RULES AND REGULATIONS GOVERNING PLAY AND PROCEDURES IN THE HOLLISTON YOUTH SOCCER ASSOCIATION, INC.

(Revision 2a 8/23/2006) (Minor Revision 05/23/2016)

1. Play shall be governed by the Federation International Football Soccer Rules with exceptions set forth herein.

A. Exception to FIFA Rules: (for intramural play)

  1. Substitutions can be made by the offensive team on offensive throw-ins. The defensive team may substitute once the offense does so.
  2. In the D and E Levels, play shall stop immediately when a referee determines a player has been injured.
  3. In the E Level, corner kicks shall be taken from inside the penalty area of the goal line corner (unless playing on an 8 per side soccer field), whereupon corner kicks will be taken from the corner.
  4. In the D and E Levels, when play is stopped with the ball in the penalty area due to an injury, play shall be started with a drop ball outside the penalty area.
  5. At the D and E Levels, a player can play in goal for not more than one half of every game.
  6. Each coach shall ensure that each player shall play at least half of every game.
2. REGISTRATION

A. Registration for the Fall and Spring sessions shall be held by mid May. Last day of late registration will be established by the Board of Directors. Late registrations may incur late fees. Late registrants may be placed on a wait list.

B. Registration for students playing only in the Spring session (Example: High School Athletes), and children new to Holliston who have not played in the HYSA Program shall be held prior to the end of January.

C. Registration fees shall be established by the Board of Directors each year. Late fees will be established by the Board of Directors.

D. Only under extraordinary and unique circumstances will a player be permitted to register for participation in the program once teams have been selected for any season. The approval process rests with the Officers and the affected age level coordinators.

E. The basic Fall Program is to be established by the end of School Summer vacation. Potential Fall Travel players must be registered before the end of Summer vacation, since Fall Travel Team rosters will be mailed before the beginning of the Fall season.

3. THE PROGRAM

A. The Program shall consist of the following age levels:

  1. CLINIC – Boys and girls combined, eligible for enrollment in Kindergarten as of July 31.
  2. E Level/U-8 – Boys and girls separated, 8 years of age or under as of July 31. If the number of children that are registered is not conducive to a separate program, the age level Coordinator can form a combined program for the season.
  3. D Level/U-10 – Boys and girls separated 10 years of age or under as of July 31.
  4. C Level/U-12 – Boys and girls separated, 12 years of age or under as of July 31.
  5. B Level/U-14 – Boys and girls separated, 14 years of age or under as of July 31.
  6. A Level/U-16 – Boys and girls separated, 16 years of age or under as of July 31.
  7. AA Level/U-19 – Boys and girls separated, 19 years of age or under as of July 31.

B. Eligibility for participation in any age group shall be determined during registration. Players shall be placed in age level determined by his/her age as of July 31 following the last date of registration. Players registering for the first time must provide access to a copy of his/her birth certificate, to assure proper recording of his/her birth date.

C. In exceptional instances a player may play in an age level different from his/her age level. Each case will be reviewed on its own merit with the final decision resting with the Board. The special needs must be communicated to the Board at the time of registration in order to be considered.

  • GRADE APPROPRIATE:
    The proposal was presented and supported by several BOD members who felt it was important that a child be allowed to play with their “school grade appropriate” friends even if they did not qualify for that specific level, due to their actual birth dates, (i.e. children born after the July 31 age cut off date). In addressing this issue:
    The Board of Directors, at our June 7, 2000 BOD Meeting, voted to change the existing HYSA rules governing grade appropriate play. The motion is as follows:
    The Board of Directors is directed to amend the Rules & Regulations governing play and procedures in the Holliston Youth Soccer Association, Inc. to allow children born between August 1st and December 31st to play in their grade appropriate bracket relative to the currently established age brackets. In compliance with USYSA and MYSA requirements, no exceptions (other than those required by Americans with Disabilities Act) will be approved to permit players older than the specified age to play in any age group.a. The Board of Directors voted to phase in the implementation of the above amendment. The amendment will be phased in, effective for the Intramural and Non select programs as of the September 2000 season and effective throughout all HYSA programs as of the September 2001 season.b. Following procedures are in place to handle requests for Grade Appropriate Play:

