by Bob Mueser

Week 4

Evening everyone, I hope everyone had a great weekend of games during this abnormally sunny and warm September week/weekend of soccer.

Just a few notes as we go into Week 4:
1. Game Format, as a reminder, the league format for regular season games is as follows:
  • First and second grade matches – 5v5 (4 on the field and a keeper).  If a team is short players you should make sure that it is a fair contest by playing down, sharing players, etc.
  • Third and fourth grade matches – 7v7 (6 on the field and a keeper).  If a team is short players you should make sure that it is a fair contest by playing down, sharing players, etc.
  • JV/Varsity matches – 11v11 (10 on the field and a keeper).  There is no requirement to play down if another team is short (but coaches have the option to do so if they want to or if the game is getting out of hand).
2. Developmental (boys and girls) and the All Girls JV/Varsity tournament registration is open.  Some grade brackets are starting to fill up so I would focus on registering sooner rather than later.  As a reminder, I am time stamping registrations and preference for the tournament acceptance goes to those that register first.  In the event that a bracket is filled up prior to your registration that team may be waitlisted and there is a possibility that they don’t get to compete that day.
3. Remember the pre-game contact with the opposing coaches.  For the most part it appears to be happening, but I know of a couple instances where it hasn’t.  I know from first hand experience that it is far better to shoot a quick email to the opposing coach and confirm game details instead of organizing your entire team to show up at the wrong venue, wrong time or wrong day (or wearing the wrong jersey color).  I’d ask everyone to be responsive and diligent on this as schedules sometimes change or get inputted into the spreadsheet or webpage incorrectly.  Consider that the final quality check to ensure that your game is going to happen.
4. Also, for JV/Varsity, remember to upload the game cards to the webpage as soon as you can, often it is easiest to just snap a picture after the game and upload it then.  That ensures you remember to get the game cards from the ref as well as ensuring that you don’t forget.  It also keeps our league tables current.  If you forget, I may not always have time to remind you and if too much time passes then your game may not count for standings and that could impact your playoff implications.
That is all, I hope you all have another great week on the pitch and don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns.
Regards,
Rob Glentzer
by Bob Mueser

Week 3

Good morning, as we head into week 3 of our season I had just a few quick items to share with you all, they are as follows:

1. JV/Varsity Score reporting – We are two weeks in and all games played have been reported online, thank you for that, it makes all of our jobs easier. If you have any issues uploading the scores, please let Bob or me know. We have had a few minor issues pop up that we are working on fixing, thanks for letting us know of the glitches when they occur.

2. End of Season Developmental and All Girls Tournament Registration – Registration is open for the developmental tournament. Please send me the teams that you would like to register and I will time stamp the entries (so far I have received entries from SKS and AGS). In the event that a bracket fills up before the registration deadline of 10/15, the teams that were registered first will have priority. As a reminder we will try to have the following age brackets 1, 2, 1/2, 3, 4, 3/4, JV Girls, Varsity Girls. In the event that I do not have enough 1/2 and 3/4 grade teams, those teams will play in the 2 and 4 grade bracket respectively. For the All Girls teams please note whether you are fielding a JV squad, a Varsity squad or a mixed squad. If we do not have enough teams to do a JV and V bracket separately for the girls we will combine those brackets as we have done in the past.

3. Rule Correction – Deep in the rules you will find the build out line rules. One correction there, it states those only apply to 3 and 4 grade. The build out rule should also apply to the 1 and 2 grade teams as well. Typically those smaller fields do not have a separate build out line and instead use the midfield line as the build out spot. Please let your coaches, players and refs know about the build out rule and that it applies to all of developmental soccer (but not to JV/Varsity).

4. Updated contact list – I’ve sent a further revised contact list that has a change to the Aquinas third grade coaches and a correction to the Referee Coordinator contact email. At this point I am not aware of any further corrections so this list should be considered final (hopefully).

Thanks and I hope everyone has a great week of games,

Rob

by Bob Mueser

Fall 2021 regular season notes

As we prepare to start our regular season this weekend I do have some reminders:

1. Communication. Please reach out to the opposing team to confirm playing times, locations, jersey colors (Home is Dark, Away is Light), and COVID regulations of the home field, if any. For those of you playing this weekend, the Home team should have initiated conversation, if they have not, the Away team should reach out on Thursday. If COVID events or weather events necessitate reschedules please let everyone know with as much notice as possible. Remember, if the fields are still safe, we can play in the rain, home team makes the call on field conditions up until the start of the game. Once the game has started the referees make the call on game conditions. If you are playing on turf though, generally rain is not a reason to cancel a game unless it is accompanied by thunderstorms with lightning.

2. No Mandatory COVID Playdown Rules. Mandatory COVID playdown rules are not in effect for JV/Varsity. If a team shows up short you may play down, but you are not required to at the JV/Varsity level. If a developmental team doesn’t have enough players work with the other team to ensure some parity, whether that involves reducing your players on field or lending the other team a few of your players each half. The goal at the developmental level is to get everyone touches, develop skills, and have a fun time while doing so.

