by Bob Mueser

Reminders for this week

All:
Fully understanding that many fields are still snow covered, but as a reminder, please remember to reach out to the opposing teams to coordinate on this weekends game and home teams, make a determination on the playability of your fields as soon as you are able, but in no event later than 3 hours prior to the game.  Remember any cancellations must be communicated to both the opposing teams and the refs.  For JV/V matches that would be Russ and for PIAA refs for dev and all girls that would be Chuck.  For schools that use their own refs at developmental and all girls, I'll defer to you on how you notify them. 
Also, remember, if cancellations are within 48 hours they should be both emailed to me and the refs and sent via text or phone call to Russ or Chuck, as applicable.  Failure to follow those procedures will result in you still having to pay the referees even if the match isn't played.
Finally, thanks to the schools that have sent me rosters, I can confirm receipt of the following rosters:
  • Ave Maria (JV and V only, all developmental are still outstanding)
  • Blessed Seelos 
    (JV and V only, all developmental are still outstanding)
  • Carlow
  • Holy Sepulcher
  • Sacred Heart
  • St. Bede
  • Sts. Peter and Paul
For all teams other than the ones listed above, I am still awaiting rosters and tomorrow is the deadline.  Having verified rosters submitted is the safest way to avoid having games set aside for having ineligible players competing.  In order to protect your teams from having games set aside for ineligible players each team must submit rosters prior to the this Friday.

Regards,

Rob Glentzer

by Bob Mueser

DSL Week 1 – Follow Up

I forgot to mention that Player Rosters for Grades 1 through 8 are due by Thursday.  These need to be signed by the principal or pastor to verify that the student attends your catholic school or another diocesan team that has been approved by me in advance for combining.  These rosters are used to help verify that no one is using other players if questioned later on and are required to be submitted to me prior to your first game.  
I previously sent the form of roster around, but here is a link to the forms page as well on the webpage where you can grab it from if needed.https://pittdsl.org/forms/

by Bob Mueser

DSL – Week 1

All:

As we head into the the start of the soccer season this week, I wanted to reach out on a few reminders for the season:
1.  Attached is, what I believe to be, the final contact list.  Please use this to contact opposing coaches, referee coordinators and me as needed.  As a reminder, the home team should be reaching out to the opposing team by Wednesday to confirm specifics.  Opposing team, if you haven't heard from them by Thursday, please reach out and cc me on the email.  If you fail to reach out, you run the chance of having jerseys too similar, arriving at the wrong location, or arriving for a game that one of the teams didn't think was happening.
2. Weather towards the end of the week doesn't look too bad, as a reminder though, cancellations must be sent to opposing coaches/ref coordinators no later than 3 hours before the game, which means, if your game times are 8:30 am, you must make a call by 5:30 am if you are playing or the night before so that opposing teams and refs can plan accordingly.  For cancellations, also remember if it is within 48 hours of game time, Chuck (for schools using PIAA refs for the developmental and all girls leagues) and/or Russ (for JV/V Co-ed matches) must be called/texted as well as emailed.  Failure to follow this protocol could result in you having to pay for refs that day if they show up or the forfeiting of the match.
3. I know Russ and Chuck are working on staffing the referee schedules.  
  • For JV/Varsity Co-ed games, nothing more is needed on your end (other than keeping us current with any cancellations/reschedules).  The Refs will be paid via arbiter so coaches won't need to pay those refs.  Coaches will need to have a copy of the game cards for the opposing coach and the refs and the winning team (home team if there is a tie) will need to get a signed game card at the end of the game to upload to the standings site via the included QR code.  Failure to get the game card may result in the game not counting towards standings (which determine playoff eligibility).  If you need a copy of the card, see the link for our forms and select Game Card.  https://pittdsl.org/forms/
  • For Developmental and All Girls refs – Schools are free to use their own refs or to coordinate with Chuck on providing PIAA refs.  Home teams are responsible for paying refs (PIAA refs will be $55 per person per game, other refs that the schools use are at whatever pay scale agreed to, usually between $20 and $30 per game)