    • I. Any parent / player may write to the HYSA Board of Directors and request to play into a higher age level provided the reason is to play with their grade appropriate classmates.
    • II. The letter should be sent to the following:
      Holliston Youth Soccer Association, PO Box 6003, Holliston MA. 01746
    • III. The letter must be received prior to Travel Tryouts to be considered for this Fall Season’s play. (Note anyone who has already sent in a letter must provide the required support documentation for the request to be approved – see next point)
    • IV. The letter must include a copy of the child’s birth certificate AND a copy of the child’s most recent report card or a letter from his/ her teacher verifying the grade the child is currently assigned to.
      If anyone has any questions or needs clarification please contact a member of the Executive Board of Directors or mail your questions to: HYSA, PO Box 6003, Holliston, MA 01746

D. There will be a Fall and Spring Program.

E. Clinic up to and including U10 Program shall be a noncompetitive instructional program.

F. There will be a minimum of an 8 game schedule, 10 games recommended.

G. (struck)

H. Intramural coaches should watch at least one travel game at the age level at which they coach. They should also attend as many coaching clinics as possible.

I. All Star Games shall be permitted. The format and schedule must be presented to and approved by the Board of Directors, prior to any discussion of the games with anyone other than the affected coaches and the Board of Directors. The format and schedule of the games will be developed by the age level coordinators and the affected coaches and presented to the Board for approval.

4. COORDINATORS

The following Coordinators, appointed by the Officers and approved by the Board Members, shall have the duties and responsibilities set forth below, as well as those in a detailed job description. Job descriptions are to be reviewed and revised, if necessary, by each Coordinator at the conclusion of the Fall season. Revisions are to be submitted to the Recording Secretary at the start of the Spring season. The term of Office for all Coordinators shall be for one year. The term of Office for all Coordinators shall begin and end at the same time.

A. Age level Coordinators (for each level) – He or she shall administer his or her respective age level, recommend coaches to the Board of Directors for approval, and meet with the coaches at least one month prior to the first game of each season, to determine the recommended program of play for that age level. At this meeting, the age level Coordinator and the coaches shall form teams. The participants shall have the previous seasons rating sheets provided to them by the age level Coordinator. A coach from each team must be present. The age level Coordinator must provide completed rating sheets to the Travel Team Coordinator one week prior to the date of the open Travel tryouts. The age level Coordinator must keep a copy of the rating sheets for use in developing the intramural teams for the following season.

B. Field Coordinator – he or she shall serve as liaison with the Town and School Departments and arrange for the maintenance of the fields and field equipment.

C. Field Schedule Coordinator – He or she shall develop a master instructional practice and game schedule for all HYSA teams and coordinate any changes.

D. Coaches Coordinator – He or she shall arrange to provide instructional and informational assistance to the Organization’s coaches and shall consult with Age Level Coordinators on coaches selection. The Coaches Coordinator shall coordinate at least three coaching clinics a year. He or she will be responsible for placing the subscriptions to ‘Soccer New England’, as directed by Article 14 of the Bylaws of this Association.

E. Referee Coordinator – He or she shall be responsible for obtaining and assigning referees. He or she will also communicate all programs of play to the referee and serve as liaison between the referees and the Association. The Referee Coordinator is responsible for the intramural program only.

F. Overall Age Level Coordinator – He or she shall communicate the duties to the Age Level Coordinators. The Overall Age Level Coordinator shall also assist the Age Level Coordinators in the administration of their duties and ensure that the duties are carried out in accordance with the Bylaws and the Rules and Regulations of the HYSA Organization. He or she shall also assist the President in assuring that an Age Level Coordinator exists for all gender age levels.

G. Equipment Coordinator – (not including field equipment) – He or she shall be responsible for securing and maintaining equipment, maintaining inventory sheets and working with the Purchasing Coordinator.

H. Adult Level Coordinators – the Adult Level Coordinators shall be responsible for the coordination of the adult teams, ensuring that all adult residents of Holliston that wish to participate are provided with a team to play on and provide the administration of the team, including the scheduling of referees. The Adult Level Coordinators must be residents of Holliston.

