All:

All:

• Grades 1 and 2 – 5v5 games, size 3 ball, 20 minute rolling games until the championship and the championship game is 30 minutes, consisting of 2 fifteen minute halves. 
• Grades 3 and 4 – 7v7 games, size 3 ball, 20 minute rolling games until the championship and the championship game is 30 minutes, consisting of 2 fifteen minute halves. 
• JV Girls – 5v5 games, size 4 ball, 20 minute rolling games until the championship and the championship game is 30 minutes, consisting of 2 fifteen minute halves. 
• Varsity Girls – 5v5 games, size 5 ball, 20 minute rolling games until the championship and the championship game is 30 minutes, consisting of 2 fifteen minute halves.(Also note that if we have the demand we will have combined 1/2 grade brackets and 3/4 grade brackets and if we do not have enough JV/Varsity Girls teams sign up we may either cancel the girls only tournament or combine JV/V together.)

Good evening everyone, just two items as we head into week 2 of our spring soccer season:

All, a few quick items as we head into our first weekend of the soccer season:

1.  Rosters.  Rosters are due, please send the signed rosters to me by the end of day Friday (3/25).
2.  Games this weekend.  Depending on what day and time your games are this weekend, we will have some less than ideal opening weekend weather.  My suggestion is to play the games so long as your field conditions allow it as reschedules are oftentimes difficult to coordinate.  If you are playing this weekend please dress appropriately, wear layers including under armor, gloves, hats (but no hooded sweatshirts as the hood can cause safety issues).
3.  Cancellation protocol.  If you end up having to cancel this weekend because of field conditions, below is the cancellation protocol: Developmental League – If you have determined that a game needs to be cancelled please reach out to the opposing coach ASAP.  If the cancellation is due to field conditions and the call is being made on game day be cognizant of the fact that between early arrivals and travel time, all such calls should be made as early in the day as possible and the opposing team should be given at least two hours notice (but preferably much more).  Home team should also remember to notify the referees and if you are using the PIAA referees provided by Chuck for developmental games, see the applicable comments on referee notice below in the JV/Varsity section. My contact information, Chuck’s contact information, and the coaches contact information are all contained in the attachment.

Also, please refer to my 3/14 email for rescheduling procedures.  You should finalize plans for a day and time for your remake within 1 week of the date of cancellation (note that the game can be played at a later date, but you should determine that date within 1 week from the date that the game has been cancelled).

JV/Varsity Games — If you have determined that a game needs to be cancelled please reach out to the opposing coach ASAP.  If the cancellation is due to field conditions and the call is being made on game day be cognizant of the fact that between early arrivals and travel time, all such calls should be made as early in the day as possible and the opposing team should be given at least two hours notice (but preferably much more).  If the cancellation is more than 48 hours in advance the Home team should notify Chuck Pruss by email.  If the cancellation is less than 48 hours in advance you should also text/call Chuck Pruss.  In both instances Chuck will respond and confirm cancellation.  Please note though that if the notice for cancellation is too short or if you don’t get an acknowledgment from Chuck and the referees aren’t given adequate notice, the home team may still be responsible for the referee fees for the scheduled games.  If you are in a jam and aren’t getting responses I can be reached via cell.  My contact information, Chuck’s contact information, and the coaches contact information are all contained in the attachment.

Also, please refer to my 3/14 email for rescheduling procedures.  You should finalize plans for a day and time for your remake within 1 week of the date of cancellation (note that the game can be played at a later date, but you should determine that date within 1 week from the date that the game has been cancelled).

Thanks everyone, good luck this weekend and be safe!

Rob Glentzer
DSL Commissioner

Good Afternoon.

All:

Thank you for all of your efforts in getting things ready to start with this year’s Spring soccer season, attached to this email you will find brackets and schedules (in both excel and pdf format). Please review and let me know if you see any errors.  We ended up scheduling 493 games and typographical errors sometimes happen despite our best efforts. 

Brackets for Developmental are fairly self-explanatory.  One new thing for this season is that due to the large number of first and second grade teams registered there will be a north and a south bracket for those two age groups only. The other age groupings, including the combined first/second grade bracket, are not geographically divided either due to smaller sizes or not having an equal enough distribution of north and south teams to make it work.  For the developmental program our goal is to get each developmental team 7 games during the 7 week season.  In some brackets we had an odd number of teams so one team in each of those odd numbered brackets ended up with an eighth game inorder for everyone to play 7.  That team was chosen at random.

With respect to the JV and Varsity Brackets we had enough teams to do 4 divisions of five (or in some cases, six) teams each.   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 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 play-in matches.

