Rocks Springs Avengers SoccerClub

Standing Rules and Policies

(Enacted January 2016)

ThepurposeoftheRock Springs Avengers Soccer Clubistoprovideapositive,enjoyableexperienceinanorganizedcompetitiveteamsport.TheRSASCteamsallowfortheadvancement,developmentofskillsandfurtherthespiritofcompetitionbyallowing playerstobecomeassociatedwithteamsthatplayinamorecompetitivesetting.

It is the goal of the RSASC to focus on developing the finest soccer players, while fielding the most competitive teams in Wyoming. The Avengers program strives to produce and develop outstanding soccer athletes who demonstrate excellence both individually and in a team environment through their personal commitment to the game of soccer.

The Avengers strive to offer the best coaching possible, to develop players’ skills to the best of their ability, and to field teams capable of competing at the highest levels of soccer play. The Avengers shall promote competitive team soccer in a positive manner; good sportsmanship and team play are taught and required constantly.

The Avengers teams are traveling competitive teams that are formed to allow individuals to participate in competitive team play throughout the USYouth Soccer organization. Avengers teams participate in USYS and/or WYS and other USSF sanctioned tournaments,games and events.

The competitive teams of the Rock Springs Avengers Soccer Club (RSASC) come under the direction of the By-Laws and Standing Rules and Policies of the RSASC. All rules found within shall be superseded by the RSASC By-Laws and RSASC Board decisions and will comply with the rules and policies of Wyoming Youth Soccer (WYS) and US Youth Soccer (USYS) and US Soccer Federation (USSF).

The RSASC Disciplinary Committee and the RSASC Board have the authority to act on behalf of the Club regarding any breach of regulations or rules. The RSASC Disciplinary Committee and the RSASC Board of Directors shall have the authority to discipline, suspend, disqualify and ban players, coaches, team officials, parents and club members for violating RSASC rules or for any action or conduct not in the best interest of soccer or the RSASC.

Any matter that is not covered and/or provided for specifically by these rules but is deemed to be not in the best interest of the RSASC shall fall under the authority of the RSASC Disciplinary Committee and the RSASC Board.

The Club’s Board of Directors, Disciplinary Committee, Director of Coaching, Coaching Staffs will prioritize their direction and decisions based on the following order:

  1. What is in the best interest of the Club
  2. What is in the best interest of club player development
  3. What is in the best interest of the team
  4. What is in the best interest of an individual player
  5. What is in the best interest of a coach or parent

The Rules and Policies may be changed, amended or removed by majority vote at any regularly scheduled RSASC Board Meeting. Any proposed change must be a scheduled agenda item.

Table of Contents

Registration

Seasonal Year:

Registration:

Fees and Costs:

Financial Aid:

Player Identification and Team Formation

Evaluations and Selection Criteria:

Team Formation:

Guest Players/Guest Playing

Travel and Tournaments

Club Tournament Selection:

Additional Tournaments

Uniforms and Equipment

Additional TeamEquipment

RSASC Fundraising/Sponsorship/Donation Policy

Policy and Procedures

Club Fundraising

Individual Team Fundraising

Suggested Fundraisers

Use of Funds

Team Accounts

Coaches and Volunteer Positions

Volunteer Disclosure Statement (Background Checks)

Coaches Licenses

Coaching Policies and Rules

Head Coach

Assistant Coach(s)

Team Manager or Team Parent

Responsibilities and StandardsofConduct

Rules for Players and Parents

Drugs, Tobacco and Alcohol

Attendance

Players

Parents and Volunteers

Violations of the Code of Conduct

Unsportsmanlike Behavior

Disciplinary Procedures and Penalties

Grievance Policy - Concerns, Protests & Appeals

Coach/Volunteer Code of Conduct

Players Code of Conduct and Responsibilities

Parents Code of Conduct and Responsibilities

Registration

Seasonal Year:

The seasonal year for the Avengers shall begin on August 1 and end mid-July of the following year. Teams are formed for the entire seasonal year. With minor exceptions, the Avengers teams are expected to be active with practices, team development, tournaments and games where possible throughout the year.The seasonal year will be broken into two playing seasons, Spring and Fall with the Fall season running from August 1 to October 31 and the Spring season running from April 1to June 15. During the playing seasons participation is mandatory.

Teams and players who are accepted during Fall registration are done so for the entire seasonal year. However, the seasonal year is broken up into 2 playing seasons: Fall and Spring. To address the normal changes in player availability, commitment and other outside factors registration fees will be broken up into two payments, one for each playing season.

