1.11.1. By the Team Registrations Deadline for each season submit the required team registration information via the online form.

1.11.2. By the Team Fees Deadline submit the team registration fee to the MVYSA office (see www.mvysa.com/league_fees.html for current fees). Teams playing in the U15-U19 age groups must also submit a $100 bond. The bond may be forfeited to MVYSA, in the discretion of the MVYSA Board, for failure to appear for any scheduled league game. After the date established by MVYSA for the Divisioning Meeting, the team fee and any bond paid are non-refundable if the team, for any reason, chooses not to play in MVYSA for that season.

1.11.3. By the Divisioning/Restrictions Deadline for each season complete the on-line restrictions portion of the team registration form.

1.11.3.1. No games will be scheduled during Easter, Labor Day, Memorial Day weekends and the weekend following Memorial Day weekend.

1.11.3.1. MVYSA retains the right of limiting the number of restrictions per team.

1.11.4. By the Divisioning/Restrictions Deadline for each season submit online field information containing:

1.11.4.1. The name and contact information for the field coordinator of the home field.

1.11.4.2. Field availability information (site, field, dates and times open, field size) with enough flexibility to allow a viable schedule to be built

1.11.4.3. Field conflicts with recreational leagues

1.11.4.4. Verification that current map directions are correct or submit the necessary changes

1.11.5. When requesting a Game Change, the team or club requesting the change shall coordinate with the affected Field Coordinator to ensure that weekend games immediately precede or follow other games on that site.

1.14.1. The Game Change Coordinator will be the Vice President of Competition.

1.14.2. Upon reasonable request by a coach, the Game Change Coordinator may approve a game schedule change. Said approval is subject to the discretion of the Game Change Coordinator. In-season Game Change Requests made 14 days or less from the old or new date of the game may be assessed a $50.00 processing fee. If a processing fee is assessed then it must be submitted to MVYSA prior to final approval of the Game Change Request.

1.14.3. In the case of a scheduled game not being played, the affected teams shall reschedule within 7 days of original date. If they fail to use the proper procedure or reschedule within 7 days then the game may in the discretion of the Game Change Coordinator be dropped from the schedule.

1.14.4. Changes will only be made via the Game Change Request online form and subject to the scheduling guidelines published for that season.

1.14.5. Both coaches of teams requesting a game change MUST confirm that Game Changes have been made as requested. No response from coaches involved in a change will mean everything was properly changed.

1.14.6. The online game schedule will be the only schedule. The online schedule will immediately change as any change is made by the Game Change Coordinator.

1.14.7. If a team or teams drop from the league after the schedule is posted, the League Director will attempt to resolve the schedule.

2.4.1. The head coach or assistant coach of any team must be at least 18 years of age or older prior to the first league game for any season for which the coach is carded.

2.5.1. The Vice-president of Competition may authorize a waiver of the requirements contained in 2.5 on a case by case basis as he deems appropriate.

2.6.1. A player or coach shall not be considered to be registered with MVYSA until the proper registration forms, with all required documentation, are submitted to MVYSA and approved by the Registrar.

2.6.2. A player or coach shall not be considered to be no longer registered with MVYSA until the proper forms and the player or coaches card are submitted to MVYSA and approved.

3.1.2. Any U-7 or younger player is not eligible to participate in play in MVYSA.

3.1.3. U-8 players may not play on U-10 or older competitive teams.

3.1.4. Once a player or a player’s parent or guardian signs the player registration form and the player signs the US Youth Soccer/Ohio South player pass, the player is bound to that team for the entire seasonal year, unless the player is properly transferred or the player properly quits, pursuant to these rules. Players may only register with one team during a seasonal year, except if the player properly transfers to another team, pursuant to these rules.

3.4.1. Any player that voluntarily quits a team may not play as a guest player on any team registered through MVYSA in any sanctioned tournament.

