Category: Uncategorized

by Bob Mueser

DSL – Week 1 email

All:

1. Some Game Day Procedures.

  • Home teams should be reaching out by Wednesday (or 2 days in advance for weekday games) to away teams to confirm game times/locations/jersey colors/venue specific rules.  Away teams, if you haven't heard by Thursday (or 1 day before for weekday games) Please reach out to the Home team and cc me.  If no contact is made feel free to reach out to me directly.  This pregame contact is necessary to make sure everyone is on the same page in advance.
  • As we head into this weekend of soccer, please pay careful attention to field and weather conditions.  I don't expect those playing on turf to have any issues, but the cooler temperatures and rainy forecast could cause some field conditions later in the week.  If you are able, get the games in.  Making them up can be very challenging.  As a reminder, we can (and should) play in the rain.  Games should only be cancelled if the fields are unplayable or too dangerous, or if there is lighting.  Otherwise dress appropriately and embrace the challenges of playing spring soccer in western PA.
  • If you have determined that games are not playable such a decision must be made by the home team at least two hours in advance, preferable at least 4 hours though.  That decision should be made by the soccer coordinator, athletic directors, field/facilities coordinator or the delegate and they should be consistent across your program/facility.  Decisions to close a field for one team and not another, or decisions for a team to cancel while their facility otherwise are not allowed and can subject that team to forfeits at the JV/Varsity Level.
  • Also, remember, once the decision to cancel is made it is the home team's responsibility to notify the home team and soccer coordinator as well as the referees.  For JV/Varsity teams and developmental teams that are using the PIAA referees, if you fail to timely notify Chuck of a referee cancellation, your team is still responsible for the referee fees for the games that they were supposed to officiate.  Chuck should be notified via text if it's less than 48 hours from game time or email if there are more than 48 hours from game time.  His contact info is in the coaches contact list.
2. I had some minor schedule updates and they are reflected in the attached.  From this point forward I will not update this schedule.  Changes made at the developmental level can be made amongst the coaches as needed (making sure to notify Chuck of any referee changes for his crew) and the same can be done at the JV/Varsity Level (but keep Chuck and I both in the loop on those changes).  We will also have the JV/Varsity Schedule on the webpage.
  • First Grade – Week 5 – BFS opponent for its home game is now St. Kilian White
  • First Grade – Still awaiting final field location and time for Northside Catholic Assumption
  • Third Grade – All Aquinas Home games are 1pm
  • Third/Fourth Grade – Still awaiting final field location and time for Northside Catholic Assumption
  • JV/V MLS – Carlow's Week 1 games against GAA and South Hills Catholic are being rescheduled per the email for those two teams.
  • JV/V MLS – Week 5 – JV St. Bede game against South Hills Catholic is corrected to a Varsity Game
  • JV/V Bundesliga – Week 9 Christ the Divine Teacher against Mary of Nazareth JV/V game will be moved to Week 6, same field and location
3. I also had some updates to the coach's contact list and the updated version is attached, but here is a brief summary:
  • First Grade – Updated contact info for Sacred Heart's Soccer Coordinator
  • First Grade – Updated contact info for St. Kilians Green and White Team Coaches
  • First Grade – Updated contact info for Holy Cross
  • Second Grade – Updated contact info for St. Bedes
  • Second Grade – Updated contact info for Sacred ♡ White
  • Second Grade – Updated contact info for Mother of Mercy
  • Third Grade – Updated contact info for Sacred ♡ Black
  • Varsity Bundesliga – Updated Contact info for Sacred ♡
  • I still need coach information from Mary of Nazareth for your two 1/2 grade teams and from Ave Maria for you JV 7's team.  Coaches, until I have that contact info, please coordinate directly with the soccer coordinators and Julie and Stan, until you identify coaches, please coordinate with the coaches in those brackets for game week info.
Thanks all, that's all I have.  Good luck this weekend and if you need anything feel free to call me on my cell– I'd normally just post it here, but I have been reminded that these messages post to the webpage and having my cell number on the web isn't the best idea, but you can find all of my contact as well as our webmaster and our referee coordinator all in the attached contact list.
Rob
by Bob Mueser

DSL Schedules N’at

All:

Thank you for all of your efforts in getting things ready to start with this year’s Spring soccer season, despite the most recent blasts of winter, the season will be here before you know it.  Before I get started in earnest with the schedules and kickoff info, I also wanted to note that I culled around 100 names from my email distribution.  Those names represent, what I believe to be, outdated contacts.  Soccer Coordinators, do me a favor though and check with your coaches and make sure that everyone received this email so if I pruned the distribution list too much, we identify that early on and I can add someone back in if they shouldn't have been cut.  

