1 How do I calculate what age bracket my child is in? For Recreational soccer in Florida, the age group is based on your child’s age before August 1st of the current year. Ex. if your child is 7 on July 31st of the current year then they would be in U-8. If they were 8 on August 1st, then they would be in U-10.
2. Do I have to "Volunteer" in order for my child to participate? No, provided you select the Opt-out option when registering. The Opt-out fee is $100. We are a volunteer based organization and need the help of the membership in order to put the kids on the field playing soccer. Each family is encouraged to volunteer 3-5 hours in support of your childs team and organization. Volunteer duties will be assigned based on selections made at registration. Games could be canceled/delayed if assigned volunteers do not attend their assigned duties for their team when scheduled.
3. What is the City of St. Petersburg Recreation Card? This is a requirement of the city for use of any city owned facilities. It’s like an ID card enabling you to use any of the city facilities during the year ( Sept 1st thru Aug 31st ). City residents cost is $10 yearly. Out-of-City residents cost is $12.50 per month of activity registering for. This may be obtained at any St. Petersburg Recreation Center. We must see the card of each participant to verify that the card is current for the current seasonal year. Those players without card are not allowed to participate until card has been verified.
4. Can my child play up an age group? This is possible, however FYSA’s policy that all players compete at a level they are capable of both physically and developmentally. For a player to move up more than one normal age grouping will require approval from the affiliate’s director of coaching or agent of record and FYSA Director of Coaching. Failure to obtain proper permissions may result in the player being removed from the team’s roster.
5. Can my child play down an age group? Only in special instances. Please go to the following link to read the requirements of Special Needs Players for clarification of the process to play down an age group to see if your child qualifies. Play down Guidelines
6. Can my child play with????? Special requests for your child to play with another child can not be guaranteed due to the blind draft rules of GYSA ( The rec league’s governing body ). The only way players who are guaranteed to be together are the 3 protected players of any team, the head coach’s child, the asst. coach’s child, and the team sponsor’s child. All other players are randomly drawn by another affiliated GYSA club. This does not apply to U-5 thru U-7 ages as there are no assigned teams so requests to play or practice together are not needed here as the groups play and practice on the same night and times. GYSA Blind Draw Rules
7. When will I know who my child’s coach’s name? Parents who volunteer to be coaches will be chosen by the Rec. Director of Coaching and the Rec. Coordinator shortly after the completion of registration. We do have a Meet the Coach Day each year, you will know your child’s coach a few days before this weekend.
8. When will the schedule be out? The league schedules will not be out until mid to late October depending on the age group. We have to schedule games for the competitive teams, the older rec teams and the in-house rec teams and they all have to fit in the daily game day grid which takes time and planning to make the schedule of games work for every team.
9. Refunds? Our refund policy is such that once teams have been formed for the registered program, there are no refunds except under the following circumstances: 1. Injuries and/or Illness where the player will not medically be able to return during the current season (medical note must be provided) 2. If the family moves outside of the Pinellas County area.
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