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BLUE MOUNTAIN SOCCER CLUB

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ)

 

The Frequently Asked Question (FAQ) portion of our website is just in its infancy.  Please help it grow by emailing your questions – no matter what they are – to BMSC, and we'll do our best to answer them here (don't worry, all questions will be posted anonymously).  So whether you are new to our club or new to soccer, please ask away.  Please email questions to [email protected]

 

 

 

What actually IS the uniform policy?

Updated 08/27/16


***NOT UPDATED YET FOR FALL 2017***

Well, it's different for Developmental (U8 & younger) and Travel (U9 & older).

 

First, the easy one – Developmental Program

 

Developmental participants will be provided with a T-shirt jersey and a coordinating pair of soccer socks to be worn during games.  There are no additional costs for the participants.  Shorts are not provided by the Club.  Some coaches might request a specific color pair of shorts to be worn, but that is a request and not a requirement.

 

Now, for our Travel Program.

 

As a minimum, the BMSC must follow the uniform requirements of RBJSL (Reading Berks Junior Soccer League), the primary league in which our Travel program participates.  RBJSL requirements are admittedly pretty basic.  RBJSL requires:

  • Matching color shirts

  • Number on the back of the shirt

  • Matching color socks

  • Opposing teams must wear different color shirts

 

For our Travel teams, BMSC will provide one T-shirt jersey that has our logo on the front and a number on the back.  The shirt can either be NAVY or WHITE.  Shirts and socks are NOT provided by the Club.

 

Many of the Travel teams opt to upgrade from the T-shirt jersey by purchasing the Club "kit" which consists of 2 uniform jerseys (1 NAVY, 1 WHITE), 1 pair of coordinating shorts (NAVY), and 1 pair of coordinating soccer socks (NAVY).  The jerseys have our logo patch sewn on the front, and number and last name on the back.  ALL of pieces of the kit are OPTIONS and are NOT REQUIRED.

 

The "kit" style is currently the Adidas Squadra 13As of Fall 2016, the entire kit costs approximately $95.  This style will likely be discontinued after the 2016-17 season.  However, the replacement style selected by the Club will likely be similar to the current style.

 

NO parent is required to purchase all or any pieces of the "kit" if they do not wish to do so – even if the rest of team chooses to do so.  And no parent is required to utilize the Club-preferred vendor.  The player can wear the Club-provided T-shirt jersey.

 

If the Club does not need to provide a T-shirt jersey, a $5 refund will be issued to the participant.

 

If pieces of the "kit" are selected, we strongly encourage parents to consider ordering a size that would permit the player to use the uniform for more than 1 season.

 

If jerseys are purchased, generally all numbers from 0-99 are available.  However, consideration should be given such that numbers are not repeated this year or in subsequent years, knowing that there is a possibility that players may not be on the same team in the future.

 

We strongly encourage our Travel coaches to discuss these issues with their players' parents.  Parents are always welcome to address any concerns with the Board via email or at any regular Club Meeting.

 

 

 

 

What is my child's "soccer age"?

Updated 04/06/16

The "U" in the various age groups (U5, U6, U7, etc) is short for "Under" and the number refers to age.  So, "U8" is short for "My soccer age is Under 8".

Soccer registrations are based on year-long seasons that generally begin in the Fall of one year and end in the Summer of the following year.  The first day of the soccer year is August 1, and the last day is July 31 of the following year.

 

Starting Fall 2016, Eastern Pennsylvania Youth Soccer Association (EPYSA) will be following the US Youth Soccer development initiatives to utilize birth-year registration (instead of the old date of August 1).  Since BMSC is a member of EPYSA, we are required to follow their directives.

 

To calculate the proper year for a player, take the ending year of the seasonal year and subtract the player’s birth year.  Keep in mind that the seasonal year begins in the Fall of one year and ends in the Summer of the following.  So, if you are registering for the 2016-17 season, the ending year of the seasonal year is 2017.

◦Example #1:  2017 – 2002 = 15; the player is a U15 for the 2016-17 season

◦Example #2:  2017 – 2005 = 12; the player is a U12 for the 2016-17 season

 

Under the "Registration Info" link on our website you will find the Age Group Chart for the Current Season.

 

 

 

Do I have to play in my correct age group or can I move up or down?

Updated 06/28/16

For the Travel Program age groups, playing "down" (playing in younger age divisions than your "soccer age") is not permitted by RBJSL rules and is generally not permitted by BMSC within our Developmental Program.  However, playing "up" is permitted and is sometimes necessary to appropriately field a team based on roster requirements.  It is the Board's objective to place every player in the appropriate age and skill level based on the player's abilities.

 

Due to the age cutoff date, there may be certain players whose birthdates technically place them in an age group below that of their school classmates or peers.  These players may request a “grade appropriate” play up.  Every effort is made to allow players to remain with their school class peers assuming the overall numbers allow doing so (there are minimum and maximum roster size requirements that must be met) and assuming the player is capable of playing at the higher age group and competition level.  Any player who falls into this ‘grade appropriate’ category, and desires to play up to an age group higher than where their birthdate places them so that they are with their classmates, must request this on the BMSC “Play Up” application request form (found under the "Forms" section of the Club website).  All play-up requests are reviewed individually and must be approved by the BMSC Board of Directors.

 

Please see additional details on the Club’s playing up policy on the Club website under the section “The Club > Playing Up Policy”.

 

***

Beginning Fall 2016, BMSC has decided to generally group players by grade rather than their new "U" age designation.  Doing so more closely mimics how the Club has formed teams over the past 20+ years.   This avoids one team consisting of a split of 4th and 5th graders, then next oldest team a split of 5th and 6th graders, and so on.  The result is that some players may have to "play-up" an age division to stay with their current grade.  For example, a 4th grader (2016-17 school year) born in 2007 would be considered be considered U10, while a 4th grader born in 2006 would be considered U11.  To keep the 4th graders together, the U10 player born in 2007 would be playing on a U11 team with the other 4th graders.

 

As a club, we do our best to accommodate every player that registers and place them on a team that will allow them to be competitive and grow.   Minimum and maximum roster sizes mandated by EPYSA/RBJSL (also new revisions for Fall 2016) sometimes makes this challenging.  We are using the grade of a player as a starting point for formulating the teams, however due to the roster restrictions, some exceptions might be necessary.  Players are NOT required to submit play-up request forms this year since the Club is already moving those players up.  HOWEVER – if a player does NOT wish to play-up to stay with classmates, please inform any Board Member immediately.

***

 

 

 

Where do we play?

Updated 04/06/16

Our Developmental Program (U5-U8) is an in-house program.  All practices and games are held within the boundaries of the Blue Mountain School District.  Opponents are other BMSC players.  Some possible locations for practices and/or games are Orwigsburg, Reedsville and Cressona.

 

Our Travel Program teams (U9 & Above) compete mostly in the Reading Berks Junior Soccer League (RBJSL).  A typical RBJSL Fall Season consists of 9 regular season games and 1 day of playoffs.  Approximately half of the regular season games will be home games played on BMSC fields; the other half will be played away.  RBJSL consists of predominantly Berks County teams, however other Schuylkill County clubs (Pottsville, Minersville, Pine Grove, West Schuylkill) typically enter teams as well.

 

 

 

 

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