What equipment will my child need?

Your child will need a uniform kit, cleats, shinguards, a soccer ball, and a water. 

Where do we get the uniform?

If you register at walk-in registration, you can purchase and pick up your player's uniform then. If you register online, we will have a uniform pickup day at the Concession Stand at our Spartan Soccer Complex. 

What color jersey does the Home team wear?

Away - Green

Home - White

How do I find out about field closures due to weather?

For weekday practices, a decision will be made by 4:00PM. Our website, Facebook page, Instagram and Coach GroupMe will be updated with the decision. 

On game days, the park's field staff evaluate the fields around 7:00AM, and update our website, Facebook page, Instagram and Coach GroupMe soon after.   We usually do not make field calls on Friday nights because weather is unpredictable, and make-ups are hard to schedule, so we try our best to get the games played as scheduled.  In extreme cases (like declared weather emergencies), we will make field closure calls the day (or days) before.   

This field status can change as weather conditions change.  It's not uncommon for thunderstorms to roll through and saturate the fields, making them unplayable.   Also, fields will close when there is lightning in the area. 

What does U (as in 8U) mean?

U stands for under.  8U means 8-and-Under.  Age groups are set by birth year, with players born in the same year being in the same age group.   The age group designation applies to the entire season.  Soccer registration includes Fall and Spring seasons, so 8U players will all be "8-and-Under" for the duration of both seasons.

How do I find out about my child’s team placement?

Team assignments are announced in late-August for the fall season.

How are players assigned to teams?

One of our primary objectives is to ensure play is fair and competitive in our rec leagues.  To that end, we do not allow coaches or parents to "stack" teams with "good" players.  Players are assigned to teams randomly.  We use random assignments to ensure a fair and equitable assignment process as required by the park's youth sports guidelines.  Additionally, the Louisiana Soccer Association strictly prohibits assigning players to recreational teams on the basis of talent.  The only exceptions to this process are for siblings and coach/assistant coach pairings.

Can I request a specific coach for my child?

Unfortunately, no.  See above.  

Can my child to play up to a higher age group?

No.  At the recreational level, all players must play at their designated age groups. 

Why aren't there more players assigned to each team?

Kids sign up to play soccer so they can play soccer, not watch from the bench.  The problem with large rosters is that kids end up riding the bench more than they play.  When this happens, the kids get frustrated and end up quitting the sport. 

Generally speaking, we have target rosters sizes (based on US Youth Soccer guidance), factoring previous experience (absentee rates) within each age group.  In order to guarantee each player will play half of the game, max roster sizes are set at double the field player requirement (so for example, 6U - 8U plays 4v4, requiring 4 field players, the max roster size is 8).  Usually, we don't have the exact number of players needed to max out each team's roster (in the above example, factors of 8: 32, 40, 48, 64, etc.).  In that case, we evenly assign the players between the teams, at the closest we can come to the max roster size.  There are also other factors we need to consider when building rosters (amount of teams, scheduling conflicts, coach availability).  

We understand that sometimes teams lose players, or players don't show for games.  In some cases, teams may not have enough players to make a full roster for a game.  We are putting in processes to alleviate this issue. 

In the end, if we assign too many players to a team, and most kids show (the usual case), the players are all frustrated because they are watching soccer and not playing soccer.

Can I request a specific practice schedule?

Unfortunately, no.   Coaches choose their own practice days/times that meet their particular scheduling needs.  This happens after teams are already assigned, so it's impossible to know what a team's schedule will be when assigning rosters.  

How do I find information of Picture Day?

Our website will contain all the information needed for picture day. The schedule for picture day will be posted shortly after game schedules are posted each season.  Picture Day will occur Rain or Shine.