REGISTRATION

Q: How do I become a coach?

A:  See the Volunteer Opportunities page of our website.

Q: Are there boundaries I must live within to play for Silver Lake Soccer Club?

A: No, though most of our players attend school in the Everett School District.

Q: I am interested in applying for financial assistance.

A: Please contact the club Registrar bout Financial Assistance information.

Q: Can I mail in my registration?

A: No, Silver Lake Soccer Club only accepts online registrations.

Q: Where do I send a copy of my birth certificate?

A: The document should be a certified birth certificate or passport-we can not accept hospital documents. All documents are destroyed (shredded) after receipt and verification has been entered into our database.

We must have this information. Unverified players are not allowed to play in any games and are considered not properly registered!

You can do this in one of two ways:

Q: I would like my child on a specific team. How do you assign new players?

A: Returning players may return to their previous season's team if registered by June 15th. At that time any remaining roster spots are filled first by those players who played with SLSC last year and are transferring from another team, and then by new players in 'first come first serve order'. We always do our best to honor team and buddy requests though we do not guarantee them. Following is the priority system we use when forming teams:

1. Returning players requesting to be on the same team
2. Honoring buddy requests for returning players (and/or team transfers)
3. Buddy requests for new players
4. New players in the actual age group dispersed onto teams
5. Players playing up

Q: How have age groups changed since the Fall 2015 season?

A: Before Fall 2016, age groups were based on a school year system where players with birthdays from August 1st to July 31st of a particular year were placed together. US Soccer made the decision to change to a calendar year system, where all players in an age group have the same birth year. This change was implemented by Washington Youth Soccer for Fall 2016 registration.

Q: I would like my child to play up an age group?

A: Silver Lake Soccer does not grant play up requests for players younger than U12. This decision is based on "age appropriate" play recommended by Washington Youth Soccer for recreational programs. Playing up to enhance development is not recommended for recreational programs. There are several local competitive clubs that offer a range of development programs for this purpose.

If your child is old enough to make a play up request, you must register for your child's actual age group. Once registration is complete, send a play up request to [email protected].

Q: What are the reasons behind the play up policy Silver Lake Soccer Club has adopted?

A: To best answer this question, here are a couple of references from US Soccer that begin this discussion:

http://www.usyouthsoccer.org/rec

What is...

Recreational Soccer?

Recreational soccer is that soccer program that is primarily devoted to the enjoyment and development of soccer players without the emphasis on travel or high-level competition. The purpose of recreational soccer is to provide an opportunity for the participants to have fun, learn the sport and develop life skills including a lifelong love of the game.

Recreational Player - a player who is randomly assigned to a team without regard to his/her abilities and skills.

Recreational Team - teams formed randomly to play soccer.

Recreational League - leagues composed of teams formed in a random manner.

http://www.ussoccer.com/~/media/files/coaches/2015/player-development-initiatives-faqs-final.pdf?la=en

Why is birth year registration going into effect for all levels of play and all age groups?

Having players train and play according to their age and developmental stage supports the objectives of the small sided standards by focusing on the physiological and developmental needs of the player. This change is meant to better safeguard the development of youth players at all ages and levels.

Age groups--or categories-are used to differentiate players based on natural development stages as they mature both physically and emotionally. It is recognized by US Soccer that the greatest difference in these stages occurs between the U6 through U11 age groups. This is one of the largest factors behind the small-sided soccer rules that attempts to present an environment specifically targeted for the development needs of each age group. It is therefore mandatory to establish some kind of boundary to separate those age groups. That boundary condition has been established as birth years by US Youth Soccer and is implemented by North County Youth Soccer Association and Silver Lake Soccer Club.

Putting all of this together, it is difficult to avoid considering a player's skills or abilities-which would violate US Youth Soccer's definition of a recreational player-when participants and their families in the younger age groups request to play up. Could they compete effectively at an older age group? Do they have the size, speed and maturity to avoid injury? What is the impact to the target team when a younger player is introduced? (The number of players on a team is reduced at the younger age groups and therefore a single player can have a more significant impact on a small-sided team.) These questions should be answered when considering play up requests, however that simple act would exclude the decision from recreational play. Beyond that are questions about social maturity and being able to fit into an older team. We also find that many requests to play up are based on the parents' desire to speed up development of their child's skills by participating in an older age group. SLSC has previous experience where this frequently did not work out for either the player or the team the player was assigned. It is for these reasons that Silver Lake Soccer Club has adopted the policy to not accept play up requests from participants in the U11 and younger age groups. As players age and mature, it is much easier to accept play up requests because the risk of negatively impacting the player or the target team is reduced, so we can consider requests from participants in the U12 and older age groups.

Q: Can my child play on the same team as last year now that age groups have changed?

A: If your child was born between 2007 and 2011, all teams will be re-created using the new birth year age groups. These younger age groups experience a great deal of attrition and change among players and coaches, therefore the Silver Lake Soccer board decided it was best to create new teams using the new calendar year age group system. There is not an option for these players to request playing up with any former teammates.

Players can return to their team if they were assigned to a U10 or older Silver Lake Soccer team in Fall 2015 and the team-- as a whole--decides to play up to the age group of its oldest player. In that case, the team would be advancing two age groups from last season.

Here is an example:

The following team roster from Fall 2015 was in the U12 age group (name and birth date listed):

U12 age group (birth date between August 1st 2003 and July 31st 2004):

Ryan 09/17/2003

Sean 11/05/2003

Aiden 02/27/2004

Logan 07/13/2004

After the Fall 2016 implementation of calendar year age groups results in two different age groups:

Birth Year 2003 (U14) age group:

Ryan 09/17/2003

Sean 11/05/2003

Birth Year 2004 (U13) age group:

Aiden 02/27/2004

Logan 07/13/2004

If the entire team decides to stay together, Aiden and Logan must play up to the U14 age group to join Ryan and Sean on the same team. If not, then Aiden and Logan are placed on a team in the U13 age group and Ryan and Sean are placed on a team in the U14 age group.

SOCCER SEASON:

Q: When should I hear from my child's coach?

A: For U-8 and above you should hear from your coach the last week of July. If you haven't heard from anyone by this time please email us using our contact form. Provide your son/daughter's name, birthday and your names and someone will get back with you asap. For Future Stars (U-6 and U-7) your child's coach will call the end of August or the first days of September.

Q: When does the season start?

A: For U8 and above teams may start practice as early as the first week of August. For all age groups games start in September, the first weekend after Labor Day, and go for 10 weeks. For U-6 and U-7 you will not have practices during August and your season will also start the first weekend after Labor Day. This age has a 30 min practice followed by a 30 min game on Saturdays.

Q: When and where will my son/daughter's practices be?

A: We will not know this until late in July when we have requests from the coach and field availability from the school district.

Q: What days are games held?

A: Silver Lake Soccer Club is a part of North County Youth Soccer Association and they are responsible for scheduling all the games for our area. At this time they have not determined which weekend day games will be held. Schedules for the season usually come out in the end of August.

UNIFORMS AND EQUIPMENT

Q: What is the average cost of a soccer uniform?

A: For ages U8 and above the cost is between $25 and $45 dollars depending on what your team has picked for their uniforms. For Future Stars (U6 and U7) the club provides a T-shirt.

Q: What equipment does my child need to play soccer?

A: Each player must have shin guards worn under socks, cleats and a soccer ball. Soccer balls come in sizes determined by age group:

U6/U7/U8 Size 3
U9/U10/U11/U12 Size 4
U13 and up Size 5