Soccer

LEAGUE FORMAT

THE GAME

• Soccer is a coed 8 on 8 non-contact league. 
• All players must wear SPORTSKIND team shirts and closed ­toe shoes. 
• Sandals are prohibited. No metal cleats allowed. 
• Shin guards are required. 
• Bracelets, necklaces, rings (except smooth wedding rings), and earrings should be removed before play. 
• Names on shirts, numbers, cut off sleeves, etc. are permitted as long as they don’t cover the original SPORTSKIND logos. 
• A player not wearing a SPORTSKIND league shirt or Championship shirt can still play, however a violation of this rule results in the player sitting out the first 5 min of the game. 
• Hard casts and hard knee braces are not allowed.

TEAMS

• Teams may have as many players on their roster as they choose. Players can be added to the roster throughout the season but no players will be allowed to play without having joined the team roster via registration through our website. 
• Team rosters generally consist of 10 – 14 members, with at least 4 of each gender.
• As a co-ed league, the intended format is 5 male players and 3 female players on the pitch at a time. A minimum of 6 are required (with 2 of each gender) to prevent a forfeit. No more than 5 men on the field at any time.
• A forfeit will be declared after 10 minutes if a team can’t field the minimum required players.
• Two forfeits eliminate a team from playoff consideration.
• Only paid SPORTSKIND  league members are allowed to play - NO EXCEPTIONS. If a team has fewer than 6 players, the team has the option to pick up players from within the league to keep from forfeiting the game.  A team must have at least 4 players from your existing team roster and can pick up 2 additional players to reach the minimum requirement. Picking up 2 more players to reach 8 total is allowed at the discretion of league staff and at the approval of the opposing team.  However, these substitute players must have a SPORTSKIND  shirt and play within the league.

SUBSTITUTIONS

• Substitutions may occur at any time (hockey style). Player substitution must happen at the half field line and the exiting player must be off the field before the new player enters the field. Any major injury will stop play.

GAME DURATION

• Games will have two 20 minute halves, separated by a 3 minute halftime.
• Regular season games may end in a tie.
• If a game is called in the 2nd half, it will be considered a full game and the score is final.

SCORING

• A goal is scored when the ball crosses the goal line completely. No team shall win or achieve a differential of more than +5, even if the team won by more than 5 goals.

OFFSIDE

• There is no penalty for being offside in this league.

SLIDE TACKLING

There is no slide tackling, EVER.

• Even if unintentional, if a slide occurs near a player the referee may call a foul and may issue a yellow card or up to a red card. A free kick is given to the opposing team of the slide tackler.  The goal keeper will be exempt from this rule only if they slide and attempt to make a “save” on the ball when no opposing players are within 5 yards.

OUT OF BOUNDS

• Anytime the ball goes over either sideline, out of bounds, a throw in will ensue. The person throwing the ball must throw the ball overhead with both hands and keep both feet remaining on the ground out ­of ­bounds until the ball is released. The team that did not touch the ball last gets the throw ­in. Goals may not be scored on a throw ­in.
• Anytime the ball crosses an end line, a corner kick or goal kick will ensue.
  • Last touched by the defending team is a corner kick. Ball is placed on the nearest corner and kicked in by the offensive team. Goals may be scored on corner kicks.
  • Last touched by the offensive team is­ a goal kick by the defense. All opposing players must be outside the penalty box when it is kicked.

GOALIES

• Goalies may use their hands inside the penalty box. Goalies may throw, roll, punt, drop kick or place the ball down and kick.

FREE KICKS AND PENALTY KICKS

• All Free Kicks are direct (can be scored directly). The defending team must give 8 yards.
• Penalty kicks are awarded by the referee if a foul occurs in the penalty box and anyone may take the kick.

SPORTSMANSHIP, FOULS, AND CARDS

• Any player or team may be removed from the league for the remainder of the season, and denied registration for subsequent seasons due to unsportsmanlike conduct at the complete discretion of SPORTSKIND if it is in the best interest of the league.
• A player is cautioned and given a yellow card if he/she commits any of the following offenses: (a) unsporting behavior, (b) shows dissent by word or action, (c) persistently infringes the Laws of the Game, (d) delays the restart of the game, (e) fails to stand the required distance for a corner kick or a free kick.
• A player is sent off and shown the red card if he/she commits the following offenses: (a) guilty of serious foul play, (b) guilty of violent conduct, (c) spits on an opponent or any other person, (d) denies an opponent a goal or an obvious goal ­scoring opportunity by deliberately handling the ball, (e) denies an obvious goal­ scoring opportunity to an opponent moving towards the player's goal by an offense punishable by a free kick or a penalty kick, (f) uses offensive language, or (g) receives a second caution in the same match.
  • Yellow – First is warning, direct kick.
  • 2 Yellow Cards in one game results in a Red Card.
  • 1 Red Card - Ejection from game and said team will play one player down. May result in 1 or more additional game suspensions depending on severity.
  • 2 Red Cards in one season results in ejection from the league, no refund.
  • Fighting or responding to a fight in a violent manner will almost always result in ejection from the league, no refund.

