Coaching Resources

Key Dates for Recreational Soccer Coaches

Matt Heintz/SCYSL Recreation Program Director will be holding the recreational coaches meeting at Curtis Field in August (day and time TBA) at the storage shed located near the bathrooms. He will hand-out equipment bags, rosters, season schedule, some of the uniforms that are in, coaches shirts, training session manual, as well as read over my recreational handout. Matt will start distributing equipment first, and the actual meeting will start at 6:30pm. If you have coached in SCYSL before, you do not need to listen to Matt’s speech again (although our new registration system gives a new way of communicating directly with your team). If you are new, we recommend listening to Matt and reading his handout which answers almost every question that will come up over the course of the season.

  • August 24rd – Demonstration Practices held at Curtis Field (Tentative)
  • August 31st, 10am – UK Soccer Coaching Clinic at Curtis Field (Tentative)
  • Sept 7th – Recreational Soccer Season Starts
  • Sept  Photo Day at Curtis Field (Day/Times TBD) –  Teams will sign-up for slots.
  • November – Last game of the Fall Season

Professional, Ethical & Moral Behavior

SCYSL’s Code of Ethics has been developed to clarify and distinguish approved and accepted professional, ethical, and moral behavior from that which is detrimental to the development of soccer within the NorCal Premier Soccer League US Club Soccer. This Code of Ethics is applicable to all adult members and players, though in many cases the coach will be primarily responsible for ensuring compliance. Punishments for violations of this Code of Ethics may be imposed upon a club if committed by an adult member or other individual present at a game or training session.

The Object of The Game

At each end of the field are soccer goals that the teams must defend. The object of the game is to put the ball in the opponent’s goal and the team that does this most in the allotted time wins. Each team works to advance a ball down the field by dribbling, passing, heading, and kicking. Field players cannot use their arms or hands; only the Keeper (or Goalie) can use hands. A goal counts as one point and is scored when the soccer ball completely crosses the opposing goal line between the posts and under the crossbar.


What is Needed to Play?

  • A soccer ball: Size 3 for U6 and U8, size 4 for U9 – U12, and size 5 for U14 and up.
  • Soccer cleats or turf shoes.
  • Shin guards
  • Uniform – soccer jersey, shorts, socks
  • The Goalkeeper, same as above but also needs goalie gloves and a different color jersey


How Long is a Game?

  • U6 – Four 10 minutes qaurters (may be modified to Four 12 minute quarters)
  • U8 – Four 12 minute quarters
  • U10 – Two 25 minute halves
  • U12 – Two 30 minute halves
  • U14 – Two 35 minute halves
  • U16 – Two 40 minutes halves
  • U18 – Two 45 minutes halves


Kicks During the Game

Center Kickoff – Starts play at the beginning of both halves and after every goal. It is a kick taken from the center circle in which a player from the kicking team strikes the ball forward to his or her own teammate.

Corner Kick – Takes place when the defensive team has kicked the ball “out-of-bounds” over its own end line. The corner kick is taken by a player on the attacking team from the “corner arc” nearest to where the ball left the field.

Goal Kick – A kick taken by a defensive player (often the goalie) after the offensive team has kicked the ball out-of-bounds over the end line. The goal kick is taken from within the goal area and must clear the penalty area before another defensive player is allowed to touch it.

A Few Rules to Know!

Rules regulate player conduct and how the ball may be played. When a player commits a foul, a penalty is called. Depending on the severity, degree of intent, and location of the foul, the referee will award either a “free kick” or a “penalty kick” to the opposing team. A player commits a foul if he or she kicks, hits, pushes, holds, charges, or trips an opponent, or touches the ball with his or her hands – whether intentional or not.

Offside – Called against the offense when one of its players moves without the ball behind the last line of defense, with only the goalie separating the player from the goal. When a teammate passes the ball forward to this player or shoots on goal, the violation occurs and results in an “indirect” free kick for the defense. This rule applies to U10 and up age brackets.

Click here to watch the FIFA instruction video on the Offside Rule, or download a presentation

Hand Ball – No player, other than the goalie, may intentionally touch a ball in play with his or her hands or arms. This violation awards the opposing team a “direct” free kick.

Holding and Tripping – If a player deliberately holds or uses any part of his or her body to trip an opposing player, a direct kick is awarded to the fouled player.

High Kick – A violation on a player who swings his or her foot close to and above the waist of an opposing player. This foul generally results in a direct kick.

Free Kick (Indirect or Direct) – Awarded as the result of a foul. Depending on the degree and severity of the foul, and at the discretion of the referee, a direct or indirect kick is taken by the non-offending team. Generally, a free kick is taken from the spot where the foul occurred, and no opposing player may be within ten yards of the ball before it is kicked.

Indirect Kick – A free kick awarded for less serious rule infractions such as an offside. A goal may not be scored off an indirect kick until the ball touches at least one other player from either team.

Direct Kick – Awarded on more serious or deliberate infractions such as tripping and holding. It is a free kick aimed directly at the goal. The player taking the kick may score a goal without the ball first touching any other player.

Penalty Kick – A kick awarded to the attacking team when a defending player commits a major foul or a hand ball within his or her own 18-yard penalty area. The resulting shot is taken from the penalty mark; only the kicker and goalie may be in the penalty area during this kick. The goalie may not move off the goal line until the ball has been touched by the kicker.

Yellow Card – A caution warning issued by the referee to any player who commits a severe foul or plays in an unsportsmanlike manner.

Red Card – If a player has already received a yellow card or commits an overly aggressive foul, the referee will issue a red card, removing that player for the duration of the game. The player receiving a red card may not be replaced, and his or her team must play with one less player for the remainder of the game.

NorCal Protests, Appeals, and Discipline Process

The NorCal Protests, Appeals, and Discipline process manages all issues related to violations of the NorCal Handbook and Code of Ethics, as well as Red Card suspensions.  To report a violation to NorCal Premier, please fill out the incident report form located in the menu on the left.  Incident reports can only be filed by Club Presidents, Directors of Coaching/ Technical Directors, and Referees.

Pad Process

NorCal has made changes to the Incident and Send Off Reporting for all NorCal Premier Soccer events.  To submit a report you will need to log in with your club information to ensure that the proper role within the club is submitting the report.  Each club will be notified of a report involving their club in the ‘Club’ tab of their GotSoccer account.  The master account holder for the club will also be notified via email.  Once notified, each club has 48 hours to respond to the report via the GotSoccer system, where clubs can leave comments and attach any supporting documents.  Rulings will be made from within the system and posted to the club accounts.

Once an incident report has been filed, it will be directed to the appropriate NorCal personnel for review.  In addition, any club named in an incident report will be notified of the report and be given a 48 hour period to respond before NorCal rules on the issue.  Incident reports relating to violations of the NorCal Code of Ethics will be reviewed by the NorCal PAD Committee following a 48 hour comment period.  Send Off Reports and reports relating to unlicensed referees will be investigated by the NorCal Referee Coordinator and presented to the PAD Committee for a ruling.  All reports relating to game protests, scheduling, or communications issues will be reviewed by the NorCal Competitions Committee.  As with all incident reports, clubs will be given 48 hours to respond to any incident report filed against them before NorCal makes a ruling.

Recreation Soccer Age Group Coordinators

Matt Heintz

Recreation Program Manager

Carrie Scott

Under 6 Age Group Coordinator

Matt Heintz

Under 8 & Under 10 Age Group Coordinator

Mohsen Darabi

Under 12-16 Age Group Coordinator