3.4.2. Pursuant to OSYSA Rule 2.9.1, any player that voluntarily quits a team is considered to be in bad standing and cannot participate in any US Youth Soccer/OSYSA tournament, State Cup or league play with any other team during that seasonal year.

Age Group	Field Size (required minimum)	Goal Size (required minimum)	US Youth Soccer (recommendations)
6v6	40 x 60 yards	6'x18'	6v6 field markings
8v8	50 x 80 yards	6'x18'	8v8 field markings
11v11	60 x 110 yards	8'x24'	11v11 field markings

Age Group	Field Size	Goal Size	US Youth Soccer (recommendations)
6v6	35-45 x 45-60 yards	6'x18'	6v6 field markings
8v8	45-55 x 70-80 yards	6'x18' or 7'x21'	8v8 field markings
11v11	50-75 x 100-130 yards	8'x24'	11v11 field markings

6.2.1. The following two levels of infractions/sanctions are established:

6.2.1.1. Minor infractions are offenses or occasions of objectionable conduct for which minor sanctions ranging from a letter of reprimand to a suspension of up to 3 games. Minor infractions are acts such as, but not limited to the following:

(a) A player or a coach receives a red card during a single season,

(b) Use of profane, vulgar, threatening or abusive language.

6.2.2. Serious infractions are grievous offenses or acts of gross misconduct that threaten the integrity of the sport of soccer for which serious sanctions ranging from a multi-game suspension to a multi-year removal from some or all activities associated with MVYSA can be made. Serious infractions are those acts such as, but not limited to:

(a) Physical assault of a referee, assistant referee, player, coach or spectator,

(b) Submission of or the use of a fraudulent birth certificate, player registration form, coach registration form, team roster, travel permit, player pass, coach pass or other US Youth Soccer, OSYSA, or MVYSA document, as outlined in Rule 3.6 above,

(c) A player or coach receives a second red card within a single season,

(d) Verbal abuse of a referee or Assistant Referee,

(e) Intentional spitting at a player, coach or referee, assistant referee or spectator is considered an assault

(f) Threats of violence, whether directed against a player, coach, referee, Assistant Referee or spectator,

(g) Recruiting or attempting to recruit a player,

(h) Verbal abuse of a coach, player, referee, assistant refereee or spectator,

(i) Having an improperly registered player participate in a game,

(j) Improper removal of a player from a team roster during the seasonal year, (i.e. cutting a player from the team roster),

(k) The use of any tobacco product, including but not limited to cigars, cigarettes, pipes, snuff and chewing tobacco, by coaches, trainers, players and referees while engaged in any MVYSA function that involves youth soccer players is prohibited. Under this rule, a MVYSA function is defined as any of the following activities: team or individual practices, league games, tournament games, and tryouts,

(l) The use of, the possession of, or being under the influence of, alcohol or illegal drugs by coaches, trainers, players or referees while engaged in a MVYSA function that involves youth soccer players is prohibited. Under this rule, a MVYSA function is defined as any of the following activities: team or individual practices, league games, tournament games, and tryouts.

6.3.1. Coaches may NOT be at the field in any capacity during the game(s) they are required to sit out. Players may attend game(s) they are required to sit out but cannot be in uniform.

6.3.2. A player or coach suspended by MVYSA must serve that suspension in league games. The suspension will be effective until such time as the player or coach has served the entire suspension in league games. If the player or coach is suspended for three or more games, that player or coach will be placed in bad standing with OSYSA and USSF until the suspension has been served completely. Bad Standing means that a person in bad standing may not participate in any OSYSA, MVYSA or USSF activity.

6.3.2.1. Teams, players or coaches may be declared in bad standing by MVYSA for violations of any rules and regulations of MVYSA and/or OSYSA or for any action which is detrimental to the benefits or goals of MVYSA, OSYSA and/or US Youth Soccer.

6.3.2.2. If a suspension is ordered for a coach or player for violation of MVYSA, OSYSA or US Youth Soccer rules and regulations, that coach or player will be placed in bad standing, and said bad standing will continue until the period of the suspension has expired.