Now to the good stuff,  attached to this email you will find brackets and schedules. Please review and let me know if you see any errors.  We ended up scheduling 457 games and typographical errors sometimes happen despite our best efforts. In some respects I'm looking to the 200 or so of you that have remained on the distribution list to be a final copy editor of sorts, so if you see something, say something and I'll fix it right up.

Brackets for Developmental are fairly self-explanatory.  For the developmental program our goal is to get each developmental team 7 games during the 7 week season.  Note that in a perfect world, every team would play another one one time in each of those 7 weeks.  Because our world is far from perfect though that is not the case.  Specifically, scheduling requests often make that impossible.  I did the best I could to spread out games but if you requested three weekends throughout the season off, well, that leaves me with 4 weekends left to get those 7 games in.  So implicit in the bargain that I do my best to accommodate your scheduling requests is that you will play the games that are scheduled.  Also, in the first and first/second grade brackets we had an odd number of teams so one team in each of those brackets ended up with an eighth game inorder for everyone to play 7.  Those teams were chosen at random.

With respect to the JV and Varsity Brackets we had enough teams to do 4 divisions (One 7's division consisting of 6 JV teams and 7 Varsity teams and three divisions of 11's consisting of the MLS, Bundesliga and Premier brackets, each of which consisted of 5 or 6 teams at the JV and Varsity levels).   For JV/Varsity Playoffs we will keep to our long standing 50% plus one formula in deciding how many teams make the playoffs.  That means that if your bracket has 5 teams in it, the top three of each bracket will advance to the post season with the first seed getting a bye into the championship game and seeds 2 and 3 playing a play-in game.  If your bracket has 6 or 7 teams in it, the top four of each bracket will advance to the postseason with seeds 1 and 4 playing and seeds 2 and 3 playing in the semi final matches.  Due to scheduling requests we also have some multi-game weekends, and in some instances, multi-game days, but I did my best to minimize those and when they did occur, to maximize the time in between those games as much as possible.

At the JV/Varsity level brackets are determined in accordance with our league rules, largely based off of a formula that takes into account previous records for the combined JV/Varsity squad and their previous bracket strength.   

If you have any questions don't hesitate to reach out and I will be happy to explain why schools have been placed where they are, but please understand that these determinations are final, and as always, we will rebalance our brackets again for next Fall based upon the results of this Spring. 

Additionally, attached to this email is a listing of contact information for head coaches and soccer coordinators for each school.  Please review and make sure that any necessary parties are listed and listed correctly.  Let me know if there are any corrections. 

Also note the following:

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 – I have attached an updated coach's contact listing to this email.  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 facility regulations, if any, that the home school or venue is requiring (such as spectator limits, pet policy, 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 until we have identified a head coach.  I believe at this time we are awaiting coaching information still from Ave Maria (JV 7's), Mary of Nazareth (1/2 Grades), and Sacred Heart (Varsity Red) 

3. Referees.  At the Developmental Level, the Home Team supplies and pays for their referees.  If you are in need of referees, let me know and I can put you in touch with our Referee Coordinator who may be able to assist.  At the JV/Varsity Level, we coordinate the referee assignments and the Home teams pay for the JV/Varsity Referees.  The referee fees for JV and Varsity are $45 per ref per game so with 2 referees it is $90 per game so for 4 home games, it would be $360 for the regular season.   Also note that referee fees have held steady for a number of years, but we are scheduled for an increase in fees to $50 per ref per game for the Fall 2023 season so please plan accordingly.

4.  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.