I. Travel Team Coordinators – the Travel Team Coordinators shall be responsible for the coordination of the HYSA Travel Program, recommendation of coaches, communication to the coaches and distribution of rosters. They shall meet with the travel coaches prior to each season regarding the desired league and level of play. The Travel Team Coordinators shall provide each incoming travel coach with completed intramural and travel rating sheets prior to the open tryout for the age level in the Spring and at least three weeks prior to the HYSA deadline for travel rosters in the Fall. He or she shall also ensure that when more than one team exists at a gender level, that the coaches of the number one teams have submitted their roster for the next season at least one week before the HYSA deadline for travel rosters. The Travel Team Coordinators are also responsible for maintaining contact with the other soccer organizations outside of Holliston, as designated by the Board of Directors and keeping the Board informed of all pertinent information.

J. Public Relations Coordinator – He or she shall be responsible for the Organization’s publicity and the publication of the biannual newsletter. The Newsletter must be mailed to all members of the Board of Directors, the General Membership and all registered families no later than one week prior to the first game of each season.

K. Fund Raising Coordinator – He or she shall raise funds for the Organization. It is recommended that this shall include coordinating at least one non-tournament fund raising event a year, in addition to patch and jacket sale.

L. Purchasing Coordinator – He or she shall maintain an approved vendor list with pricing to cover the purchase of all services, supplies and equipment of HYSA. He or she will be responsible for purchasing all of the necessary equipment for HYSA.

M. Outside Group Liaison – He or she shall be responsible for maintaining contact with the nonsoccer groups within Holliston, as designated by the Board of Directors and keeping the Board informed of all pertinent information.

N. Director at Large – The Director at Large shall be responsible for whatever assignments are given to them by the President. These assignments should be project related assignments.

O. Travel Referee Coordinator – He or she shall be responsible for assigning referees for travel games as the travel leagues require. He or she shall also communicate the travel program of play to the referees and serve as a liaison between the travel referees and the association.

5. TRAVEL TEAMS

A. The Travel Team Program shall consist of Fall and Spring programs.

B. Coaches shall play each player approximately 1/2 of every game at a minimum.

C. Selection of Travel Team Coaches

1. All persons interested in coaching a Travel Team must:

  • a. Submit a written application to the Travel Team Coordinator prior to April 15, for the upcoming year. If individuals wish to be considered as co-coaches, this must be stated in writing.
  • b. Have completed or be willing to complete, within that year, a sanctioned coaches’ clinic or have comparable experience.

2. The selection of Travel Team Coaches shall be handled in the following manner:

A list of the individuals that expressed an interest in writing, prior to April 15, along with the Travel Coordinators recommendations, shall be provided to the Travel Coaches Selection Committee within one week after April 15. The meeting to select the coaches shall be held by the Travel Coaches Selection Committee no later than the first week in May. All individuals that expressed an interest shall be voted upon by written ballot. In the event that no individual has declared an interest in coaching an approved Travel Team, the Travel Team Coordinator will attempt to fill the position. Upon receiving the declaration of interest, the Travel Team Coordinator will call a special Travel Coaches Selection Committee meeting to obtain approval of the coach.

In the event of a situation so described in Subsection H of the Travel Section of this document, whereas a newly approved travel team must have a coach selected for it, the following procedure shall be followed. Upon receipt of the declarations of interest to coach the team, received as a result of action taken in accordance with Subsection H of the Travel Section of this document, the Travel Coordinator will call a special Travel Coaches Selection Committee Meeting, which must be held within one week. The list of interested individuals that have declared an interest shall be voted on. In the event that there is only one application for the position, and the application does not receive a majority vote in favor of the individual to coach the team, the team will be declared not approved in accordance with Section 5, Subsection H of this document.