OFFICIALS

• Only Team Captains may dispute calls with the Officials. All decisions by Officials are final.
• The head official may eject any player as necessary due to poor sportsmanship, abusive behavior, excessive fouls, arguing or any other reason they deem necessary. Any player ejected twice in a season shall be removed from the league.
• Officials have complete authority and may: a. call a time out; call off a game because of weather or other reasons; penalize or eject a player, including game ejection, for any reason. b. ejected players must leave the field for the duration of the day in question.

PLAYOFFS

• Playoffs will follow the end of the regular season. It will consist of the top teams in the league playing in a single elimination tournament.  If there is a tie in the standings, the head-to-head match up will determine seeding.  If there is no clear head-to-head winner, run differential will determine seeding.
• No substitutes will be allowed during playoffs.  All players must have already played in at least one regular season game and be on the league roster/waiver.
• Playoff games that end in a tie will go to an extra 5 min playoff.  If no goals are scored in this extra time, teams will go straight to penalty kicks: with 3 men and 2 women taking kicks for each team. All shootout kicks are worth one point. If after each team has taken 5 kicks the game is still tied, kicks will continue alternating with remaining players until one team wins. No player may kick twice until all players on the team have kicked.

FORFEIT POLICY

•  If your team forfeits a game during the season, the following rules apply :
  • First Offense: Loss of game. Winning team receives 5 points
  • Second Offense: Loss of game and lost ability to make the playoffs.
  • Third Offense: Removal from the league.
• Contact us at least 48 hours in advance if you know in advance that your team is going to forfeit a game.
• If you know your team has a conflict, let us know before the schedule is released and we will make every effort to accommodate.
• Teams have until ten minutes past the designated start time to field a full squad (or the league minimum of players required according to rules). If at that time a team is unable to field a legal team, they forfeit the game. The teams may utilize the playing field during their allotted time to play an unofficial game. The official score will be marked as a loss with the respective forfeit score.

SPORTSMANSHIP

• We enforce a “Zero Tolerance Policy” in regards to behavior of players, managers, and fans. Taunting, trash talking, or abusive language will not be tolerated.  Officials and league staff will have the right to reprimand or eject players, managers, or fans depending on the severity of the situation. Abusive behavior toward the official will not be tolerated. An ejection carries a two game suspension (including the current game). In extreme cases, the player will be asked to leave the premises without refund. The severity of the punishment will be based on the discretion of the official and league staff. Only Team Captains are allowed to approach the official with questions or concerns, and in a respective manner. Teams charging the field of play to question or complain a call will be subject to automatic forfeit for that game.
• Alcohol and smoking is not allowed on playing fields.
• Any rules not covered or protests will be handled by the Official.
• There will be no refunds allowed for rain delays or cancellations.  If the league is postponed due to weather, we will reschedule to a later date.  There will be no refunds if you are not able to furnish a team on the makeup date.
• Soccer is played in the rain if at all possible unless the Official or Facility Representative decide it is necessary to postpone due to dangerous field conditions or lightning.  If lightning occurs, all attempts will be made to resume play 30 minutes after the last lightning flash is viewed and the official deems it safe to resume play. The games will resume as scheduled if at all possible, or shortened if necessary.
• All decisions of the official are final. The official shall also have the final authority to make adjustments to match schedules, match duration, and other aspects of the league as may become necessary during the course of the league.

LEAGUE AUTHORITY

• FIGHTING WILL NOT BE TOLERATED.  ANY INSTANCES OF FIGHTING MAY RESULT IN A TEAM FORFEIT OF THE TOURNAMENT WITHOUT REFUND AND POSSIBLE EXPULSIONS FROM FUTURE TOURNAMENTS.
• ALL DECISIONS OF THE LEAGUE STAFF ARE FINAL.  THE LEAGUE STAFF SHALL ALSO HAVE THE FINAL AUTHORITY TO MAKE ADJUSTMENTS TO GAME SCHEDULES, GAME DURATION. AND OTHER ASPECTS OF THE RULES OR OF THE LEAGUE.