4. Also, games have been uploaded to the web site for JV/V games.  Please go to the schedule tab of our website and review your games and make sure everything looks accurate.  Also, please check out the “Schools” tab and “Fields” tab and let us know if anything needs updated there as well.  We are relying on you to make sure that your school related content is accurate and we can make any changes requested if needed.  Web address is puttdsl.org

5. For JV/V matches, please remember to both get the signed game card back from the ref and to immediately upload it to the webpage.  You can do so by scanning the QR code or using this link https://pittdsl.org/report-score/ , complete your email address, together with the Divisions (JV/V), and league (Premier (11's), MLS (7's), or Girls, Selecting the correct home team and away team (note if a school has multiple teams playing don't forget to use colors (St Kilians Green or White and Sacred Heart Red or Black are the ones to watch for this season), selecting the correct score, and uploading pictures of both sides of your and the opponent's game cards (you can post two pics).  Once that is all uploaded, hit submit and do not leave the screen until you get the successful upload update.
6. Finally, remember sportsmanship, especially early on in the season where many teams have one or no practices prior to the start of the season.   We do not permit goal differentials in a game to be larger than 7.  If a team exceeds that, you run the risk of that game being set aside and not having it counted for standings.
Thats all for me, good luck and lets hope the fields dry out a bit!  Also, please remember that rain doesn't mean we don't play.  If a team is on turf they can still play and even grass fields can be playable if the traction is safe enough for action.  Lightning though would result in a game delay of 30 minutes from the last seen storm activity.
Rob

by Bob Mueser

DSL – Final S26 Schedules

All:
Thank you for the clean up comments to the schedule.  To the extent a game day, time or location has been impacted, head coaches and soccer coordinators for each team have been individually notified over the weekend.  The attached schedule reflects the cumilation of those changes and should be considered the final schedule.  Please disregard the schedule circulated on Friday.
Going forward, if any additional changes are needed you'd need to follow the game rescheduling procedure, whereby both coaches need to agree to the new game day/time/location, cc me on the email, and for MLS or Premier League games, cc Russ Caprio for his sign off on ref coverage and for Developmental or Girls 5v5 games that use PIAA refs, cc Chuck Pruss for his sign off on ref coverage.
Thanks and there will be more informtaion to come, but getting the scheduled finalized so that you can now share with your teams ahead of schedule.
Russ and Chuck, please refer to the attached for Ref Assignments and Bob, you can start uploading the JV/V games onto the website at this time as well.
Regards,

by Bob Mueser

DSL Schedule Reminder

Coaches/Coordinators:
Thanks to those that have caught scheduling errors.  I have been making corrections in real time and have been emailing impacted teams as a heads up and those changes will also be reflected in the revised schedule circulated early next week.
As a reminder, I will only update the schedule for errors.  I have received quite a few scheduling requests that were not errors.  While we do our best to accommodate scheduling requests that are indicated on the registration form, it is not practical for us to entertain additional scheduling requests at this time.  What seems like a minor change involving only two teams, could have large ripple effects on the other age brackets and these can take hours for me to go through each one finding a fix that doesn't adversely impact other age brackets.  
So coaches, if there is a game on a day you work, or a newly announced school event has occurred, all of these can be addressed, but we require you to reach out to the opposing coach and you work out a makeup date and then coordinate with me, Russ (for MLS and Premier League) or Chuck (for Dev and all Girls games if they are using PIAA refs) to ensure coverage.  I noted this procedure in the cover email I sent on Friday, but I've still had numerous emails requesting such changes (14 so far)a.  
Going forward, if I see such a scheduling request that isn't an error on my end, I will just going to respond “see email previously sent on this topic”.  It's not to be rude, but there is just one of me and over a hundred head coaches, so I want to get ahead of the issue in a way that won't be overly time consuming.  Plus, after spending the better part of two weeks making the schedule, I would prefer to limit the times I have to go back in and open the schedule back up on my end.
Rob Glentzer

by Bob Mueser

DSL S26 – Schedule, Contact List and Kickoff Email

Good afternoon,

 