3. The Travel Coaches Selection Committee role, purpose and composition will be as follows:

a. Committee Members totaling nine to be comprised of:
– Executive Board: President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer
– Directors: Travel Coordinator (Boys), Travel Coordinator (Girls),
– Coaches Coordinator
– Director or Coaches: (2) Open Positions

In order to be eligible to fill an open position on the committee, the candidate must be either a member of the Board of Directors or be the head coach of a HYSA Soccer Team. Additionally, the candidate must have been in that position for a minimum of one year. The candidate must apply in writing to the President by the time frame that is specified at a meeting of the Board of Directors. The open positions will be filled from the list of candidates that apply. If the number of candidates exceeds the number of available open positions, the positions will be filled by a vote of the Executives, the Travel Coordinators, and the Coaches Coordinator with the Presidents vote being the tiebreaker if necessary. The individuals that sit on the committee as open members, will sit for one year after which they may reapply for the position. The following criteria will carry a significant amount of weight with regard to a candidate being selected for the open position: intramural coaching experience, travel coaching experience, coaching license status, amount of time officially involved with HYSA.

b. PURPOSE: The purpose of the committee is to select the travel coaches for the HYSA program. The selections will be based upon an analysis of the following components:

I. observations performed by committee of games and practices coached by applicants.
II. facts that are provided as input by the general membership at the meeting that is held for such purpose.
III. data that is provided within the applicant’s resume pertinent to the following areas: soccer coaching license, intramural soccer coaching experience, travel soccer coaching experience, other soccer coaching experience, incumbency, experience within the HYSA organization, organized soccer playing experience, and quantity and quality of official soccer coaching training courses attended.

c. GENERAL MEETING: A general meeting will be held by the committee after the applications for travel coaching assignments have been received and before the selections have been made. This general meeting will be held to allow for the general membership to present facts to the committee with regard to the abilities of the candidates to coach travel soccer within the HYSA program. The committee will utilize the facts rendered as one of the criteria in the selection.

4. Neither the Travel Team Coordinator nor any Age Level Coordinators (Clinic, E through AA Boys and Girls) will be given special importance when considered for coaching any Travel Team during his/her terms of active service on the HYSA Board.

5. Coaches to be elected for one year (two seasons).

D. Travel Teams Selection

1. Travel team Coaches will select players for his/her teams using all of the following:

  • a. Written evaluations of all players done by the previous season’s coach using the HYSA evaluation form.
  • b. Results of open tryouts based on objective standards.
  • c. His/her own knowledge and appreciation of the players gathered from his/her watching each player in games by attending games in order to see each team/player at least once during the season and reviewing roster and rating sheets as provided by the Age Level Coordinators.
  • d. (struck)

2. All Fall Travel Team rosters must be mailed out before the beginning of school. All Spring Travel Team rosters must be mailed by December 1. Therefore, the rosters must be received from the Travel coaches at least two weeks prior to the mailing date. In the event that more than one Travel Team exists in a gender age level, the travel coach of the number one team must submit their roster to the Travel Coordinator at least one week prior to the receipt deadline.

F. The intent of Travel Teams

Travel Teams exist as part of the HYSA Program, to allow for the players that are registered within the Program, the opportunity to play at the level of play that is equal to their ability. It is not the intent of this Association to have a Travel Team for the sake of simply having a Travel Team. However, it is the intent of this Association to have as many Travel Teams as the ability of the players dictate, in conjunction with providing a quality overall intramural program within the Association.

G. Travel Team Formation

Travel Teams will exist within the D, C, B, A and AA Programs for both boys and girls as deemed appropriate. Prior to April 1, the Board of Directors will project the next Fall and Spring Program, by projecting which age levels will have Travel Teams, as to whether both boy’s and girl’s Travel Teams shall exist at a given age level and how many teams shall exist. The teams will be projected with the intent that they shall exist for the next Fall and Spring season. The criteria that will be used as input into the decision making process shall be as follows:

  1. The number of players within the Gender Age Level.
  2. The number of players with a high caliber of ability.
  3. Recommendation of the Travel Coordinator.
  4. Recommendation of the Age Level Coordinator.

H. Travel Team formation after the April 1 Board of Director’s Projections If an individual or individuals place a request that a Travel Team be formed, after the April Board of Director’s projections have been made, the following criteria must be met:

  1. If the request is made for the following Fall season, the request must be made by June 1.
  2. If the request is made for the following Spring season, the request must be made by the first week in October.
  3. The individual must place the request with the Travel Coordinator in writing.

a. If the criteria have been met, the Travel Team Coordinator will arrange for a Special Board Meeting to be held within ten days of receiving the request. The criteria for determining as to whether the Travel Team should be approved will be as so described in Section G of the Travel Team’s Section of this document. If at the meeting, the Travel Team is approved, in concept, the approval will not be finalized until a coach for the team has been approved. If the Travel Team is approved in concept, the Age Level Coordinator will contact all intramural coaches at the gender age level within one week, informing them that a team has been approved in concept and that if they desire to coach the team, they must submit a written declaration of interest. Upon receiving the declarations of interest, the Travel Coordinator will follow the procedures so outlined in Section C, Subsection 2, of the Travel Team Section of this document.