5.  Scheduling Requests.  I did my best, there were a lot of requests this year.  In the aggregate some of them became incompatible with one another.  For those that turned in “clean sheets” with no requests, thank you, you are the unsung heros that give me the flexibility to maneuver and make a schedule that accommodates as many requests as we do.  As you review the schedules let me know if you have questions.  

Scheduling requests caused a few issues at the JV/Varsity level such as schools playing the same team in consecutive weeks and even a few instances of schools playing two games in a day (see above for more commentary on that).  These compromises are not ideal, but they were necessary in order to accommodate the scheduling requests and get the games in during our allotted season.  

We had more problems at the developmental level because we have 7 weeks to get 7 games in and we are working around conflicting schedules for cross county, volleyball, musicals, etc. (see above for more detail on that as well). Also, there are instances where schools with multiple teams in a bracket requested a black out date and I have them playing each other on that date with the understanding that the schools can make that game up with their two squads whenever it is best for them.  You will also note that there are more double header games than we typically have in a season.  This is a direct result of trying to accommodate all of the scheduling requests that we received.  

If additional requests come since the time that your registration was delivered you will need to work those out with the opposing team (see below for reschedule procedures).  All games should be played.  Schools have registered with the understanding that they will get to play at least 7 games at the developmental level and 8 games at the JV/Varsity level. At the JV/Varsity level, at best, unplayed games will put you at a disadvantage for league standings and depending on the circumstances, could result in forfeit wins (2 points instead of 3) and forfeit losses (-2 points instead of 0) being allocated.

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

i)                For Developmental 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.

ii)                 For 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 Chuck Pruss (Chuck is cc’d on this email and his email is in the schedules).   Both parties need to agree to the rescheduled time.  No alternative time is final until Chuck can confirm that he is able to provide referee coverage for the alternative time.  If any schools are using Chuck to coordinate referees for developmental games, they should also follow this notice protocol.

7. 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.

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

  • Registration Fees are overdue. Fees are $125 per team. The check is payable to Diocese of Pittsburgh and sent c/o Rob Glentzer at 116 Wickerham Drive, Mars, PA 16046
  • Rosters are due for all teams – Developmental, JV, and Varsity – by March 23rd and should be delivered via e-mail. Please properly scan and/or attach the document. Improperly scanned documents or unreadable/partial pictures will not be accepted. Preferably a soccer coordinator can send all of the rosters for all of their teams. Jersey numbers for JV/Varsity should be listed on the roster.  Roster forms are attached to this email.
  • 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.  I have attached a sample game card and they can also be found online
  • Below is a quick summary of some division specific information, but please consult the rules (attached hereto) 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

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

 

  • Let’s remember sportsmanship and not run up the score. If you are up on a team by 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 8 goals or more 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.
  • 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 and I hope you all have a great season this year.


Rob Glentzer

DSL Commissioner

by Bob Mueser

DSL Weekly Update

All:

A few things as we start this first full week of March:
1. Scheduling – The process of scheduling is well underway, I am doing my best to accommodate as many scheduling requests as possible.   Trying to accommodate so many requests does have unintended consequences, things like having two games in a day, playing the same team in back to back weeks, or an uneven distribution of games throughout the season are just some of unintended byproducts, or as I like to characterize it, the price of flexibility.  Know that we try to minimize these as much as possible, but that they will occur.  Also note, all scheduling requests should have been submitted when registrations were due on February 24th.  Any requests received after that are not taken into consideration as I would have to constantly redo the schedules.  To the extent that you have a conflict that arises after them you will need to work with the opposing team on rescheduling.  My apologies in advance, but I am committed to getting everyone the schedules by March 20th, and even something as minor as trying to block of one more day has ripple effects that often impact all the schedules.  Thank you in advance for your understanding.
2. Registration fees. Registration fees for the Spring regular season were due as of March 3.  To date, I can confirm receipt from Ave Maria, Carlow, Christ the Divine Teacher, Holy Cross, Holy Sepulcher, Our Lady of Fatima, St. James, Sts. Peter & Paul, and South Hills Catholics.  All other fees are past due and should be sent immediately.  As a reminder, fees are $125 per team and should be paid by check.  The check should be made payable to the Pittsburgh Diocese and send c/o Rob Glentzer, 116 Wickerham Drive, Mars PA 16046.
3.  Distribution Lists/Coaching Contacts.  Once the schedules are finalized, I'll work on updating our contact lists with new coaching information.  There are a few schools that had TBD on coaches so please follow up with me once those coaches are determined.  Also, if you know of any coaches that are new this spring, please forward this message along to them.  I will update this email distribution list with their emails eventually, I just have not had a chance to do so yet.