Registration:

  1. The Board shall conduct a formal registration for fall and spring soccer for ages U9 to U18 players.
  2. Registrations will be held for each playing season.
  3. Registration for fall soccer shall be held no later than June 15thof each year.
  4. Registration for spring soccer shall be held no later than February 15thof each year.
  5. Any fall player who is not registered by February 15th will not be allowed to participate in soccer activities until they are.
  6. A player is not considered a registered player until registration fees are paid in full. If payment is made by personal check, a player is not registered until the check has been received and processed by the Treasurer, and the check has been honored by the player's bank. If payment is made by credit card, then the date/time of the credit card transaction will serve as the registration date.
  7. Non-registered players – This policy restricts siblings and all others who are not valid registered players from participating in any Avengers scheduled practice sessions or games.
  8. Upon valid registration with the organization, players may participate in try-outs and team activities while an amending roster is processed by the club, respective league or tournament.
  9. Teams may not add players to their roster, temporary or permanent, who are not validly registered with the RSASC and the league in which the team is participating. Noncompliance may result in game forfeiture or team disqualification from its registered league. Disciplinary action of the coach for non-compliance will be reviewed by the Board.
  10. In regards to player evaluations, a player must be registered to be evaluated.
  11. The Board shall have the authority to consider economic hardship cases for any player. The parent, guardian, or coach of the player may request a season scholarship in writing to the Board.
  12. Refunds without restrictions will be made to players who withdraw prior to tryouts.
  13. 75.00 from the original registration fee will be withheld by the club from any refund that is granted after team formation and is not due to injury or relocation.
  14. Refunds will be made to players who withdraw due to injury or relocation within 30 days of their team’s formation.
  15. Refund requests for any other reason must be submitted to the Registrar in writing and will require board approval.

Fees and Costs:

  1. The RSASC Board will determine the annual fees for the Avengers teams and programs during the regularly scheduled May Board meeting.
  2. The annual fee includes but is not limited to the cost of WYS membership cards, insurance fees, city fees, RSASC membership fees, forecasted tournament fees, equipment, nets, and field maintenance.
  3. Players are required to pay the Avengers fee as outlined under the registration policies by the due dates set forth by the RSASC board. Delay in payment may delay the issue of USYS membership cards and team rosters and may result in late charges. Special arrangements may be considered in extenuating circumstances.
  1. Any player who is not current in their RSASC fees is prohibited from participating in any practices, team trips, games/tournaments or other activities of the RSASC including evaluations.

Any additional tournament fees are the responsibility of each team/player. These fees need to be divided up equally among all of the rostered players.

Financial Aid:

Aid is available to any player based on financial need. Financial aid is provided by waiving a portion of a player’s annual Avengers fees.

  1. No monetary payments will be made to a player.
  2. Financial aid will not be used as a recruiting inducement or as a reward for stellar play.
  3. All requests for financial aid will be presented to the Board and will be handled discreetly.
  4. An application from the player and/or parents of the player must be submitted to the RSASC Registrar at least one week prior to tryouts to be considered by the Board.
  5. Additional information may be requested by the Board before a decision is made.
  6. Those requesting financial aid may be required to volunteer their time during RSASC sponsored events in addition to team duties, in order to fulfill the scholarship requirements.

Player Identification and Team Formation

Evaluations and Selection Criteria:

Full, open player evaluations for all Avengers teams/players will be held once a year, at a date(s) set by the RSASC Board, no later than June 15th.The date(s) will be publicized by all means available, within reason, to reach as many potential players as possible. The dates and evaluations will comply with the WYS/USYS registration rules.

The Avengers evaluations will be conducted under the direction of the Evaluation Committee & with the assistance of Avengers coaches.

  1. The Evaluation Committee will be responsible for assigning evaluators for each tryout.
  2. Coaches and assistant coaches are required to assist in 2-3 evaluations each season.
  3. The same evaluators who conduct the initial tryout must conduct all additional tryouts.
  4. All players will be evaluated, including those who were already rostered on a team in the previous season.
  5. All players MUST be registered to participate in the evaluation process.
  6. Each player will be evaluated based on criteria determined by the Evaluation Committee prior to the evaluation date.
  7. All players must attend their age/gender appropriate evaluation.
  8. If a player is unable to attend the evaluations, a written/email notification by the parents needs to be given to the Registrar or Evaluation Committee at least 2 weeks prior to the evaluations and arrangements will be made to accommodate the player if possible.
  9. Additional evaluation sessions may be necessary to accommodate player numbers and final selection of players for team placement, and are at the discretion of the Evaluation Committee.
  10. Once evaluations are considered “complete” no additional sessions will be held unless required to fill rosters. No additional evaluation sessions will be used to upgrade talent level.
  11. All players will be evaluated by the same standards (skill, ability, attendance, attitude, etc).
  12. Roster formation will be based upon the following criteria (in order)
  13. Player’s individual evaluation score.
  14. Number of players needed to fill roster(s)
  15. Coach input.
  16. All teams must be approved by board vote within 7 days of the completion of evaluations.
  17. All players must be notified of their status within 7 days of the selection of teams.