J. Travel Tryout Process

  1. The Travel Tryout process will be overseen by the coaching coordinator(s) with the assistance of all coaches and board members. These individuals will determine which drills will be used and how the skills will be evaluated. As an option, this entire player rating procedure may be subcontracted to a qualified individual or organization. If that is the case, the vendor may use techniques of their own choosing.
  2. The individual age level tryouts will be divided by gender. The lead coach of each #1 Travel age team will direct the tryout process for the opposite gender of the age level he (or she) is currently coaching. All other coaches in that same group will be required to assist in the evaluation process.
    a. Tryout data will be combined with rating sheets prepared by the previous coach by the director of each tryout process.
    b. Players will be ranked in accordance with this data. This ranking will remain confidential. A list will be prepared of players in no particular order of the top 25 players, in the case of an 11 v 11 team, and the coach will be allowed to choose his/her team from that group.
    I. If a coach wants to include a player from outside the list of players, supporting evidence will be required and submitted to the Tryout committee for review and approval, if appropriate.
    II. Coaches will be encouraged to view players in real game situations.
    c. Players not selected from the list will be placed on the next highest ranked team. That coach will be presented with a list of the next 18 top players, again in no particular order, to make-up the balance of the team.
    d. Players not selected at this point will be placed in a non-select pool from which balanced teams will be created and coaches solicited.
    e. In the case of 6 v 6 or 8 v 8, the list will contain 18 names, however the process will be the same.

I. Communication of the selection of players for Travel Team rosters

It is the policy of this Association, that players not be informed of the names of the individuals that will be placed on the finalized roster, nor the names of individuals that will not be placed on the finalized roster. The intent of this is to allow for the players to be notified of the finalized rosters upon receipt of the rosters in the mail. It is permissible however, for a coach to communicate with the player to determine the player’s interest and level of commitment if they are selected. Under no circumstances is it permissible for the coach to inform the player as to whether they will make the team or not. The only exception to this, that is permissible, is when a coach intends not to retain a player on the Spring team, when the player was on the Fall roster. In this particular situation, the coach will be allowed to inform the player that their name will not be placed on the Spring roster.

6. CLUB TEAM – None
7. APPEALS:

A. Members of the HYSA organization can Aappeal@ previous Board of Directors decisions to The Executive Board of the Full Board of Directors in the following manner(s):

  1. Appealing, in writing, to the Executive Board of Directors for their review. There will be a written response to the person(s) bringing the appeal.
  2. Requesting that the Executive Board of Directors present the appeal to the full Board of Directors for action. There will be a written response to the person(s) bringing the appeal.
  3. A decision of the full Board of Directors may be appealed to the full Board of Directors by requesting a personal appeal session. During the personal appeal session, the person(s) making the request may present their opinion(s) directly to the Full Board of Directors. The Full Board of Directors will listen to the appeal and then go into executive session to determine what actions, if any, will be taken. The findings of the Full Board of Directors shall be conveyed to the appealing person(s) within 7 working days after the meeting.

B. The HYSA Executive Board will grant Full Board of Director’s personal appeals.

  1. Full Board of Director’s personal appeals will be the final level in the appellate process within HYSA. The next level of appeal would be to MYSA.
  2. The Full Board of Directors will listen to the presentation.
  3. Board of Directors may ask specific questions that help understand the basis of the appeal.
  4. Board of Directors may not openly debate any of the merits of the appeal in the open session.
  5. Personal appeal is to take approximately 20 minutes.
  6. After appeal, Full Board of Directors will go to executive session, (full voting members only), to discuss the merits of the appeal and to hold a discovery session.
  7. Written results of the HYSA Board of Directors findings will be conveyed to the person(s) making the appeal within 7 working days after the conclusion of the personal appeal meeting.