FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

How are the teams created?
The U11 and U14 teams are house teams.  We try to divide the players up in a way that will create a balanced league.  Since we don't know the abilities of the players we try to balance the teams by age, boys/girls, traveling, high level players and non-traveling, lower ability players.

This is not a perfect science, especially since we also try to honor player requests.  The balance of the league is more important than individual player requests, so when player requests result in an unbalanced league we won't honor the request. 
    
Why was my request not honored?
There are number of reasons why your request may not have been honored. As discussed above, it may have been an issue of league balance.  If both players are older, high level players putting them together can easily create an unbalance.  If we have a limited number of girls in the league, we often do not have a lot of flexibility to move them around.  

Another common reason requests aren't honored is where a number of players request the same player or a player chain has been created.

In some cases people forget to put their player request on their form or they registered late which make it impossible for us to meet their request.

But we have to be on the same team for car-pooling purposes!
We are given many reasons why players need to be together but other than when dealing with siblings we are not in position to know whether the reasons given are essential, for convenience or simply because the players want to play together.  

For many years we had a very liberal policy on player requests and had few problems. Players were happy to play on the same team and happy to play against their friend or summer teammate.  Things began to change and people began to become focused on "keeping the kids together".  Sometimes it was based on summer teams.  Sometimes it was based on school or other groups.  We always are told that they were just friends and didn't want to be together because of their soccer abilities but we often ended up with a number of "super" teams that just crushed the other teams.  We saw scores like 14 to 1 and teams with no wins. 

It is no fun to be crushed and it isn't even fun to be on a team that faces no real competition.  Winning a one goal game in the last minute creates a great feeling.  Blowing someone out is boring.

As a result, we were forced to continually tighten our policy to avoid the super teams. However, every time we adjusted the rules to close a loop hole, another way was found to get around the system.  That has led to our present system.  

We only honor one player request. We will not honor coach requests. Siblings will always be kept together unless you request otherwise. Coaches cannot request to coach with other coaches. Late registration requests will not be honored and requests that would create an unbalanced league will not be honored.

We try very hard to allow players to play together if it does not create an unbalanced league.  It takes hours and days to put these teams together and balance all of these issues. We wish we could be more flexible but history has demonstrated that our best chance of avoiding super teams is to hold strict to our present policy.

Playing Time
These are house teams so we expect all of the players to play approximately the same amount of time.  If a player gets too much playing time in one game, the time should be shortened in the next game.  If a player doesn't get enough time in one game, it should be made up in a future game.  Of course, there are other factors like injuries that can impact playing time and is really beyond the control of the coach.    

Practices
There are no scheduled practices.  Teams can decide to practice but few do becuase it is difficult to find space to practice and few teams want to pay the extra money to pay for turf time to practice.  In years where we have an early spring (unlikely this year!) some teams will actually practice in the outdoor rinks.   

Sportsmanship
If sports are supposed to help teach our children life lessons then it starts with adults showing great sportsmanship.  This includes not just coaches by also the spectators. We do not tolerate abusive behavior towards the referees, coaches, players or other spectators.  If anyone is abusive, the referees can stop the game and ask that person to leave the arena before the game will resume.

Always remember it is just a game!

Refereeing
We try to get the best referees but even the best referees make mistakes and there are many judgment calls that are made in every game.  Soccer is a very fast sport and many plays could truly go either way. The bottom line is that the referees are doing their best and we will support them as long as they are being attentive and are applying our rules.

There are no official indoor soccer rules. The NIS rules are different than every other arena in the area.  We have continually strengthened our rules through-out the years to make a safer, better game for the players.

Before you complain about the referees make sure you have read our rules.  The vast majority of the complaints we do get are based on a lack of knowledge of what the actual rule was on the play.  We don't get many complaints but if you are concerned please let us know and we will check into the situation but be prepared to tell us what the rule is and why you believe it was called incorrectly! 

Concussions and Injuries
Our coaches are required to obtain their concussion certificate and we follow the state law regarding concussions. Some parents object to being made to see a doctor if their child exhibits concussions systems but we must follow the law.  Concussions are a real problem but determining whether someone has a concussion is a very tricky thing and the symptoms can be very subtle.

If a player is hurt, we ask the player how they are feeling.  If they say they are injured, we assume they are injured.  If they say they are not ready to get back on the field we will not put them on the field. You know your child better than we do and may believe that they aren't really hurt and just need a push to get back on the field but we are not medical experts so we have to respect what the player tells us.

If there is a serve injury or if the player cannot get up, we will ask you to come on to the field and, if you are not available, we will call an ambulance.   

No Pop, Food on the Bench or Field and Other Arena Rules
Players can have water bottles with water in the bench area but no other beverages are allowed because they can stain the turf.

No food or gum is allowed on the field or in the bench area.  If your team has "treats" give them to the players in the lobby area.

No bouncing or kicking soccer balls outside the rink.

Nobody can climb over the boards to go on to the field at any time.

Only players and coaches are allowed in the bench areas - no siblings or friends.