Coaches:
For those that are participating in the DSL Tournament on Saturday, May 16th, please see below and please read the rules document in its entirety. Not knowing the tournmanet rules is not an excuse for not following them:
1. Attached are the schedule and field map, rules, and blank form of roster. If you see any errors that need to be corrected, please let me know by the end of day Friday, May 8th as I have to head to the printer Saturday morning to make the tournament boards. Also, here is a link to the tournament website as well, where you can see schedules, track results and get a better view of who may or may not advance beyond the group stage – https://pittdsl.org/tournament/. Also, note the times for the brackets are spaced a little differently this year. We continue to have people triple park one another in at this tournament so I am trying to schedule with any eye of how many teams are at the facility at any given time. This may result in your team playing two games back to back, but as a reminder, our play in games are 20 minutes, so even two games in a row is less field time than a typial regular season game.
2. Arrive at the facility at least 30 minutes in advance of your first game and check in at the diocese tent with your registration fees and completed tournament rosters (blank form of roster is attached to this email). Please allow time for parking as the venue is going to be very busy that day.
3. Arrive on field 10 minutes prior to your scheduled time, if we are running ahead the games will start early. If you have back-to-back games scheduled, get to the field immediately following your previous game. Failure to show on the field on time will likely result in a forfeit as we don't have the time to chase after teams. If your team finds itself playing a game that is going long and will make you late, send a parent to the administration tent and let us know so we can facilitate things.
4. Bring pinnies or alternative jersey colors. In the event that the two teams playing one another have jerseys that are deemed too close in color (as determined by the referee in his or her sole's discretion), the away team will need to change or wear pinnies.
5. There is no coin flip to determine possession, the away team gets the ball to start the game.
6. There will be benches on the field for each team. We ask that home teams use the blue bench and away teams use the black bench. This will help the referees get the correct home and away teams noted on their score card.
7. Read and be familiar with the tournament rules (see attached rules for your reference). Some of the bigger ones that have been a problem in the past are as follows: (1) All grades will have offsides– 1/2 grade will be limited to more obvious cherry picking as determined by the ref. (2) For 1-4 grade we will be playing the build out rule. First and second grade will use the midfield line as the build out line, third and fourth grade have a separate build out line roughly halfway between midfield and the penalty box. Also, for those grades, the buildout line will serve as the offside line. (3) At 1-4 grade, all fouls that are called result in indirect kicks. Even what would otherwise result in a pk for a foul in the penalty box is treated as an indirect kick and the kick occurs right outside of the 18 yard box. (4) For all grades, scoring can only occur in the offensive half of the field. If you score a goal from the defensive half (including your kickoff), the goal does not count. (5) For all grades punting is not permitted, keepers are encouraged to put the ball back into play by throwing it to a teammate. (6) Cards will be issued as they would in a normal game. Any player that gets a yellow card must come to the sideline for a 5-minute cool down period. If that cool down period goes to the end of the game and there is a shootout, the player can't participate in the shootout. Any player or coach that receives two yellow cards in a game or one red card is not permitted to continue to play/coach for the rest of the game and the rest of the day. The Coaches will need to leave the premises. In my experience, cards are rarely issued at these tournaments and when they are, they are almost always earned. Along those lines, the Tournament Director reserves the right to ask any players, coaches, or parents to leave the venue if deemed necessary in my sole discretion.
7. Keeper Changes. Mid-game keeper changers are permitted during normal substitution times only if the substitute keeper is on the sidelines, ready to go (pinnie on and gloves on if they are using gloves). No keeper subs from field players are permitted due to the time consumed for that substitute player to get ready. If the substitute keeper is not ready to go at the time of subbing, they will need to wait until the next sub period when they are ready.
8. Post game coaches should review the score card to confirm accuracy. Once the score cards are posted they are final unless we can conclusively determine that an error occurred (conclusive in this context equates to both teams agreeing that there was an error as well as agreeing on what the outcome was, not just one team emphatically arguing that there is an error). Please come to us with any issues in real time as our options are limited in what we can do if this issue is raised or discovered after the scores have been posted.
9. Check in from time to time at the main tent for standings and/or on the tournament website. If it looks likely/possible that you will advance to the semifinals/finals stay near the tournament tent for instructions. In the event that any tie breakers need to be determined we will be figuring that out at the tournament tent.
10. Remember sportsmanship and the 7-goal differential rule. For tie breaker purposes we do not count anything more than a 4-goal differential when determining who advances on a tie breaker and if you win a game by a 8 goal differential or more, inquiries will be made and there is a strong chance that the game will be scored as a non-played game and you may not receive the 3 standing points for a win. Any such decisions as to whether a team that exceeds the 7-goal differential is awarded the win or not is in the Tournament Director's sole discretion. I strongly recommend that as a coach, you do not put your team in a position that the efforts of their win are not counted because you could not control scoring. My personal recommendation is to start making adjustments when and if a goal differential of plus 4 is achieved so that you have wiggle room in case extra goals occur. If you don't start to control the score until after you hit a plus 7 goal differential, you are doing so too late and you are not allowing any room for error.
11. Please remind your parents of the venue specific rules that we circulated with this email, especially that (1) no pets are allowed at the facility, those with pets will be asked to leave the venue, (2) No large coolers or food set ups are permitted at the fields or in school tents. Players can bring water bottles and small “six pack” sized coolers, but that is it, and (3) each school that has a tent needs to ensure that everything is cleaned up before you leave, failure to follow this could result in a cleanup fine of $100 being assessed as well as loss of tent privileges at future events, and (4) under no circumstances should anyone double park other vehicles in. If you double park someone in, you will likely be towed and I will not be able to give you a ride home.