6.3.2.3. Any team, player or coach in bad standing is not permitted to participate in any US Youth Soccer league, tournament or other US Youth Soccer sanctioned match during the period the team, player or coach is in bad standing.

6.11.1. It is the policy of MVYSA to provide due process to all members of MVYSA. All parties in any process are entitled to have copies of all materials involving the incident, to have the process conducted within time lines established, to provide comment and/or evidence concerning the incident, and have the right to appear before the Board. Failure to comply with any procedural requirements of the Conduct Committee may result in suspension from MVYSA/OSYSA functions and/or other disciplinary actions.

6.11.1.1. If the coach of the team of the responding parties does not respond to the Vice-President of Conduct within the time limit the hearing will be conducted and the involved parties will have forfeited their right to provide information on the incident. During the time, that the Vice-President of Conduct is conducting the investigation, all penalties shall be served by the offending parties.

6.11.1.2. The Vice-President of Conduct must submit a decision within 72 hours of the date that the material was due from the responding parties.

6.11.1.3. Only evidence submitted to the Vice-President of Conduct pursuant to rules and regulations may be taken into consideration in deciding the matter.

6.11.1.4. The decision of the Vice-President of Conduct may be appealed to the MVYSA Board of Trustees as provided in Section 6.13..

6.12.1. The appealing party(ies) shall file his/her appeal in writing with the Vice-President of Conduct within one week of the date of written notification of adverse action. Receipt within the authorized time period to the Vice-President of Conduct Constitutes notice of appeal. A $100 money order or certified check is to accompany the appeal. The fee will be returned if the appeal is upheld.

6.12.2. All supporting material to the appeal must be received by the Vice-President of Conduct within two weeks after the receipt of the notice of appeal.

6.12.3. Failure of the appealing party(ies) to provide copies of all material to the Vice-President of Conduct within the time period specified will result in dismissal of the appeal.

6.12.4. Any outstanding appeal will be heard prior to MVYSA's next scheduled Board of Directors meeting by the full Board of Directors, not to exceed 30 days from the date the material was received from the appealing parties unless the parties agree otherwise.

6.12.5. Parties to any appeal cannot be represented by an attorney. Players under 18 years of age may be represented by their parent(s) or coach.

6.12.6. All parties to this appeal shall be notified of the actions of the Board of Trustees within two weeks after the appeal is heard.

7.1.1. Teams must report to the playing field ready to play, unless they are notified of postponement of the game by the Game Coordinator or his designee, to the contrary. The penalty for failure to appear is forfeiture of the game. Coaches may never assume that a game has been postponed.

7.1.2. The Referee Association will notify the Scheduling Coordinator of all games that have been postponed or suspended by referees.

7.1.3. If a game is suspended because of foul weather prior to the end of the first half, the game shall be re-played. After the first half, the game shall be considered complete.

7.1.4. If either thunder is heard or lightning is seen or dangerously high winds occur or is seen or other unsafe weather conditions occur prior to or during a game, the game shall be suspended and the fields shall be cleared. All players shall immediately go to safe shelter.

7.1.5. No player may retake the field until a minimum of 30 minutes has elapsed since the last occasion of lightning was seen or thunder was heard, or after any dangerously high winds or other unsafe weather condition has passed.

7.1.6. The Vice President of Competition shall have the authority, in his discretion, to cancel games for any and all age groups or sites based upon weather conditions that make it unsuitable or inappropriate to conduct a match. In furtherance of this policy, the Vice President of Competition may also cancel games for the U8, U9, and U10 age groups when the wind chill at game time is forecast to be under 36degrees.

7.2.1. The following point system will be used to determine league standings: Win - 3 points, Tie - 1 point, Loss - 0 points.

7.2.2. Within 24 hours of a game being played the coach of the winning team (home team in case of a tie) shall report the score using the on-line Score Report System. After a 24 hour period either team may post the scores. If the score posted is wrong, the coach of record shall send an email to the Website Data Manager. League Standings will be maintained automatically on the website. Disputes regarding League standings shall be resolved by the League Director.

