Click a topic below for frequently asked questions.
| Registration | General Questions | Fall Program |
| Coaching | Spring Program | Summer Clinic |
| HYS Online Store |
| Registration |
| Q: If I elected to pay by check, where do I send it? |
| A: Holden Youth Soccer, PO Box 354, Holden, MA 01520. |
| Q: I am signing up my kids for soccer and we are divorced. What do I put in for contact information? We both need to be aware of any communications. |
| A: In the email field, you can enter multiple email addresses separated by a semi-colon. In the additional information button, there is specific detailed information per parent or guardian available for you to enter. |
| Q: I received an email about registration but forgot my username and password. |
| A: Go to Sportspilot and enter the email address you received the email from and your username and password will be sent to you. You can also find this by clicking on "I don't know my User Name and/or Password" on the Sign In page and follow the same process. |
| Q: I tried to register my child, but the system stated that the program is full for that age group. |
| A: Please register anyway and elect to pay by check so you do not have to pay right away. We manage a wait list by age group and it is first come first served. This is especially true in the older age groups where we also may decide to combine players from other Wachusett towns and add an additional team. |
| Q: I have been asked to coach, how do I register? |
| A: Click the registration link on the top left of this page. Then go to the appropriate program and age group. Go to "Unassigned Coach Registration" and follow the directions. Lastly, if you have not done so in the past 18 months, complete a CORI form at CORI/KidSafe form. |
| Q: Can I register my child in the Holden Youth Soccer program if our residence is in another town but our child attends school in Holden? |
| A: There are league requirements that a child play in the youth soccer program within the community in which they reside. Sometimes we do make exceptions if a child goes to school in Holden. What is required is a waiver from the President of the youth soccer organization connected with the community in which you reside. Once we receive that completed and signed waiver, only then can we have your child register for our programs. |
| General Questions |
| Q: Which size and what type of soccer ball should I purchase for my child? |
| A: Here is a helpful guide for everything you'll need to know about purchasing a soccer ball. |
| Q: Does my child need cleats? |
| A: While cleats are not mandatory, they provide players with the grip that will help them to run and play at the best of their ability. They also provide additional safety by helping to prevent slipping. Regular running shoes can be bulky and will prevent players from "feeling" the ball. For more on choosing the right footwear, here is a guide to buying soccer cleats. |
| Q: Where can I get information about buying soccer shinguards? |
| A: Refer to this article on how to buy soccer shinguards |
| Q: Where can I get information about proper hydration? |
| A: Please see the following articles: |
| A hydration plan for Landon Donovan from the LA Galaxy |
| Water versus fluids |
| Symptoms of heat stress and how to avoid it |
| Q: Where can I get information about sports nutrition? |
| A: Review "eating to compete" guidelines from a sports nutritionist. |
| Fall Program |
| Q: Will my son or daughter have to tryout for fall soccer? |
| A: Recreational Soccer does not use tryouts, or any selection process, and we attempt to balance the teams. |
| Q: Is fall soccer competitive? |
| A: Recreational soccer is competitive, but the focus is on development. |
| Q: Why are coaches and administrators committed to the fall philosophy of play? |
| A: To develop your team as a group and individually, both on and off the field. Teaching soccer, more than most other sports, employs methods in which we can touch players lives in many different ways, not just on the field. We must ask ourselves are we teaching them good sportsmanship? Are we helping build their confidence? Are we showing them that improvement and success comes from hard work, team work, and commitment? Lessons are learned on the field, but can be taken home, into high school, college, the work place, and utilized in their overall lives. Our gratification comes from seeing the smile that brightens up the field when a player shows you a new move or trick, or finally just 'gets it'. |
| Q: What are the time commitments for the fall program? |
| A: Time commitments vary depending upon the age group. Both the U6 and U7 divisions play on Saturday mornings and on an occasional Sunday afternoon for make-up games. Each session is broken into a half-hour practice followed by a half-hour game. There is no other commitment during the week for these age groups. |
| U-8 utilizes an hour and a half session split into a 45 minute practice and 45 minute game. U-8 plays on Saturday mornings and on an occasional Sunday afternoon for make-up games. |
| U-10 and older can play games on Saturday and/or Sunday afternoons and in addition have one to two practices during the week. |
| Q: One of my neighbors is coaching a team in my child's age group, how can I request this? |
| A: In the comments field in the registration, put the coach's name in there please. |
| Q: My child just made a High School team and can no longer play in the Fall. How do I get a refund? |