Please see below and the attached information relating to the DSL Spring 26' Soccer Season, I know this is a long email, but this email contains most of what you need to get things off to a right start this season.  Also, note that I updated my distribution list to include the new coaches whose contact info I received and deleted some of the coaches who I know to have rotated out.  AD's and Coordinators, please check with your coaches to make sure that everyone who needs to receive this email did. Coaches, please check with your coordinators and AD's to make sure that they have received this email and let me know if i need to add anyone else.  Along those same lines, if you are receiving this email and you would like to not receive emails any more, let me know and I'll remove you from the list.

Schedules:

For those that have coached before in the league, the format of the Schedules should be familiar.   I've attached both in Excel formats, let me know if anyone has trouble opening them.  In both documents, there is a tab for each of the following brackets:

·       First Grade

·       Second Grade

·       First/Second Grade

·       Third Grade

·       Fourth Grade

·       Third/Fourth Grade

·       Girls V 

·       MLS (7's JV/V bracket)

·       Premier (11's JV/V bracket)

Home teams are listed first and are in blue, Away teams are listed second and are in yellow – if something doesn't look right let me know, it may be a typo or I should be able to explain it.    For those that are new to coaching and are having trouble understanding the schedule, check with your coordinator, AD or a seasoned coach and they should be able to explain it.  If you still can't make sense of it, reach out to me and I can walk you through it.  Home game days, times and locations are listed for each school and if you are the away team refer to the hosting teams information rows for those details, unless the cell for your game contains a different time or location, then refer to that specific time/location.  Note, we generally conformed to time requests but in some instances modified them slightly to allow for the increasing loss of daylight throughout the season and/or to make referee coverage easier to provide.  Generally speaking, each JV/V team plays 8 games and each developmental team plays 7.  In developmental brackets that have an odd amount of teams, one randomly selecting team has an 8th game to make sure that all teams get at least 7 because of, well, math.  

The attached schedule reflects our best efforts to accommodate all of the requests that we received.  If something changed from the date that you submitted your registration or I was not able to accommodate the request that you made, you will need to reach out to the opposing team to coordinate a new game time, please include me on those emails.  Note, in some instances at the developmental level we have schools with multiple teams playing one another on a black out date with the understanding that the school will play that game amongst its two teams on a date that makes sense for them.   Also, home teams must remember to include me on emails that update game information, and with respect to JV/Varsity Co-ed matches, they must include our JV/V PIAA referee coordinator, Russ Caprio, who is cc'd here, and with respect to developmental or Girls Varsity matches where PIAA refs are utilized, they must include our Dev/Girls PIAA referee coordinator, Chuck Pruss, who is also cc'd here.  Home Teams, please communicate issues as they are discovered with ample time and consideration provided to all involved.  Away teams please be understanding and as flexible as you can when home teams reach out– many of our schools have struggled with field availability issues this and other seasons, any flexibility you can provide if a team reaches out will be appreciated by all involved.

I'd encourage each team to double check the schedule and make sure that I did not make any errors and notify me of any errors by 5pm this Sunday, March 8.  For each cell in your row check the corresponding visitors team cell and make sure the info matches.  This whole process is still done by hand so human error can be a factor.  We coordinated the scheduling of 417 games while taking into consideration countless, and sometimes conflicting, scheduling requests, so despite being reviewed by a couple of people multiple times, odds are still good that a few mistakes made it through, if you see something that doesn't look right, let me know.  Accordingly, I would ask coaches to not share this information with your players until the earlier of Tuesday, March 10, or the date that I recirculate a revised schedule so that any such errors have a chance to be identified and corrected before schedules are more widely distributed.  Also note that other than errors for corrections from the registration forms, all other changes will need to be addressed by you and the opposing team, mutually agreeing to new game day/time as applicable, and getting the referee coordinator's sign off (if applicable) and notifying me.  For those types of changes I will not recirculate revised schedules as it is not practical given the amount of changes that occur during the season.  If any registration corrections need to occur I will circulate those one time on or before Tuesday to this group, if needed.  

