Welcome To The MYSA!

We are glad you have decided to have your child participate in our exciting and growing soccer league. We have collected information here to help newcomers to our league understand how it functions and what is expected of them during the season. Have a question that we didn”t answer here? Ask your coach or contact us at [email protected] and we”ll do our best to get you an answer!

League Info

Our league was formed by area parents who wanted a soccer league in their hometown that their children could participate in inexpensively. With some encouragement from the Mebane City Council, the parents formed a non-profit association to coordinate and run a soccer league. The Mebane Youth Soccer Association works in close coordination with the Mebane Recreation Department to ensure our teams can continue to use Mebane”s outstanding field facilities, but our teams also utilize other fields in Alamance and Orange counties. We play two seasons a year, one in the Spring from February through April and another in the Fall from August through October. Seasons generally consist of one month of practice followed by 8-9 weeks of games (with practices during the week). We field teams at multiple levels – Recreation, Travel, and TopSoccer for special needs children.

Administrative Info

  • Registration for the Recreational season costs $30 per player. Your coach or team manager will collect this from you at the first practice along with your paperwork. Please make checks out to “Mebane Youth Soccer Association”.
  • Parents will be need to bring a variety of paperwork to their first practice. This includes a medical waiver and code of conduct. You can print your forms out in your parent account on our website.
  • The league must have a birth certificate on file for each player. We only need this once – it will remain on file as long as your child plays.
  • Players play at various age levels, like ‘U5′ or ‘U10′. U5 means your child is ‘Under 5′ on August 1st of the current soccer year (soccer runs August through July). Or thinking of it another way, take your child’s age on August 1st, add one, and put a ‘U’ in front of it and that will be their ‘soccer age’ from August through July.

Equipment

  • Soccer Balls: Different age groups play with different sized soccer balls. We recommend parents get their child their own ball so they can practice/play on their own. Coaches may or may not have their own practice balls, so having one on hand is helpful. The U5-U8 divisions play with a Size 3 ball. The U10-U12 divisions use a Size 4 ball. U13 and above use a size 5 adult size ball. Balls can be purchased at sporting goods stores or large retailers like Wal-Mart, K-Mart, etc.
  • Shoes/Cleats: Players in the older leagues (U8 and above) should wear cleats for practice and games. Younger players don’t necessarily need them, but many players wear them anyway. Ask your coach if you are unsure. Good cleats can be found for very little money at larger retailers and sporting goods stores. Do not spend excessive amounts on cleats as the kids outgrow them quickly. If you do get cleats for your child, beware they MUST be soccer cleats. Baseballs cleats can NOT be used since they usually have a spike in the front center of the show – this spike will catch the ground during normal kicking motions and can cause injuries. Soccer cleats will not have a spike up front like this, making it easier to kick the ball. Ask a store associate if you are unsure. Your coach can also give you pointers.
  • Shin Guards: Players MUST wear shin guards during practices and games. There are NO exceptions! Serious injuries can occur if players don”t have shin guards on. Again, you can find shin guards at most large retailers and sporting goods stores. A special note for younger (U5-U7) players. Most of the larger stores stock plastic molded shin guards for older children that do not fit younger children well. For 4-6 year olds, you should go to a sporting goods store and get proper size shin guards. Most guards for smaller children are fabric with plastic strips sewn into them which allows them to curve and fit their smaller shins.
  • Mouthguards: The MYSA encourages mouthguards for players in U8 and above. Mouthguards are provided to all registered players in U8 and above, free of charge. Soccer is a collision sport where players run at high speed so mouth protection is a good thing.
  • Uniforms: You can expect that your team’s sponsor will provide a uniform shirt for your child to play games in. Some also provide enough resources so coaches can get shorts and socks as well. Your coach will provide more information as practices get going and will let you know what parts of the uniform, if any, parents will have to get and the proper colors, etc. Uniforms for travel teams are provided by the league.
  • Miscellaneous: Even the smallest children will work up a thirst during practices and games. Some coaches bring large water coolers, while others request parents to bring a water bottle for their child. If you plan to practice with your children at home, you may want to get some inexpensive cones. They come in very handy for drills and also are ideal for marking ”goals” for shooting. There’s no need to spend lots of money on folding goals, etc. A few cones can help them setup drills they learn at practice and allow more flexibility anyway.

Practices

Most teams will practice once or twice a week. Your coach will explain what he/she hopes to accomplish at practices and when attendance is mandatory vs optional. Children should come dressed for the weather and ready to play. Bring a water bottle. If you plan on staying through the practice, a folding chair can be essential!

Games

  • Game schedules will be released approximately 2 weeks before opening day. Most Recreational games are played on Friday nights and Saturday mornings, though some of the older leagues will play a few games during the week. We will publish the schedules online as soon as they are set. During games, the teams will sit on one side of the field while parents are required to sit on the opposite side. This is done to help the players concentrate and ensure players on the sidelines don’t roam off to parents when a coach needs them to sub in.
  • U5-U7 age games are NOT scored. All other leagues keep score and league standings are tracked online.
  • We remind parents that while we all are excited when our kids play, try to avoid shouting instructions to them from the sidelines. This combined with a coach’s instructions can often confuse players and distract them.
  • And, of course, don’t forget it’s all about having fun!

Rules

Our games adhere to FIFA’s Laws of the Game. Most youth leagues make minor alterations to the laws, especially at the younger ages. We encourage parents to read the appropriate laws for their child’s age group. The current version of our league’s laws can be found in our Coaches Section.