12. Remember, for the Developmental Tournament, players can only play on one team and if they are rostered or play for more than one team, those teams will be disqualified. This rule does not apply to the all-girls tournament with the result that 4th grade girls can play for both a 4th grade or 3/4 grade team and a JV Girls team, and 5th and 6th grade girls can play for a JV Girls team and a Varsity Girls team. If a school has two JV teams or two Varsity teams entered though, those girls may play for one JV team or Varsity team, as applicable, but not for both teams that are in the same age bracket.
13. The tournament is largely structured so that each team plays three games and then the bracket leaders advance to a Semi-Finals or Finals, depending on the bracket size. In certain brackets we had an odd number of teams, which require one team to play four games so that all teams get at least three games. This fall the brackets that had an odd amount of teams were the 2nd grade bracket, the 3/4 grade bracket, the JV girls bracket and the Varsity girls bracket. If your team was selected for a fourth game, not that that fourth game will not count for your standings regardless of whether you win or lose, but it would count for your opponent.
14. It's always a fine line between scheduling games too close together or too far apart and there are a lot of factors that go into the schedule, including length of time for teams at the venue, adequate rest between games, field availability, venue parking limitations, referee availability (since we have two referees on field for championship games), and bracket sizes. Every season the variables such as size of tournament and size of particular brackets change on us and we do our best to factor everything in and schedule in the best manner possible for all involved. Note that while we try to put at least a game of space in between each game, there are some instances (12 to be exact this season) where teams play back to back games. A standard game is 50 games long and our tournament games are 20 minutes long so playing back to back should be something that your players have been conditioned for all season. Let me know if you have any questions and thank you for your understanding in advance.
Finally, if you have any questions, please reach out to 48 hours prior to the tournament. I will be fairly busy on Friday setting up and running tournament related errands so I will likely not be able to get back to you that day.
That's it from me, apologies for the long email, but as they say, whenever you read a rule, there was a reason that it was created, so it's better to get this info to you in advance and reduce any potential missteps. I wish you all good luck and remember, don't judge the season on the success (or lack thereof) that you might experience on Saturday. Only one team wins each grade bracket. It is far better to make this a fun event for the kids and focus on individual goals for the players and teams. That way if you win, that's just gravy, but even if you go 0-3 for the day, if the kids are getting better, accomplishing individual goals, and having fun with their friends, everyone comes away having a good time.
DSL Week 6 Email
| SCHOOL NAME | 1st | 1st/2nd | 2nd | 3rd | 3rd/4th | 4th | JV Girls | Varsity Girls | Total |
| Aquinas Academy | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| Archangel Gabriel | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| Ave Maria Academy | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Blessed Seelos | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Blessed Trinity Academy | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Butler Catholic | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Carlow | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Christ the Divine Teacher | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Divine Mercy Academy | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Eden Christian Academy | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Guardian Angel Academy | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Holy Cross Academy | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| Holy Family | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Holy Sepulcher | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Mary of Nazareth | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Mother of Mercy Academy | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Our Lady of Fatima | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Sacred Heart | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 9 |
| St. Bede | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| St. James | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| St. Kilian | 3 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 10 |
| St. Louise de Marillac | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| St. Monica | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sts. Peter and Paul | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| South Hills Catholic Academy | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
DSL Camp
Date/Time: Monday, July 27 – Friday, July 31. Full day is from 9am – 3pm, half day (morning and afternoon) options available and Tiny Tykes (ages 3-5) is from 8am – 8:45am
Location: St. Kilian’s Field
Camp Cost: varies on whether half day or full day options are selected and time of registration, but cost ranges between Full day is $270 ($230 with early bird discount), Half Day AM is $215 ($185 with early bird discount), Half Day PM is $210 ($180 with early bird discount), Tiny Tykes is $130 ($110 with early bird discount)
Age Requirements: Co-Ed Students ages 3 through 14
https://challengersports.com/camps/diocese-of-pittsburgh-cranberry-twp-pa/
North Catholic Camp
Date/Time: Monday, June 10 – Wednesday, June 12 from 8:30 – 11:00 am
Location: North Catholic High School Field
Camp Cost: $125
Age Requirements: Co-Ed Students entering grades 1st – 8th
https://nchs.formstack.com/forms/nc_soccer_camp2026
Seton LaSalle Camp
Date/Time: Monday, June 22 – Thursday, June 25 from 4-5:30pm
Location: Merrick Field at Seton LaSalle High School
Camp Cost: $100
Age Requirements: Co-Ed Students entering grades 6th-8th
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScoKfc1LJXM5VoJjmMp7mP2b_5ez1C6bRq8h7VM8lp5QaJf_w/viewform
DSL Week 5 Email
Rob Vincent, head coach of the Riverhounds, is one of our very own at HCA and closely connected to our soccer community, as he is married to Coach Katie (1st grade). NHRCES and Holy Cross worked together with the Riverhounds to help orchestrate this special event night.
The flyer is attached containing pertinent information, but here are some highlights:
Saturday, May 2 at 7:00 PM at Highmark Stadium.
$25 (Section 101) for NHRCES families.
Also, please note if we end up selling 50+ tickets, our NHRCES students will get to run through the player tunnel onto the field before the game.
If families have any questions or need additional information, they can reach out to Leigh at [email protected].
DSL Week2 Email
Reminders for this week
- 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
Regards,
DSL Week 1 – Follow Up
DSL – Week 1
- 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
DSL – Final S26 Schedules
DSL Schedule Reminder
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
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