4. St. James Tournament –  I'm reattaching the flyer for the St. James Indoor Tournament that will take place over the weekend of March 18th and 19th.  Its a great way to knock the rust of the kids cleats and my understanding is that there are openings for teams from first grade through eighth grade still.  Please contact Alexis Brezny with any questions or to register a team at [email protected].
5. Dick's Sporting Good's Discount.  Also, as a reminder, St. Patrick's day weekend, from Friday March 17th through Monday March 20th, you can use the attached coupon for 20% off of your purchase at select stores in our area.  The coupon can be used for all sorts of items and isn't limited to soccer gear.  Feel free to share it with anyone in need.
Thanks and I look forward to getting onto the field and start our season up later this month.
Rob
by Bob Mueser

Follow up on DSL Registrations

All:

Thank you for all of the efforts made to date in getting teams registered.  I am working on brackets but I am stuck waiting for game days/times/venues for the following schools:
Blessed Trinity
Divine Mercy
Carlow – JV/Varsity info needed
Holy Cross
Holy Family
Mother of Mercy
Northside Catholic
If you have that information, please update your registration form and resend it to me ASAP.  If you already resent and you are on this list, please resend as I may have missed the email.  I cannot start scheduling without that information.  If I don't have that information by the end of day Friday March 3, I will have to slot you in with an arbitrary day and time and then you'd need to work to reschedule games on your end (which is not an enjoyable process).  Feel free to give me a call if  you have any questions or would like to discuss other options.  I know some of you are working hard and it takes time to get this all in place. I also know how much work is involved on the back end of making the schedules so I am putting the season at risk for delay if we wait much longer than we already have.
Thanks for your continued efforts, 
Rob Glentzer
by Bob Mueser

DSL – Spring Soccer Registration Deadline is this Friday.

All:

As a reminder, this Friday, February 24, is the last day for DSL Spring Soccer registrations.  Registrations received from schools after that date are not guaranteed a spot in our league this spring as I will need to start the arduous process of scheduling in order to get out schedules to the league on or before our target date of March 20th.  
To date, I can confirm receipt of registrations from the following schools:  Aquinas Academy, The Campus Lab School at Carlow University, Holy Cross Academy, Holy Sepulcher Catholic School, and St. Bede.  Please feel free to contact me with any questions and attached is the spring 2024 registration form for your reference.
Regards,
Rob
DSL Commissioner
by Bob Mueser

Fwd: Registration for Spring 2023 DSL Soccer is open.

All, a few spring soccer related reminders for the DSL:

1. Spring Registration.  Tomorrow is February 1 and the registration deadline for schools to register their spring soccer teams is later that month (February 24).  After February 24th, I cannot guarantee that teams will have a spot to play this spring as I will take the registration information received and then start the long process of scheduling.  Soccer Coordinators and AD's, if your school hasn't opened spring soccer registrations up yet, please consider doing so ASAP so you will have an accurate count later this month for registering your teams.  I have reattached the relevant spring registration forms.  Feel free to reach out to me with any questions or concerns and below are the relevant dates for your reference as well:
  • February 24th – Registration Deadline
  • March 3rd – Registration Payment Deadline ($125 per team)
  • March 6th – Practices can start on or after this date (each school determines there own “beginning” of season so to speak, usually it is after March 6, but from a Diocese perspective schools are cleared to practice from March 6th and on)
  • March 20th – Target date for schedule distribution
  • March 23rd – Rosters are due
  • March 23rd – First weekend of games
  • April 6th – 9th – No games or practices due to Easter holiday
  • April 15th – Registration for Developmental/All Girl tournament opens
  • May 5th – Registration for Developmental/All Girl Tournament Closes
  • May 20th – Developmental/All Girl Tournament
  • May 28th – Last day to play JV/Varsity Games and have them count for standings
  • May 29th – June 4th – Tentative dates for JV/Varsity Playoffs
2. Spring Kickoff Tournament.  St. James will once again have its Spring Season Kick off Tournament the weekend of March 18 and 19th.  I have attached the details, and they are largely similar to previous tournaments, with one exception, the previous requirement that all teams be co-ed and have two players of each gender on the field at all times has been dropped.  Teams are strongly encouraged by both St. James and the Diocese to field co-ed teams, but if your team only has boys or girls you will not be penalized.
3. DSL Discount Days with Dicks Sporting Goods.  In anticipation of the Spring Season, Dicks Sporting Goods has once again offered us a shopping weekend where members of the DSL and your families and friends can take advantage of a 20% off coupon good on most merchandise in the store.  You can share this code with anyone and it isn't limited to soccer gear.  The coupon is good from Friday March 17 through Monday March 20th at the Beaver, Cranberry, McCandless, Monroeville, Robinson and South Hills location.  Here is a link to the coupon as well as an attached image of it: https://cmm.dickssportinggoods.com/crmcdn/getoffer.aspx?offer_entity_code=O241C74K&token=UBghVS6SD4QDFccwFU4qWT4qsIOwPU1vvSPDJlM8r5kjolwqJFhJe5J6hri4iid4FQMmk9O74C8EO1pYmyp2FQ2
Regards,
Rob Glentzer
DSL Commissioner

Forwarded message ———
From: Rob Glentzer <[email protected]>
Date: Mon, Jan 2, 2023 at 8:36 PM
Subject: Registration for Spring 2023 DSL Soccer is open.
To: Rob Glentzer <[email protected]>
All:

Registration is open for the Spring 2023 DSL Soccer Season for teams.   If your school has not opened up players registration for spring soccer yet, please encourage them to do so.  I have attached the Spring timeline and registration to this email.  Key dates are summarized below.  Additionally, we will again try to make the regular 11v11 and the 7v7 formats work for the JV/Varsity squads, subject to the same limitations that we had in place last season.  If your team is considering doing 7v7 due to registration numbers at the JV and Varsity, please reach out to me to discuss what that format entails. 
February 24th – Registration Deadline
March 3rd – Registration Payment Deadline ($125 per team)
March 6th – Practices can start on or after this date (each school determines there own “beginning” of season so to speak, usually it is after March 6, but from a Diocese perspective schools are cleared to practice from March 6th and on)
March 20th – Target date for schedule distribution
March 23rd – Rosters are due
March 23rd – First weekend of games
April 6th – 9th – No games or practices due to Easter holiday\
April 15th – Registration for Developmental/All Girl tournament opens
May 5th – Registration for Developmental/All Girl Tournament Closes
May 20th – Developmental/All Girl Tournament
May 28th – Last day to get JV/Varsity Games in
May 29th – June 4th – Tentative dates for JV/Varsity Playoffs
Feel free to reach out with any questions.
Regards,
Rob Glentzer
DSL Commissioner
by Bob Mueser

Registration for Spring 2023 DSL Soccer is open.

All:

Registration is open for the Spring 2023 DSL Soccer Season for teams.   If your school has not opened up players registration for spring soccer yet, please encourage them to do so.  I have attached the Spring timeline and registration to this email.  Key dates are summarized below.  Additionally, we will again try to make the regular 11v11 and the 7v7 formats work for the JV/Varsity squads, subject to the same limitations that we had in place last season.  If your team is considering doing 7v7 due to registration numbers at the JV and Varsity, please reach out to me to discuss what that format entails. 
February 24th – Registration Deadline
March 3rd – Registration Payment Deadline ($125 per team)
March 6th – Practices can start on or after this date (each school determines there own “beginning” of season so to speak, usually it is after March 6, but from a Diocese perspective schools are cleared to practice from March 6th and on)
March 20th – Target date for schedule distribution
March 23rd – Rosters are due
March 23rd – First weekend of games
April 6th – 9th – No games or practices due to Easter holiday\
April 15th – Registration for Developmental/All Girl tournament opens
May 5th – Registration for Developmental/All Girl Tournament Closes
May 20th – Developmental/All Girl Tournament
May 28th – Last day to get JV/Varsity Games in
May 29th – June 4th – Tentative dates for JV/Varsity Playoffs
Feel free to reach out with any questions.
Regards,
Rob Glentzer
DSL Commissioner
by Bob Mueser