Also note that we are providing this info to our web director at the same time you get it so the website will lag a bit before the games show up there.

Referee Update:  Similar to how Basketball converted their referee assigning/payment system this year, the DSL will also be transitioning to the new system for referee assignment/payments.  We will be using the Arbiter system where Russ Caprio will coordinate the assignment of referees for the games.  As mentioned earlier, the referee fee will be increased to $55 for such JV/V games.  For the Developmental games and all girls games we will not be using arbiter and schools are welcome to use their own referees for those games at whatever rates you pay, or to use the PIAA refs at $55 per game.  For the time being, those Developmental and all girl games will continue to be paid in cash and I will let you know if that changes.

Coaches' Contact List

I've also attached a Coach's Contact List for use throughout the season.  Home Teams should be reaching out to opposing teams no later than 3 days prior to your game to confirm location, day, time, jersey colors, and any other venue specific or relevant information.  If the Home team fails to reach out by then the Away Team should then initiate contact.  If either team has difficulty reaching the opposing coach and/or coordinator, feel free to notify me and I can assist.  Coordinators and AD's, you will see that I am missing contact info for certain teams highlighted in Yellow.  Please review and get me this missing info ASAP.  Head Coaches, please take a few minutes to review your contact information and let me know if any changes are needed – I've set a goal for this group to keep the amount of times that we need to recirculate this list to two or less.  Let's review this now and catch any errors the first time. After the redistribution, I will limit updates to this list to every couple of weeks so please take the time to review it now.  If you do not have coach contact information for a particular game, please reach out to the soccer coordinator.

Game Reschedules 

If a venue, date or time change occurs then you must notify the away coach and let me know.  For games that involve our PIAA referees, our referee coordinator must be made aware of the change as well so that he can verify referee coverage. If the change involves a date, time, or venue change then the following procedure must be followed: 

Co-ed JV/Varsity matches – Coaches need to agree on a mutual date and time for a reschedule, home and away status should not change, unless the home team is unable to find a date that works for them and they agree to play away.  Once that date/time/venue is agreed upon an email needs to be sent to me at [email protected] and to Russ Caprio at [email protected] and Russ and I need to sign off on the changes. 

Developmental matches and Girls matches – Coaches need to agree on a mutual date and time for a reschedule, home and away status should not change, unless the home team is unable to find a date that works for them and they agree to play away.  Once that date/time/venue is agreed upon an email needs to be sent to me at [email protected] If our referee coordinator is providing refs to the game then to Chuck Pruss at [email protected] so he can verify referee coverage.  

All changes should be made with a minimum of three hours’ notice and much more whenever possible.  Changes that involve our PIAA referees (all Co-ed JV/V games and certain Developmental/Girls games) should be made with 48 hours notice.  If less than 48 hours notice is provided then Russ or Chuck, as applicable should be called on his cell phone as well.  Failure to follow those procedures may result in game forfeitures and/or the need to pay referees for their time even if no game has been played.  If all of these methods fail, don’t hesitate to call me personally.   It is very important that all games, especially at the JV/V level are played.  We will be more proactive at assessing forfeits if the situation warrants those and as a reminder, forfeit wins result in 2 standing points and forfeit losses result in negative 2 standing points.

Rules

Here is a link to the league's current rule book.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1M2NFz3gL87BQtepTvQ0qURi8yJ-_V2Fy/view. 

Also here is a link to some common forms that may be helpful

https://pittdsl.org/forms/ 

Note player rosters are needed for all teams.  Game Day Cards are only needed for JV/Varsity matches– each team needs at least two of those completed, one for the referees and one for the opposing coach.  

