SOCCER PROGRAM INFORMATION

Ages:   Midland Youth Soccer offers fun and competition for children from ages 4 1/2 to 18 years old. We offer an introduction to Soccer program for 3 to 4 year olds. 

Competition:    All U6 teams play against other Midland U6 teams as well as they will be scheduled games in a local area league. All U8 to U12 teams will compete in a league with most games played in Locust.  

Locations:     Practices for most teams will take place at Bethel Elementary School in Midland. Other practice locations may be utilized based on the number of teams.   6U to 12U Games are played at Locust Elementary School (Spring & Fall) or Albemarle Soccer Complex (Fall).  Middle School and High School teams play Saturdays and Sundays - home games are played at Bethel Elementary School or Mint Hill Veterans Park and away games are played in Matthews/Charlotte areas.

Practices:  Teams typically practice two nights a week.  Practice schedule is determined by the Volunteer Coach's availability.  Teams could practice Monday/Wednesday, Tuesday/Thursday, Monday/Thursday or some other combination.  Our goal is all players be able to attend at least one practice a week.

Games:      All teams will typically have a minimum of 8 scheduled games during the Fall & Spring seasons.  6U to 12U teams: Most games are scheduled for Saturday mornings with start times as early as 9am and maybe as late as 1pm.  No Sunday games are scheduled but is reserved for Rain Makeups if needed.  Teams may have one or two games during the week.   Game schedules will be provided to the coaches of each team typically the week of the opening weekend.  Parents should note your team's opening weekend and be prepared to play that Saturday or Sunday. 

Equipment:  Each player must have the following equipment in order to compete during games and to participate in practices:  shin guards with soccer socks fully covering the shin guard and soccer cleats with non-metal spikes. It is also recommended that each player has their own soccer ball.  U6 through U8 players will use a Size 3 ball, U10 through U12 players will use a Size 4 ball and U15 and older players will use a Size 5 ball.  Many stores stock these items but we recommend Best Buy Soccer in Pineville, Academy Sports or Dicks Sporting Goods in Matthews as

Uniforms:  Each player will receive a complete kit with their paid registration, which includes jersey, shorts and socks.  It is highly recommended that each player also has additional shorts, shirts and socks to utilize for practices.  Uniforms are typically handed out the week of your first regularly schedule game.

Age Brackets:  The "U" in each age bracket stands for "Under"; for example:  "U8" means "Under 8 as of March 1st."  Each child will be placed into the appropriate age bracket based on their age or experience level.

Coed and Non-Coed teams:  All 6U to 12U teams are coed, there is no separation between boys and girls in these age brackets.  At the U15 or Middle School or High School level, teams may be based on gender. Boys may not play on an all girl's team but girls cannot be denied playing on a boy's team.  If we do not have enough girls to form an ALL girls team in an age division, a player may play up a level if space is available OR be combined with the boys division to form a Coed team.  Some parents have requested their child to play up to be with classmates or for more experience/competition.  We will consider allowing a player playing up, however, a player playing up can not take a spot of player playing his/her age.  If rosters are very full, and we do not have enough to form two teams in a division, we will move the older players up to form teams.  It is our goal to find a team for everyone who registers.    

Cost:  The cost for a single player is determined by division.  Micro is $95 per player.  U6 & U8, $135, U10 & U12, $165 per player.  U15, Middle School and High School are $185.  The cost of the program covers the following:  Facility fees, uniform fees, officiating fees, equipment expenses, League Team and Player registration fees and end of Season tournament fees if applicable.   The costs teams incur if they choose to play in events or tournaments external to the league they are assigned to will be the responsibility of the team.

Seasons:  Soccer is technically a year round sport, running from July 1st to June 30th.  For Rec soccer, the year is split into two sessions - Fall & Spring.  The Fall session will begin before school starts back, normally mid to late August and games will begin the 1st weekend after Labor Day.  The Fall season typically runs thru November, ending before Thanksgiving.

The Spring session begins late February to early March, normally right around when Daylight Savings time changes.  The older kids will normally start a week or so earlier with Pee Wee/U6 and Micro starting mid to late March.  The season will run thru late May, normally ending before Memorial Day weekend, but can run into the first two weekends of June if the Spring Season experiences a lot of rain or teams choose to play in external tournaments.

Late fees may be applied to those who register after March 1st (Spring) or August 1st (Fall).