DSL – Season Wrap Up Email

It was a great season this fall and I appreciate all of your efforts and time that was put into it.  This past weekend we were rewarded with some of the most beautiful November soccer weather I've ever experienced, and was able to watch 17 great matches over Saturday and Sunday as a cap off to a great season.  Below are the Championship Series winners:

  • 7's JV – It was Blessed Seelos over St. James in the championship match, 6-5
  • MLS JV –  It was St. Kilian White over AMA, 4-1
  • Premier JV – It was St. Kilian Green over Guardian Angel, 3-1
  • 7's Varsity – It was Divine Mercy over St. James, 4-3
  • MLS Varsity – It was Ave Maria over St. Louise 3-2, in a match that went all the way to penalty kicks
  • Premier Varsity  – It was St. Kilian Green over Archangel Gabriel, 2-1 off of a last second goal
Off Season – Attached is a timeline for the Spring Season, as you can see, registration opens up January 1st and closes February 24th, please plan your registrations periods accordingly.
Also, some of you have inquired about off season opportunities for soccer.  I know that there are several leagues throughout the area that specialize in indoor soccer and futsal leagues.  These leagues tend to be smaller in format since space is limited and many teams lose players to other winter activities.  If you would like any information about opportunities in your area let me know.  Also, No offseason is Russelton is putting together some tournaments at rec, travel and comp level for teams.  The next one is over thanksgiving break and they'll  have some in December, January, and February as well.  Attached is a flyer for that.
The Off Season is also a time for me to reflect on what is working and what isn't working in the league and revisiting our rules.  One rule change that we will be making in the offseason at the Developmental Level is to modify the Build Out Rule.  Currently, it states that (i) when the keeper has the ball, attacking players are to retreat to the buildout line and not advance until the keeper puts the ball in play, and (ii) when there is a goal kick, attacking players are to retreat to the buildout line and not advance until either (1) the kick is received by a defending player (2) or the ball crosses the buildout line).  This difference in when attacking players can advance has continually caused confusion amongst players, coaches, referees and parents.  In order to simplify things going forward the new rule will be: When the keeper receives the ball or there is a goal kick, attacking players are to retreat to the buildout line and not advance until either (1) the kick is received by a defending player (2) or the ball crosses the buildout line.  Nice and simple, so at grades 1-4, coach the kids to get back and don't touch the ball until another defender touches it or it rolls past the build out line.
One change from this current season that I believe we will be keeping is the 7v7 league.  It seemed to provide a venue to play the game for schools that would not have been otherwise able to play due to low numbers.  Assuming we have enough schools that register to make a bracket, I'd like to continue having that option available to you all.
Finally, looking forward to the spring season, I do expect to need to do a modest cost increase for the league–  it will probably be a $25 per team increase for regular season and postseason play.  I am still looking at the numbers and running projected costs, but I wanted to share this possibility with you for planning purposes, as well as providing you with the following reasons:
  • Our league fees have been static since at least 2012 (and probably longer) when I became involved with the league
    (other than a dollar per dollar fee increase for the JV/Varsity championship series to increase the referees on the field from 2 to 3).  Since that time our costs have not remained static, and recent inflationary pressure has made things only worse. 
  • Since I took over the league in 2020, I have kept my focus on bettering player experience including (1) increasing the brackets at the JV/Varsity size to both make play more competitive and increase trophies/medals presented to players by 50% to 100% depending on the season, (2) increasing the fields used for the developmental tournament from 1 field to 2 fields and utilizing fields that have lighting so we no longer have to turn schools away for the developmental tournament, (3) responding to coaches request to make 3rd and 4th grade tournament play 7v7 on a larger field to more closely match regular season conditions (but also resulting in fewer playing fields overall in the same space, and accordingly, larger rental costs), and (4) switching from grass fields to turf fields at the developmental level to give the kids a better, safer, and more consistent playing experience (one of the best changes made in my opinion as weather is largely eliminated from the playability equation, but it comes at a substantially increased rental cost).  All  of these changes have been for the better, but all were changes that add to the cost.
  • These changes have also resulted in some growth to our league, but growth also comes with problems.  Our league participants are not doing a great job at following the rules that our venues have asked us to adhere to.  At the developmental tournament we still had some parking issues, still had some issues with people bringing pets and food into the venue, issues with garbage not being disposed of properly, and still had issues with people setting up tents in areas where they were not permitted.  Some of these same issues occured at Seton LaSalle as well.  I've tried my best to manage them, but frankly there are alot more offenders than there are of me and it isn't possible to keep up with policing everything and run the tournaments.  Accordingly the vendors have let me know that our rental rates are increasing to build in the costs of hiring staff to oversee this policing since we have done a poor job of doing that ourselves over these last three seasons.  I'm sorry, this is a cost that I really wanted to avoid and I tried, but our organization will have to bear this cost going forward if we want to keep having these types of events.
  • While it isn't happening in the Spring, we know that the referee rates will increase next Fall so I need to plan for that as well as the post season referees is a cost that the league covers.
I wanted to get this in front of you for planning purposes and so you understood the rationale.  I do not take any increase of costs lightly and we try to do our best to give you a great experience for your kids at as small of cost as possible, but I do hope that especially those of you who have been involved in the league for a bit will appreciate the improvements that we have made during the last few years to try to give our players a great event to end their seasons. 
Additional OffSeason Playing Opportunities- This can be a bit of a challenge to work in, especially if your players have moved onto basketball, wrestling or another winter activity, but for those of you that have a group of players that are still interested in playing soccer over the offseason, there are opportunities out there.  One nice thing about them is that they tend to be indoor and smaller rostered sized, so it's easier to field a squad when kids have conflicts.  I'm more familiar with opportunities in the northern part of the region because that's where I live, but there are lots of places out there where you can have your players sign up for an indoor soccer or futsal team and they'll get a game every week to keep them engaged and not be rusty for the start of the spring session- I've personally had my kids play indoor at Tri County and futsal at PISA and both are great. I know with Futsal and Indoor Soccer they've already started their first session but there is a second session that starts up in January and tends to go 6-8 weeks. 
If a once a week commitment is still too much there are other venues that do mini tournaments, including a 5v5 tournament for different ages and skill levels up at No Offseason. They are having a tournament over Thanksgiving weekend (girls will be on Friday and boys will be on Saturday).  I've attached a flyer for the Thanksgiving session and I know that they will be doing indoor ones in December, January, and February as well. 
For any of these opportunities let me know if you want more details.  I have found it to be a fun way to keep the players engaged and their skill sharp.
Regards,
Rob
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by Bob Mueser