Some common rules at the developmental level that are incorrectly applied are as follows:

· Offsides – Not called at 1/2 levels but it is called at 3/4 levels– towards the end of the season 1/2 grades should introduce this concept as obvious offsides calls will be made at the Developmental Tournament

· Fouls – All fouls at the developmental level result in an indirect kick.  We do not have direct kicks or penalty kicks at this level.  If a foul is committed in the penalty box, the ball should be set on the end of the box and an indirect kick should be awarded.  Referees still have discretion to caution players, ask them to sit out for a cooling off period or even issue cards if the situation warrants them.

· Build out line – It is played at the developmental level.  Refer to the rules for a discussion of the build out line.

Finally, here is a summary of game days/procedures cut and pasted from an older email (but still relevant):

1.      Jersey Colors – Home team is dark, Away team is light.  If the referee determines that the colors are too similar the home team is required to either change their jerseys or wear pinnies.  The coordination of jersey colors is something that should be discussed by the coaches in the email/phone/text change that occurs prior to the games and discussed below.

2.      Confirmation of Game Details – As we have done in the past, each home coach should reach out to the away coach on or before Wednesday (or two days prior if your game is played before Friday) to confirm game times and locations, directions and jersey colors (see attached spreadsheet for coach contact information).  Please cc the soccer coordinator as well for that school.  The home coach should also share any venue specific rules, if any, that the home school or venue is requiring (such as prohibition on pets, parking rules, etc.).   If the away team has not heard from the home team by Thursday (or one day prior if the game day is before Friday), they should reach out and initiate contact with the home team’s coach and soccer coordinator.  If no contact has been able to be made, please reach out to me.  Be a courteous and respectful guest and remember that whatever regulations and rules that your school employs may not be applicable at someone else’s fields.  If there are compliance issues here, please let me know as I prefer to get ahead of these issues than to let them get out of control.  Also, if the current contact list doesn't include information on a head coach to contact, please send the email directly to the Soccer Coordinator instead.

3.  Attendance at away games is not optional – I have heard reports of schools, mostly at the developmental level, opting not to play another school because the drive was too far.  That is not how this league works.  In order for schools to have home games, away games are part of the deal.  A lot of time and effort has been put into this league by me, by you, by our players and our parents; everyone is pulling their oars in the same direction so that the kids get a chance to have fun and learn the sport.  If I hear reports of schools unilaterally deciding to not show up because of travel times or other unapproved reasons, I will look into the situation and react accordingly.  As I mentioned last year, that could include, but not be limited to losing home games in the following season for either that particular team or possibly the school.  In extreme instances it could also result in schools being suspended for a season.  I am hopeful that we don't have any such issues this season though and we can continue to focus our efforts on making this league and our sport better.

4. Reschedule Requests- Games can only be cancelled and rescheduled due to weather and due to Diocesan and School events.   

i)  For Developmental Games and Girls Games, the coach/coordinator for the requesting school should reach out to the coach of the opposing team with the request and cc the opposing school's coordinator and me.  Both parties need to agree to the rescheduled day and time.  If one school is being uncooperative, let me know.  If PIAA referees are being used, Chuck Pruss must also be made aware.

ii)  For Co-ed JV and Varsity Games, the coach/coordinator for the requesting school should reach out to the coach of the opposing team with the request and cc the opposing school's coordinator, me and Russ Caprio.   Both parties need to agree to the rescheduled time.  No alternative time is final until Russ can confirm that he is able to provide referee coverage for the alternative time. 

5.  Game Cancellations – As much time as possible should be provided prior to cancelling a game.  In no event should cancellation notice be provided with less than 3 hours notice.  Notice must be given to the other team and I need to be cc'd on the email or sent a follow up email if cancellation notice was delivered via call or text.  With respect to Co-ed JV/Varsity games or Developmental/Girls games that use PIAA referees any cancellation notices that are within 48 hours of game time also need to be texted or called into the referee coordinator (email notice of less than 48 hours may not be received so calling/texting is imperative).  Once the game starts the referee makes the call on cancellation due to weather– Please note, we play in rain, but if the field is saturated to the point where play is unsafe or lightning strikes, that can result in a delay and/or cancellation by the referee.  Failure to follow cancellation protocols can result in league action and if they involve PIAA referees, the referee fees will have to be paid regardless of whether the game has occurred if the referees travel to the game site due to not being informed of the cancellation in a timely and correct manner.