Team Formation:

A player who makes an Avengers roster during the Fall evaluation period is guaranteed a spot on an Avengers’ roster either as an active player or as a provisional player for the entire seasonal year. A player’s status on a roster (active vs. provisional) may change at any time based upon attendance, commitment and/or development. Any change to a player’s status will be proposed by the player’s coach, discussed with the player and parent, and must be approved by the board.

Players are not guaranteed to remain on the same team for the entire season and may be re-rostered to accommodate the formation of additional teams. Should additional teams be formed mid-season, players will be rostered (re-rostered) using the same criteria used during original team formation. Players will not be re-rostered during an active playing season.

While every attempt should be made to adhere to the following guidelines, RSASC reserves the right to form teams based upon Board Discretion.

  1. Teams will be formed from the U9 age group up to the U18 age group if players and coaches are available.
  1. Teams will be defined as Primary and Secondary. Primary teams from U9-U12 will be formed based (in order) on the following priorities:
  2. Gender
  3. Specific Age Group – Whenever possible RSASC will field a complete team in each age division (U9,U10,U11,U12)
  4. Combined Age Group (U10, U12). **If there are insufficient players to form two age specific teams in an age division, formation of an older (combined) age group shall take precedence over the formation of a younger specific age group.
  5. If enough players exist to form two or more teams in the U14 and HS age groups the teams will be a combined age group and formed based upon skill level into Gold, Silver and Bronze teams.

If there are more registered players than roster spots on primary teams, RSASC will make every attempt to form additional Secondary or Developmental teams. In such cases those teams may consist of multiple age groups and genders and will be comprised of the players who did not qualify for a Primary team spot.

Additional teams may be added between the Fall and Spring playing seasons based on need and available players.

All teams must be approved by the board.

U9/U10 Teams

  1. Teams will have one head coach and at least one assistant coach.
  2. Coaches will be selected as needed to accommodate the number of players.
  3. For the majority of events attending, the U9/U10 teams will usually play a7v7 format, so the ideal roster size for each team is 10 players with the maximum roster size of 12 players.
  4. Rosters will be determined by the player evaluations and team formation criteria.
  5. Teams are encouraged to practice together but will register in different divisions at tournaments.
  6. The U10 team will be the“gold/silver” team, the U9 team will be the “silver/bronze” team and if needed the Secondary team will be the “bronze team” and will register in the corresponding levels at tournaments unless age specific brackets are available.
  7. Teams will hold a minimum of (2) and a maximum of (3) 60-90 minute practices per week.

U11/U12 Teams

  1. Teams will have one head coach and at least one assistant coach.
  2. Coaches will be selected as needed to accommodate the number of players.
  3. Teams will play 9v9 in WYS events but will likely play 11v11 if they travel out of state so the ideal roster size for each team will be 12 players with a maximum active roster of 14.
  4. Should a team play 11v11 the roster can be expanded to 18.
  5. Rosters will be determined by the player evaluations and team formation criteria.
  6. Teams are strongly encouraged to practice together, but will register in different divisions at tournaments.
  7. The U12 team will be the “gold/silver” team, the U11 team will be the “silver/bronze” team and if needed the Secondary team will be the “bronze team” and will register the in the corresponding levels at tournaments unless age specific brackets are available.
  8. Teams will hold a minimum of (2) and a maximum of (3) 90-120 minute practices per week.

U13 – HS Teams

  1. Teams will have one head coach and at least one assistant.
  2. Coaches will be selected as needed to accommodate the number of players.
  3. Teams will play 11v11 so the ideal roster size for each team will be 15 players with a maximum roster size of 18.
  4. Rosters will be determined by the player evaluations and team formation criteria.
  5. U13-U14 Teams are strongly encouraged to practice together, but will register in different divisions at tournaments.
  6. In the U13-U14 and HS age division,teams will be formed based upon skill level into Gold, Silver and Bronze level teams as needed.
  7. HS teams will register in whichever bracket the coach recommends.
  8. Teams will hold a minimum of (2) and a maximum of (4) 90-120 minute practices per week.

Alternate Players

Each team will have the option of including up to 3 “alternate players”. Alternate players are defined as players who show the potential to play at an advanced level but currently lack the skills or experience to do so.

Alternate players will participate in the same practices and drills as active players but will not travel with the team to tournaments and games unless there is an open active roster spot.

To accommodate development and promote playing time, alternate players can be re-rostered during an active playing season as long as the move is accepted by both coaches and the parents, and is approved by the Board.

  1. Must be a registered member of RSASC.
  2. Can attend and participate in all practices.
  3. Are to be used to actively fill roster spots of absent players.
  4. Are to have preferential status over Guest Players.
  5. Can participate in RSSA.

Recruiting