7.2.3. In the event of a tie for First Place by one or more teams for the division championship, all teams tied for First shall receive first place awards. No second place awards will be given if multiple teams receive first place.

7.2.4. If only one team is in First place and a tie occurs for second place, all Second place teams receive awards.

7.3.1. A game shall be considered as a forfeit for a team when:

(a) The team plays with an ineligible player or
(b) The team fails to report to the designated field with at least 7 players for teams playing 11v11, 6 players for a teams playing 8v8, or 5 players for teams playing 6v6, within 15 minutes (after) the scheduled kickoff time.
(c) For any other reason providing for forfeiture of a game in the rules promulgated by USSF, US Youth Soccer or OSYSA.

7.3.2. When a game is forfeited:

(a) The total game fee will be paid by the forfeiting team. This team may not play a game until all fees are paid.
(b) The score will be recorded as a 1-0 loss for theforfeiting team.

7.3.3. The Vice-President of Competition shall make the final determination as to whether any game shall be declared a forfeit.

7.3.4. If a team forfeits two or more games in any one season (Fall or Spring), that team may be placed in bad standing at the discretion of the MVYSA Board of Directors. Any team placed in bad standing may not play in any USSF sanctioned match until that bad standing has been withdrawn.

7.4.1. Each team must have present at each game at least one properly carded coach.

7.4.2. Both teams, including a maximum of three carded coaches as well as a carded Director of Coaching per team, shall be stationed on one side of the field and all spectators shall remain on the opposite side of the field. During the match each coach shall remain on the side of the field assigned to that coach’s team, and shall remain at least ten yards from mid-field.

7.4.3. Each player must present his or her valid US Youth Soccer player card to the referee prior to the commencement of each match.

7.4.4. The referee has the discretion to determine if the field is playable.

7.4.5. The coach of each team at each game shall pay one-half of the referee’s fees, as set forth in the MVYSA Referee Fee Schedule, prior to the start of the game. If either team fails to appear for a match, that team will be assessed the entire referee game fee.

7.4.6. No team or coach shall refuse to accept any referee assigned to a match by MVYSA or DASOA.

7.6.1. All players must wear uniforms, as approved by US Youth Soccer, in every game.

7.6.2. If, in the opinion of the center referee, the jerseys of the two teams are too similar, the home team shall be responsible for changing to an alternate color.

7.6.3. A player who is either bleeding or has blood on her/his uniform shall be required to be removed from the field and allowed to return only when in the opinion of the referee the bleeding has stopped and blood removed from the uniform.

7.6.4. Players must remove any piercings, from any location on their body, prior to any match. Any player who does not remove all piercings prior to any match may be subject to sanctions by MVYSA, including suspension for dangerous play.

7.8.1. Coaches wishing to file game protests must notify the referee of this intention in a courteous manner, at the field, either during, or just after the conclusion of the game. All protests shall be made in writing to the Conduct Committee Chairperson. Each protest must be accompanied by a certified check or money order for one hundred ($100) dollars payable to MVYSA, Inc. If the protest is upheld, the fee will be returned. Protest must be postmarked not later than 48 hours after completion of the game being protested. Only carded coaches may file a protest. Calls involving referee's judgment may not be protested.

7.8.2. All Conduct Committee decisions may be appealed to the Board of Directors, provided such appeal is:

1) Filed by the Coach of record involved in the protest, and

2) Accompanied by a one hundred ($100) dollar check made payable to the MVYSA, Inc., and

3) Postmarked within 48 hours of the game played or notification of the Conduct Committee Chairperson.

7.8.3. Appeals to the Board are to be submitted to the Vice-President of Conduct. All fees will be returned to a successful appellant at any level (includes prior $100).