6. Webpage- With respect to the JV/Varsity games those schedules will be loaded onto the webpage.  Please refer to this schedule until such time as we have updated the webpage, please be patient, we are volunteers with day jobs so we are all doing this in our free time and will get it uploaded as soon as we are able.  As always, each coach should be making contact with the opposing team to verify game details in advance of the game.  Relying solely on either this schedule or the webpage can result in errors– in almost every instance of teams showing up on the wrong days/locations/times, it is directly attributable to coaches not confirming with one another game details in advance.

7. Referees –  JV and Varsity games in the MLS and Premier divisions (the 7v7 and 11v11 co-ed league) are provided for by the DSL.  These referees are generally PIAA referees, and the home team is responsible for paying the referee fees, which are $55 per official per game.  There are typically two referees per game so in a standard home series of one JV and one Varsity game, the home team would pay $220 for two referees for those two games.  At the JV/V co-ed league there are 4 home games for JV and 4 home games for Varsity.  At the girls JV/V and the developmental games (grades 1-4) schools have the option of using their own referees at the pay scale they use or they can also use PIAA referees by contacting Chuck Pruss to get such coverage.  Those refs are paid $55 per game and the schools should use one or two referees per game (The DSL recommends one referee for first and second grade levels and two referees for the third, fourth and all girls JV/V games). 

8. Post-Season Play – While playoffs are still a ways away, there are a few notes on post-season play that I wanted to share with everyone.  For Grades 1-4 and for the JV/V Girls league, we will have a round robin style tournament on May 16th at No Offseason in Russellton.  Registration for this tournament will open April 1st, and will close on the earlier of May 1st or until such time as the brackets fill.  JV/Varsity co-ed playoffs will be the week of June 1st through June 7th. Generally speaking, the following brackets will have the following playoff spots allocated to them:

            JV MLS – 9 teams, top 5 will advance to playoffs

            V MLS – 10 teams, top 6 will advance to playoffs

            JV Premier – 9 teams, top 5 will advance to playoffs

            Varsity Premier – 5 teams, top 3 will advance to playoffs.

The play-in games between the 4th and 5th seeds at the MLS JV and Premier JV leagues and between the 4th & 6th seed and 3rd & 5th seed at the MLS V league will occur during the week, likely Thursday June 4th and Friday, June 5th, but those games may need to be shifted to Tuesday and/or Wednesday due to field availability.  Semifinals for all MLS and Premier divisions will be Saturday, June 6, and Championship matches for those divisions will be on Sunday, June 7th.

Finally, here are a few more points as we go into the season:

· Two (2) Game Cards should be used for all JV and Varsity games – one is for the opposing coach and one is for the referee. Other documents will not be accepted. Call up players, e.g. JV playing up on varsity should be added to the game card for the game.  Results of the game are to be posted online using the webpage or QR code by the winning team (or, in the event of a tie, the home team).  A picture of the results, roster and yellow/red card information must be included or the results will not be official.  It is best to upload this information immediately following the game. 

· Let’s remember sportsmanship and not run up the score. If you are up on a team by 3 or 4 goals you should start to implement measures to make the game more competitive.  You could instruct your players to pass more, playback and practice your build up, have your players shoot with their non-dominant foot, pull off a player or two, or ask the team if they would like to add a player or two (if the ref consents).  It is ok to want to win, and the players that work hard and are the better team that day deserve the win.  But it is also important to teach them how to win (and lose) with grace. Teams that win by more than 7 goals will be flagged for review and the results for that game could be set aside by the commissioner, in my sole discretion.  Repeat violations of this rule may result in the offending school being sanctioned with the loss of home games in the current or future season.

· We are a co-ed league, all coaches should be playing boys and girls in an equal manner and doing what they can to encourage the development of all players.