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.  Some deviations had to be made with respect to schools that field an uneven amount of JV and Varsity squads that need to be matched with as similar school as possible for referee scheduling purposes (i.e., School A has one JV squad but no Varsity, and school B has one Varsity squad, but no JV).  Also, please bear in mind that since we have added an additional bracket this Spring that was not there during the previous Fall, Schools may find themselves going up or down up to two brackets, depending on their composite placement score, but in no instances would a school go from the top bracket to the bottom, or vice versa. 

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 this determination is 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 (in both excel and pdf format).  Please review and make sure that any necessary parties are listed and listed correctly.  Let me know if there are any corrections. Data entry is not a forte of mine, typos can occur, if something is off with your contact info let me know and I will correct it. 

I have also included a link to the DSL league rules, please familiarize yourself with them.  https://pittdsl.org/documents/Diocese%20of%20Pittsburgh%20Soccer%20League%20Coaches%20Rule%20Book.pdf

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 – As we have done in the past, each home coach should reach out to the away coach on or before Wednesday (Tuesday if that particular game is to be played on Thursday) 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 COVID regulations, if any, that the home school or venue is requiring (such as spectator limits, mask requirements, etc.).   If the away team has not heard from the home team by Thursday (or Wednesday if that particular game is to be played on Thursday), 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.  

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.  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.  In some instances schools requested entire blackout dates for track meets and I was not able to do so; instead I tried to schedule games later in the afternoon where players could do both.   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 track, musicals, First Communion, etc.  Similar to JV/Varsity, I was not always able to black out entire days for track, but instead I tried to schedule games later in the afternoon where players could do both.  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.

5. 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. 

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.

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

§  Registration Fees are overdue. Fees are $100 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 26 via e-mail or US mail. If you use 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 were emailed earlier this season and can be found online.  I've also attached the form and again to this email

§  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.  Home teams pay for the JV/Varsity Referees.  For developmental games home teams supply and pay for the referees and the home team sets the pay scale, unless they are utilizing PIAA referees.

§  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 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	11v11	8×24	No	No
Varsity	7 & 8	5	60 minutes	Full	11v11	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 more than 8 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.

§  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

1. Registration – Thank you for getting back to me on registration.  Registration has been closed since last Friday, but I do appreciate that a few of you are still running things down and are doing your best to field the most accurate placements that you can.  At a certain point though we need to move onto scheduling, so that means that at a certain point things will need to be finalized.  That time is Thursday, March 3 at 11:59 pm.  After that no more additions or subtractions will be permitted and you will be required to pay the registration fees for all teams that are registered and will be expected to field teams for all registered teams.
2. Registration Fees – Speaking of registration fees, those were due last Friday as well.  Please get those to me ASAP, and no later than this Monday, March 7th.  They are $100 per team (4 teams would equal $400), are payable in check made out to the Diocese of Pittsburgh, and sent to DSL Soccer, c/o Rob Glentzer, 116 Wickerham Drive, Mars PA, 16046.  If you prefer to deliver in person that is fine too, just reach out to me to coordinate.
3. Schedules – We will be working on those shortly and they take a long time to put together.  The first games of the season will be the weekend starting Friday March 25th and we will have the schedules to you no later than the Monday prior to then, but hopefully sooner.  We have received over 350 scheduling requests so those take a lot of time to review and to try to accommodate as many as we can.  Please be patient, I could get you schedules as early as the evening, but you wouldn’t like them as no scheduling requests would be reflected in them.  That is what really slows this process down.  We are happy to do it, just understand it takes time.
4. Kickoff Email – I will get a kick off email out later this month with game day and other notes (probably closer to the game week).  In the meantime, feel free to familiarize yourself with our league rules at on our website.
5. Updated Email Contacts – I received your updated email contact lists in the registration forms and will update our distribution list as soon as we can.  I’d ask that the soccer coordinators and/or AD’s from each school please forward this email onto anyone that you think is missing/is new this year until I can get our distribution list current.  Also, if you’re no longer involved with DSL Soccer and would like me to delete you from the distribution list, just respond to this email letting me know that and I will delete you.  Normally emails will come from me, to me with a BCC to you all.  Until I get the email list updated though I will send it to you all so you can see if any key personnel are missing.
6. Dick’s Sporting Goods DSL Discount Coupon – Dick’s Sporting Goods is continuing its partnership with us and offering us a 20% off coupon good for most items in the soccer for Friday March 18 through Monday March 21.  See attached for the coupon and the list of stores that are participating (although I understand that some stores that don’t participate might (but are not required to) honor the coupon).  Please share this with your school families that are signed up for soccer and feel free to share with whoever else you’d like; it is not a requirement to play soccer for the DSL to use the coupon if you want to share it with friends and families.