DSL – Dev Tournament Results and this Weekend’s Championship Matches

Good evening everyone, I wanted to reach out to everyone and congratulate both our JV/Varsity qualifiers for this weekend's championship as well as thank everyone for their efforts this past weekend at the DSL Tournament and acknowledge our winners.  

With respect to the Championship Series, the below reflects those teams that qualified for post-season play and those matches will occur this Saturday and Sunday at Seton LaSalle's Merrick Field.  As a reminder, all players that play in this Championship Series must have been rostered on one of your school's teams, on or before their 4th game of the season.  4th Graders are permitted to play up on JV teams and 5th and 6th Graders are permitted to play up on Varsity teams in accordance with our league rules if such a play up is necessary or desired and does not expose the player who is playing up to undue risk of harm or injury.
I
2022 Fall DSL Championship Series  
         
         
  Saturday November 5, 2022@ Seton LaSalle High School (8:00 am-10:00 pm)  
  Time  Home  Away  
  8:00am Divine Mercy V Blessed Seelos V  
  9:15am St. James V Holy Sepulcher V  
  10:30am Holy Sepulcher JV Blessed Seelos JV  
  11:45pm St. Louise JV Ave Maria JV  
  1:00pm Sacred Heart JV Guardian Angel JV Black  
  2:15pm St. Bede JV St. Kilian JV White  
  3:30pm St. Kilian JV Green Aquinas JV  
  4:45pm Ave Maria V St. Kilian V White  
  6:00pm St. Kilian V Green Guardian Angel V  
  7:15pm St. Louise V Mary of Nazareth V  
  8:30pm Aquinas V Archangel Gabriel V  
         