· Field Dimensions Below is a quick summary of some division specific information, but please consult the rules for a more detailed listing:

Division

Grades

Ball Size

Game Length

Field Size

Format

Goal Size

Heading

Slide Tackle

Jr. Developmental

1 & 2

3

 50 minutes

¼

5v5

6×8 or 6×12  (We will use 6×12 at the tournament)

No

No

Developmental

3 & 4

4

 50 minutes

½

7v7

6×12

No

No

JV

5 & 6

4

 60 minutes

Full (shorter field for 7's if possible)

11v11 or 7v7

8×24

No

No

Varsity

7 & 8

5

 60 minutes

Full (shorter field for 7's if possible)

11v11 or 7v7

8×24

Yes, but not punts or goal kicks

Yes, but not from behind and contact with the ball must be made first

 

Additionally, for the 5v5 Girls league I would recommend that field size be roughly equivalent to the 3/4 grade fields, which are to be roughly 1/2 field size or as close to 120' x 180' as you are able to get to.

We understand that everyone's field situations may differ and that you may not have a lot of control on the dimensions, that being said please try to adhere to a standard size field (or relatively close thereto) whenever possible.  The actual dimensions that I use in post season play serve as a good benchmark, and they are as follows

· 11v11 field – 200 ft x 360 ft

· 7v7 field – 160 ft x 250 ft

· 5v5 girls field – 120 ft x 180 ft

· 3/4 grade field – 120 ft x 180 ft

· 1/2 grade field – 80 ft x 120 ft

Last, but not least, please remember, we are doing this all for the kids.  Let’s keep and maintain a safe environment for them and set good examples for them throughout the season.  That’s all, if you've read this far, congrats, hopefully this is the longest email I will send all season.  Play safe, I hope you all have a great season this year, and don't hesitate to reach out if we can be of any help along the way.

Regards,

Rob Glentzer

DSL Soccer Coordinator

by Bob Mueser

DSL Updates

All:
A few updates as we enter into the start of soccer season:
1. Schedules – We are working through these and they will be delivered on schedule, on or before 3/17.  If things go as expected, they will likely be circulated this Friday, with an understanding that everyone will have a couple of days to review and let me know of any mistakes before I circulate final schedules out Monday morning.  
As in the past, I tried to make as many scheduling requests as possible.  Note though that schedule requests do cause problems on the scheduling front– as a rule of thumb, every schedule request you make results in a 50% chance of having to play two soccer games in a given week/weekend.  I do my best to shift things to minimize the impact as much as possible, but there is an impact.  so bear that in mind when the schedule come out– we have maximized our efforts on accommodating those requests and that does impact other things such as amount of home games or away games in consecutive weeks, distance you may travel to play a game, and in some instances, whether or not you have two games in a day.  If you have any questions on your particular schedule when it comes out, don't hesitate to reach out.
2. DSG Discount day – Please see attached for the DSG/DSL discount day where you can get up to 20% off at Dicks on most items in the store.  The sale will run from 3/13 through 3/16 and stores at Robinson, Ross Park Mall, South Hills Catholic, Cranberry and Monroeville are participating.
3. League payment, once schedules are complete I will focus on this a little more and verify who has sent in payment and which ones remain outstanding, as a reminder it is $125 per team.
4. First Games – Games will start the weekend of March 20-22.  Team rosters need to be delivered for each school's team and they need to be signed by the school's pastor or principal verifying enrollment.
5. Referee Updates – For the upcoming Spring 2026 DSL Season, here are a few updates with how we are handling referees for the JV and Varsity MLS and Premier Leagues.  