3. Sportsmanship. A lot of time was spent trying to get the brackets as even as possible. That being said, there will probably be some times this season where you find yourself mismatched either to your advantage or disadvantage. If you find yourself up on a team early, switch some players around and have them play where they are not as strong yet (its great development for them), adjust the style of the game and play possession, shoot with your non-dominant foot, play a man or two (or more down), or if the referees permit it, allow the other team to add a player or two. There are other score mitigation solutions discussed in our rule book as well that might be helpful. If you beat a team by 8 goals or more the game and the circumstances will be reviewed. If we feel that a pattern is emerging or that even absent a pattern, a team is not exercising good sportsmanship, the league reserves the right to set aside wins that have a goal differential of 8 or more. Remember, at the JV/V level, goal differential is capped at 4 goals per game so anything over 4 won’t count come playoffs

4. Referee Fees. At the JV and Varsity Level each game will have two Referees at the Referee’s fees are $45 per referee per game, payable by the home team. In the event that only one referee shows up, the game should proceed with the one referee and two linesmen, one from each team. Coaches should pick linesmen that can be fair and impartial, have a basic knowledge of the game, can call a ball in or out, and ideally some understanding of the offside rule. This does not occur often, but if it does, its better to get the game in than to have to try to reschedule. If no referees show up please call me and/or the referee coordinator on our cell phones. One of us should answer and we will try to figure something out. This has never happened yet, but it is good to have a plan in place in case it does.

5. Rescheduling Requirements. Remember, the schedule last circulated is the schedule. If you need to reschedule the following should occur: 1. Notify the other team of the issue, cc: the referee coordinator (only for JV/Varsity or if you are using PIAA referees at developmental), the Webmaster and me on the request (that contact information is in the coach’s contact sheets). If the request is less than 48 hours you should also phone the referee coordinator (only for JV/Varsity or if you are using PIAA referees at developmental) and the opposing coach. For JV/Varsity or if you are using PIAA referees at developmental, if it is too short of notice or you don’t follow the above procedures you may still be responsible to pay the referee fees regardless of whether the game is played. 2. Both teams need to agree on a date and time. For JV/Varsity or if you are using PIAA referees at developmental, once that is established, notify the referee coordinator (only for JV/Varsity or if you are using PIAA referees at developmental), the Webmaster and me and obtain the referee coordinators sign off. If you do not obtain the referee’s sign off please reach out to me, as you cannot assume that everything is fine without their signoff. At both the Developmental level and the JV/V level, all games should be played. Refusing to travel to a team to play can result in league imposed sanctions (see earlier email for more details on this topic). For JV/Varsity games all games must be played by 10/31 in order to count for standings. If you are having difficulty having another team agree to a reschedule, please let me know, I will assist in the effort. Ultimately, unplayed games will either be a non-score or a forfeit, depending on the circumstances involved.

6. Team Rosters. Please remember to turn the Team Rosters, they are due Friday.

7. Website. I will let you all know once our website is updated for the fall season. As a reminder, our web address is https://pittdsl.org/

8. Developmental and All Girls JV/V Tournament and JV/V Championship Series (A/K/A Playoffs). I will have some tentative information on the Postseason DSL Play here shortly. Please keep 10/30 for the Dev. Tournament and All Girls Tournament as a placeholder and 11/6 and 11/7 as a placeholder for the JV/V Championship Series. I am finalizing some details there but hope to get you all information within the next week.

That is all for me, good luck to the teams that start their season this week and for the rest of you, enjoy the Labor Day weekend and good luck the following week.

by Rob Glentzer

Week 1

Hello Everyone:

As we head into week 1, please remember to touch base with your opponents  to coordinate game details (Home coaches should be reaching out but if they don’t, Away coaches should).  Check your emails, today resent contact lists that reflects updates to AMA’s third/fourth grade contact info and AGS second grade coaches contact info.

Also, remember rosters are due by this Friday, failure to have a roster on file prior to a game could result in a forfeiture.

Also, for JV/Varsity I sent an updated game card that will allow you to directly upload the game card/game day roster to this webpage.  This new system should really streamline things and make it easier for you to just upload the game scores right from the field and be done with it (as a reminder, the winning team uploads the info and, in the event of a tie, the Home team does.  The winning team (or Home team if there is a tie, should upload their game card and their opponents (just place them side by side and take one pic of them both and upload).

For any game that involves PIAA referees that has a cancellation or reschedule it is up to the home team to reach out to Chuck Pruss and notify him so he can make contact with the referees.  If cancellations aren’t received with enough notice you may still be responsible for paying the refs, so please do not forget to contact Chuck.

You may get another more email from me as we head into the games this weekend, and don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions this week or on game day.

Good Luck Everyone!

Rob Glentzer
DSL Commissioner

by Bob Mueser

Welcome to the new home of the Diocese of Pittsburgh Soccer League

We are happy to announce the launch of this site and hope that it will become the hub of information for soccer for the diocese. As with most new sites, we expect to be adding new information and features in the future. If you have any questions or suggestions, please send an email to webmaster@pittdsl.org

As of March 8 2021, all teams are cleared to start practicing. The first week of games will be March 26 – March 29. There will be no games the following weekend April 2 – April 5 in celebration of Easter.

In order to get prepared for the season, he Diocese of Pittsburgh Soccer league is happy to announce an upcoming 20% off weekend at the Cranberry, McCandless and Robinson stores on March 12-15 2021.  Families just need to have a hardcopy coupon in hand, or pull it up on their phone at checkout.  In addition, if the store is out of an item or size you can simply order the item online in-store that day and still receive the 20% off discount.

This discount can be used for most items not just Soccer equipment.  Few exclusions such as AMMO, Ping, Titleist, Callaway, TaylorMade, Nike Golf, and Ugg.

Good luck to all of our teams playing this spring!