participate in our organization. We want to continue to improve and grow our soccer program and you can be of help. Running a soccer program takes a lot of volunteer labor. Here are some options:

  • Coaches and assistants: Work with the boys at practice and games. Our most important volunteers, they are the face of the league.
  • Referees: The only paid position. Requires training and certification, see the REFEREES page
  • Referee assigners: Behind the scenes job. Make sure each game has the required referees, and try to build the pool of referees by pairing experienced refs with less experienced ones.
  • Player Assigners: Manage who plays for which team, and communicate with the coaches. Requires good computer and communication skills
  • Board Members: If you’d like to join the governing board, please contact Chris Hovde, SCSA president. Temporary appointments are often available. Board members are elected by a vote of coaches at the fall meeting.
  • Smaller jobs:
    • helping out at coaches night, where we have shirts to sell, pictures to sign up for, as well as schedules to hand out.
    • Staff our booth at the Forest Hills 5 K. Smile a lot and hand out prizes.
    • Help put up nets before the season.
    • Help take down nets after the season.
    • Deliver trophies to game fields.

MORE SOCCER

My son wants to move up to Select Soccer. What do we do? SCSA is affiliated with the Cincinnati United Southeast select soccer program. Check their web site for details on when tryouts are scheduled. You are also welcome to explore other soccer programs. Note that Select Soccer has different cut-off birth dates for its divisions.

My son wants to play Select Soccer and Rec Soccer. Sorry, league rules prevent boys from playing in both leagues in the same season. Have him organize pick-up games with his friends instead.

My son wants to play for his High School team. High school rules don’t allow players to participate in another league while playing for their high school team. If he doesn’t make the high school team he is welcome to continue in the rec soccer program. If he does make the program, congratulations, and ask for a refund of the rec soccer fee.