         
     
  Sunday November 6, 2022@ Seton LaSalle High School (1:00 pm-8:30 pm)  
  Time  Home  Away  
  1:00pm* St. James JV Winner of JV 7's Play in Match  
  2:15pm* Highest Seeded Winner of Var 7's Play in Match Lowest Seeded Winner of Var 7's Play in Match  
  3:30pm* Highest Seeded Winner of JV MLS Play in Match Lowest Seeded Winner of JV MLS Play in Match  
  4:45pm* Highest Seeded Winner of JV Premier Play in Match Lowest Seeded Winner of JV Premier Play in Match  
  6:00pm* Highest Seeded Winner of Var MLS Play in Match Lowest Seeded Winner of Var MLS Play in Match  
  7:15pm* Highest Seeded Winner of Var Premier Play in Match Lowest Seeded Winner of Var Premier Play in Match  
         
         
         
         
         
    * Denotes Championship Game    
         
         
         
With respect to the Developmental & All Girls Tournament, below are the winners of the championship matches and more detailed tournament results can be seen at https://pittdsl.org/tournament/table/all-teams/
  • 1st Grade – Ave Maria Royals over St. Kilian Celtics (Celtics) 
  • 1/2 Grade – Guardian Angel Warriors over St. Peters & Paul Pacers 
  • 2nd Grade – St. Kilian Celtics (Green) over Sacred Heart Crusaders (Red)
  • 3rd Grade – Sacred Heart Crusaders (Red) over Ave Maria Royals
  • 3/4 Grade – St. James Cougars over Guardian Angel Warriors (Black)
  • 4th Grade – Aquinas Crusaders (Navy) over Aquinas Crusaders (Gray)
  • JV Girls –  St. Kilians Celtics over Sacred Heart Crusaders
  • Var Girls – Sts. Peter & Paul Pacers over Aquinas Crusaders
There were a lot of great matches going on all day and beautiful weather throughout the day.  For those that were in attendance, you understand that events like this don't just happen.  It took a tremendous amount of work from a lot of people over the last couple of weeks to pull this all together.  I wanted to acknowledge and thank some of them now:
  • Set Up Crew – Rory Garr, Tim Baird, Jim Licthenwalter, Jeremy Lichtenwalter, Jen Mondi, Joe Piccirilli, Walt Drescher
  • Tear Down Crew – Jeff Laubenthal, Jim Lichtenwalter, Matt DiPlacido, Mike Cingolani
  • Field Marshals and Event Staff – : Aidan Glentzer, Evan Laubenthal, Ryan Mueser, Logan Mueser, Andrew Baird, Jeremy Lichtenwalter, Declan Hibbard, Kellar Hibbard, Zach Cingolani, Luke DiPlacido, Anthony Piccirilli, Rocco Piccirilli
  • Ref Coordinator – Chuck Pruss
  • Web Creator and Tent Manager – Bob Mueser
Thanks to all of them for all of their efforts and thanks to you for joining us for a great end to the developmental soccer season.
Regards,
Rob Glentzer
by Bob Mueser

DSL – Week 9 email

Good afternoon:

Just a few reminders for our tournament teams this weekend and our JV/Varsity teams as we finish out our last regular week.
On the Tournament front it appears that we are going to be blessed with a beautiful Saturday for Soccer.  Let me know if anyone has any questions, but otherwise please plan on checking in at the registration tent at least 30 minutes prior to the start of your first game and make sure that you have a copy of your tournament roster and registration fee.  I look forward to seeing you tomorrow.
For our JV/Varsity teams this is our last week of regular season games.  Please upload your game cards to the site immediately following your game for this week so that I can keep an eye on standings in real time.  That will allow me to get to you all as early as Sunday evening or Monday morning with game times for next weekend's Championship series.  
Good luck to all of those that are playing this weekend.
Regards,
Rob