7.9.1. U8-U10 Special rules

7.9.1.1. FIFA & USSF Law 11 – Offside: None - If the Referee determines that the offside infraction was Intentional and Obvious, he/she may signal for an indirect free kick for the defending team. The intent is to ignore offside. However if a coach is encouraging a player to remain in the opposing penalty area, shield a goalie or gain advantage by abusing Law 11 then the Offside infraction could be called. The Referee’s decision is final.
Effective Fall 2010:
U8 and U9 - No offsides will be called.
U10 - offsides will be called and a 3 man referee system will be used.

7.9.1.2. FIFA & USSF Law 12 – Fouls and Misconduct: Conform to FIFA with the exception that an indirect kick is awarded to the opposing team at the center spot on the halfway line if a goalkeeper punts or drop-kicks the ball in the air from his/her penalty area into the opponents penalty area.

(a) Coaches may not deter, discourage or prohibit players from attending any tryout the player desires to attend, provided the tryout does not conflict with any scheduled league or tournament game in which the player's team is scheduled to play.

(b) Players and parents may not be charged a fee of any nature associated with any tryout.

(c) Coaches may not place demands on any player to join a team after tryouts. To that end, coaches may not, within 48 hours following the tryout, require a player to commit to a team, require a fee to hold a roster position, or require a player or parent to sign any registration forms.

(a) Clubs or teams, including parents, coaches, administrators and trainers, may NOT attempt to use their position in a school or community, particularly as school coach, to influence or attempt to influence a player's choice, including, but not limited to, making any statement or inference that a player will not be selected for a high school team if he or she does not play for a particular team or club.

(b) If a tryout is to be held during the seasonal year (August 31 through April 30), clubs or teams who advertise for tryouts must include in any advertisement, whether in print or any other type of media, that tryouts may be attended by uncarded players only.

(c) Prior to conducting any tryout that occurs during the seasonal year (August 31 throught April 30), any coach, administrator, assessor or other team or club official participating in the tryout must inquire of each player in attendance at the tryout whether he or she is currently carded on any team. If that player is carded on any team, he or she may not participate in that tryout without express, written consent obtained prior to the tryout from the head coach of the team of which the player is a carded member.

(d) Any coach, administrator, assessor or other team or club official, or anyone participating in or attending any tryout where a violation occurs, by any person, of any of the provisions contained in Rule 8.4 shall be subject to the MVYSA recruiting regulations, and possible sanctions, as contained in Rules 9.1 through 9.6 of these rules.

(a) Contact another team's registered player and attempt, in any manner, to entice, encourage, cajole that player to attend a team practice, game or tryout, except during the tryout period.

(b) Make a verbal or written contact with a registered player about transferring or changing teams, except during the tryout period.

(c) Use Olympic Development information, tournament applications or other such information to contact players for recruitment purposes.

10.3.1. Transfers are permitted only after the conclusion of the Fall season. All requests for transfer must be submitted using the published transfer procedure to the MVYSA Office prior to February 15 of the year in which the transfer is sought.

10.3.2. Transfers may be completed between the date of registration and the date of the first scheduled MVYSA league game for the fall season only in the discretion of the League Registrar for good cause.

10.3.3. A head coach may deny any player transfer request with a detailed written reason. Any denial by a coach will be reviewed by a transfer committee composed of the VP of Competition, League Registrar and League Director. The transfer committee may choose to uphold the denial or to grant the transfer request. Either the coach or player may appeal to the MVYSA Board the decision of the transfer committee. If appealed the decision of the MVYSA board will be final.

10.3.4. If documents submitted in support of a player transfer are false or fraudulent, or contain misleading information, the submission of such documents may result in the suspension of the player requesting the transfer or the coach submitting the documentation. If the Conduct Committee determines that a suspension is warranted for a player and/or coach under this rule, that player and/or coach may be placed in bad standing and may be subject to a suspension of no less than one year.

10.3.5. No more than 3 transfers to a single team will be permitted during the transfer period each year. The MVYSA Registrar may authorize a waiver of the requirement contained in 10.3.5 on a case by case basis as he deems appropriate.