As many of you may have noticed in basketball, the Diocese is transitioning it's referee staffing onto the Arbiter platform.  This applies to assigning and payment at the JV/V level for the Co-ed League (Premier and MLS).  What this means for you going forward is as follows:  
    • Referee payments for JV/V Co-ed games will now match the basketball payment structure of $55 per referee, per game (2 refs per game).
    • Instead of the home team paying at the beginning or end of the match, game fees will be processed through the Arbiter platform, and payment will be sent electronically to the ref referees from the Diocese.
    • The Diocese will bill each school at the start of the season for the referee fees at $440 per team (each team has 4 home games, each game has two refs, and each ref gets paid $55 per game).
    • Contacts/Cancellations/Reschedules will now go through Russ Caprio.  I will include his contact info in the contact list distributed prior to the start of the season, and will confirm his cancellation procedures.  Any cancellations should be emailed to Russ and me, and Russ should be texted if cancellations/changes are within 48 hours of game time.  
    • Note – the above is only relevant for the JV/V Co-ed games for the regular season.  Developmental and the All-Girls League regular season and tournament will be processed as it always has been.  The JV/V Co-ed Playoffs will be handled a little differently than in the past, but the changes only impact what I will be doing; for teams that qualify everything on your end will remain as they were.  Also, if your school is using PIAA referees for Developmental games and/or the All-Girls League, Chuck Pruss will still remain the contact person for those games.
Regards,
Rob
by Bob Mueser

DSL – Final Day to Register Soccer Teams for Spring Season

All:
As a reminder, registration closes at the end of the day today for Spring Soccer for the DSL.  Unless you have spoken to me earlier, your registration forms need to be emailed to me by the end of the day and I will use that information to start scheduling.  
As in years past, if you register a team you are expected to play the whole season. Do not enter a team as a placeholder and hope that you have enough kids to play.  That will result in other schools not getting their games in and could result in a suspension of your school from the DSL for one season.  Similarly, to the extent that you want to register additional teams after the registration you can check with me and see, but it is not guaranteed.  If scheduling has not been completed yet for that bracket, odds are I can add them, but if scheduling is complete for that bracket we will not be able to add that team.  It doesn't hurt to ask, but after today, subsequent registrations may or may not be permitted.
Finally, as of 11:15 am today, here is a list of schools that I have received registration forms from.  If you believe you sent yours in but it is not on the below list, please contact me immediately an we can see if I missed it or if it needs to be resumbitted.
Schools for which registration forms have been received:
  • Aquinas
  • Ave Maria – tentative numbers received but awainting registration form
  • Butler Catholic – tentative numbers received but awainting registration form
  • Holy Family
  • Holy Sepulcher
  • Madonna – tentative numbers received but awainting registration form
  • Mary of Nazareth – tentative numbers received but awainting registration form
  • Mother of Mercy -tentative form received but awaiting the updated one
  • Sacred Heart
  • St. Bede – 
    tentative form received but awaiting the updated one
  • St. James
  • Sts. Peter & Paul – tentative numbers received but awaiting the registration form

by Bob Mueser

CDTCA Spring Tune-Up Developmental Indoor Soccer Tournament March 7th and 8th, 2026

Hello, Athletic Directors and Developmental Soccer Coaches.
 
Please find attached an informational flyer for the first annual Tune-Up Tournament at Christ the Divine Teacher Catholic Academy.
This two-day indoor soccer tournament is designed to be a fun environment for the kids to practice quick touches and movement without the ball, all in preparation for the spring 2026 DSL season.
  • Each team is guaranteed two games.
  • Group play occurs March 7th, with knockout matches beginning March 8th.
  • Games are three versus three, plus goalkeepers.
  • The style of play is similar to Futsal, with some rule differences.
  • All referees will be PIAA-certified soccer officials.
  • Only twelve team slots are available under the current format.
  • Each team may have ten players at most, with boys and girls eligible.
  • The maximum grade level is fourth, please.
  • Players on the top three finishing teams earn a medal.
  • Exclusive “Tournament Champion” T-shirts go to the side who wins it all!
Registration fees are $120.00 per team, but only $110 if received by February 21st, 2026.  There are only twelve slots and registration has already begun.  If your kids will benefit from extra training and enjoy some friendly competition before the season starts, then this tournament is for them.  Please reach out for a link to register via Microsoft Forms, for a copy of the tournament rules, or with any questions or comments.
We look forward to hosting your team on March 7th!
Owen Yeasted