| A: Holden Youth Soccer actually has a very good relationship with Wachusett and St. Johns. We have had players from the Freshman, JV and Varsity teams playing on the U16 or U18 teams. There is no rule that they cannot play on the town teams, but their priority must be the HS team and they cannot practice or play on the day of a high school team commitment (even different sports.) For the U16 and U18 teams, focus is on fun during games for all and practices for those who are not playing on their high school teams during the week. Our refund policy is 100% prior to August 1, and 50% prior to August 15. After that point, registrations to the State are already submitted, shirts ordered, etc. |
| Coaching |
| Q: How do I contact my team? |
| A: Log onto Sportspilot with your username and password by clicking on the "Sign In" button under Member's Entrance. You will then find tools to manage roster information and email your team. |
| Q: Where can I find information to run successful practices? |
| A: Click to go to the HYS Coaches page. |
| Q: What are the most important components to coaching? |
| A: Preparation - Organized and prepared for practices and efficient in our coaching/teachable moments (quality vs. quantity). Technical - Coaching position, having the patience to wait for player awareness to develop, communication with players, and realizing strengths and improvement areas of self as a coach. Psychological - Guided discovery, creating balanced training sessions, understanding the psychology of our team and players, and the amount of information our team can handle. Physical - Body language, role model, and knowing your limitations. |
| Spring Competitive Travel Program |
| Q: I would like to coach in the Spring Program, what do I need to do? |
| A: We would like all of our head coaches to have a US Soccer D License and/or a NSCAA National Youth Diploma. |
| Q: Where can I find MAYS standings? |
| A: For MAYS spring standings click here. Note, only age groups, divisions, and teams that have played at least one game are listed. |
| Q: As a spring coach, how do I report a game score correction? |
| A: Score corrections must be reported via email to Bob Leno, MAYS VP. Please do no report score corrections to Andy Page. Please include the game #, home team name, home score, away team name, and away score. |
| Q: Can you tell me about sportsmanship relative to competitive spring soccer? |
| A: Coaches please remember that this is a game for the players. Win a game respectfully, there is no need to beat an opponent by an excessive score for example 5-0, 6-0, 7-0, 8-0, 9-0, etc... ! |
| Q: How long is the spring season? |
| A: All teams should have an 8 game schedule, if your team doesn't have 8 games please let Andy Page know. Schedule Corrections have been made to some groups, i.e. GU12-3 East, GU16-2, BU16-2 too so please double-check your schedules. |
| Q: How are make-up games or canceled games rescheduled? |
| A: Make-up games or CANCELED games need to be rescheduled upon agreement by both of the coaches. Reschedule requests must be submitted to the MAYS President by the Club/Town Rep. The notice should include the original game #, new date, new time, Home Team Name, Away Team Name, and Site. The coaches need to reach agreement within two weeks of the original game date as to the new date/time. The new date/time of the game must be within four weeks of the original game, or no later than the last date of the season, June 3 for playoff eligible teams. For all other rescheduled games (exceptions will be considered if the rescheduled game is a game that has recently been modified by the MAYSL due to schedule corrections). |
| The following was approved at the MAYSL Annual General Meeting in November 2006: |
| Reschedule requests must be submitted to the MAYS President by the Club/Town Rep. Reschedule requests for games during the first 2 weeks of the season must be received by the MAYSL President one week prior to the game date. All other reschedule requests for games beyond week 3, must be received no later than 7 days after the first date of games for the age group of the teams impacted by the request. Only one request per team will be allowed. The acceptable reasons for requesting a reschedule is for school event, religious event which prevents a team from fielding the minimum number of required players. |
| Q: Do I need to bring my team roster cards to every game? |
| A: Coaches are required to bring two copies of the MAYSL Approved Roster and passcards to all games. No roster or passcards means no game. |
| Q: How do I make roster changes? |
| A: Roster changes - please submit three copies of your new roster and passcards (if applicable) to the appropriate MAYSL Registrar via the mail, no hand delivering! Do not send the documents, with signature required, since this only delays the delivery. Allow for a one week turnaround of the documents. And include a self-addressed stamp envelope to facilitate the return of the documents to you or the coach. Rosters are reviewed for MTOC eligibility and Town Reps will be notified of any concerns. MTOC eligibility includes, the 75% rule that requires at least 75% of the roster players need to be from the same town. |
| Summer Skills Clinic |
| Q: How do I register my child for the summer skills clinic? |
| A: Register by clicking this link for the summer skills clinic. |
| Q: Do you have a check-in process and check-out process for the clinics so that we can ensure our child's safety? |
| A: Given the success of the program last year, we have now put this in place to handle 50 plus players per session. |
| HYS Online Store |
| Q: I ordered an item from the online store and how can I expect shipment? |
| A: All Online Store orders will be shipped to Holden Youth Soccer in bulk. Individual orders will then be separated by team, and coaches will distribute to players/families. |