Fall Soccer FAQs

• Each team in the Boys 1 and Girls 1 and older divisions will start with 2 weekday (M-F) practices.
  After school starts, some coaches may reduce the weekday practices to one weeknight only.
• The PreK/Kindergarten division will hold 1 weekday practice.
• Weekday practices start at 6pm for most divisions. Middle school and older divisions who practice at Freedom Park may start practices at 7:30pm.
• And the Clinic 3 and Clinic 4 divisions do not have weekday practices; they meet only on Saturdays and will not start until the regular season begins.

• Games are held on Saturdays.
• PreK/Kindergarten and 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade divisions play at Eldersburg Elementary.
• Games at Eldersburg Elementary can run from 8:30am to the afternoon.
• Older divisions games are held at Freedom Park from 8:30am into the evening.
• Clinic division sessions may be held at Eldersburg Elementary or Freedom Park.

• Games start the first weekend after Labor Day, on 6 September.
• The last week of games at Eldersburg Elementary will be 8 November, barring a weather rescheduling.
• The last week of the regular season at Freedom Park will be 25 October, barring a weather rescheduling.
• Middle School and older division have playoffs the last two weeks at Freedom Park following the regular season.

Requests are only allowed in Clinic and Kindergarten Divisions (and are not guaranteed to be be honored). No other player requests will be accepted. We will attempt to group together coaches who wish to coach together. But please remember that any requests are not guaranteed.

For kindergarten age players and older, register the player for the grade they will be in when the season starts in September. For younger players not yet in Kindergarten, register for the Clinic division for their age when the season starts in September.

A few days after the coaches meeting in August the teams will be released and you will receive an email from the registration site with information about your assigned team and coach. Soon after the coach will send you and email with more details about practice days and times and other team information. This will occur around mid-August. Clinic division teams may not be released until later, so those players may not receive their email until the week before the season starts.

No. Players actively competing with, or rostered with any travel soccer team, are not permitted to play in the recreational league program.

Sign up for Travel Soccer evaluations and do not sign up for the Rec program. If your child does not make travel, when you receive that notice, if registration has closed use the Contact Us form to inquire about open spots. In the comments area note that your child had tried out for Travel. Refunds are not offered if a player registers and then withdraws to play with a travel team.

Yes, if the player is on the High School JV team.
No, if the player is on the High School Varsity team.

Register your child for Rec soccer during our Registration dates and indicate, in the comments area, that your child is trying out for High School. If your child makes the JV team and wishes to play Rec also they can. If your child makes Varsity or makes JV and does not wish to play Rec advise the Division Coordinator.

If you did not register your player first, and your child does not make JV or Varsity, when you receive that notice, if registration has closed use the Contact Us form to inquire about open spots. In the comments area note that your child had tried out for High School.

With so many players in the league, registering early allows time to find the necessary amount of coaches and fields needed. And if not enough coaches or fields are available, team assignments will be completed first come/first served.

Refund requests need to be e-mailed to commissioner@freedomoptsoccer.com.

If the request is received on or before 15 July (Fall Season) you receive the entire fee refunded.

There are no refunds after registration closes on July 15^th (Fall Season), unless the request is due to an injury which would make the player unable to participate during the season, the player evaluates onto a High School team, or possibly an extenuating family circumstance.

No refunds are made after the season starts (except by approval of the league Commissioner).

All refunds require approval of the league Commissioner, and may be subject to a $20.00 administrative fee.

Freedom Optimist Soccer offers financial assistance for player registration each season, in accordance with the following guidelines.
Scope
FOS will provide up to $1,000.00 in total aid in covering player registration costs.
Request Process
Requests are to be submitted via the Contact Us on the FOS webpage with the following information provided in the Comment box:

• Name of player to be registered. Note: If multiple registrations are being requested, they must be submitted separately.
• Division in which player would play.
• A very brief explanation of why this aid is being requested.

Adjudication
The FOS Treasurer and an Assistant Commissioner or Commissioner shall determine the distribution of aid, within the scope defined above, with the following considerations:

• Requests will be adjudicated on a first-come, first-served basis;
• Requests received after season registration has closed will not be considered;
• Requests received after the season’s maximum scope of aid has been reached will not be considered;
• Requestors will be informed by email of the Board’s decision.

If they have the physical and mental ability we will consider allowing a player to play up into a division ahead of their grade. Please make the request to the Age Division Coordinator of the division you wish your child to play in and the League Commissioner. Not all requests will be approved. We ask that the parents in requesting this remember most kids enjoy playing in the same division as their friends from school or home though.

The league will provide your child with a uniform which will consist of a uniform shirt, shorts and matching socks that we require the players wear at each game. You will need to purchase shin guards, which must be worn under the soccer socks for each game. Your child should have a water bottle for practices and games to keep them hydrated. Your child can play in sneakers, but if you wish to purchase soccer shoes/cleats you need to make sure you purchase soccer shoes that do not have a cleat located in the front toe area (no football shoes).

If you wish to purchase a soccer ball for your child the following is a list of the soccer ball sizes for the divisions they play in:

• Size 3 Clinic, PreK-Kindergarten, Boys and Girls 1 & 2 and Coed 1-2 (Spring)
• Size 4 Boys 3, Boys 4, Boys 5, Girls 3-5 and Coed 3-5 (Spring)
• Size 5 Boys 7-8, Girls 6-8, High School and Coed 6-8 (Spring)

Players cannot wear any non-medically necessary accessories during a game, including but not limited to earrings, bracelets, necklaces, watches, wrist worn devices, air-pods, etc. This is a safety issue to prevent serious accidents from hooking or tangling.

If a device is medically or religiously necessary, inform your coach so they can inform the referee(s) before the game during the equipment check.

Any dangling or hoop-like earrings must be removed. Stud earrings can have a small bandage (e.g. Band-Aid) placed over it and the earring back, so they don’t have to be removed. Most coaches have bandages in first aid kits, and they are always available at the equipment area or shed at each field on game days. Glasses must be secured to prevent falling off. This does not apply to hats or gloves unless they have dangling components that cannot be secured.

Yes, all players will receive a uniform for the season. And it’s their’s to keep. Players are expected to wear their uniform to all games, with the matching jersey and socks. A referee may ask that a player without matching uniform shirt or socks change to the matching uniform before being allowed to play.

Sweatshirts and jackets must be underneath the uniform shirt. Socks must be outside any additional leggings, with shinguards underneath the socks.

Hats and gloves can be worn as long as they don’t cover any uniform part.

PreK and Clinic players have leeway since their games are not refereed.

Uniforms should not be modified or altered by any players, coaches, or parents. This includes adding words, names, logos, or removing any league added elements to the shirts.

We appreciate everyone who would like to sponsor a team! Visit How to be a Freedom Optimist Soccer Sponsor for more information.

As per U.S. SOCCER’S PLAYER SAFETY CAMPAIGN: CONCUSSION INITIATIVES & HEADING FOR YOUTH PLAYERS, players 11 and under shall not engage in heading, either in practice or in games.

Therefore, during a game, whenever the ball strikes a player in the head, play is stopped. The proper restart depends upon whether the player deliberately played the ball with his or her head. If deliberate, the proper restart is an indirect free kick to the opposing team. If this occurs within the goal area, the indirect free kick should be taken on the goal area line parallel to the goal line at the point nearest to where the infringement occurred. If the play by the head is deemed inadvertent, then the proper restart is a dropped ball.

Following Small-Sided Games Player Development Initiatives (PDIs) Guideliness, Goalkeepers in small-sided games are not permitted to punt or dropkick the ball. This rule is used in games played at Eldersburg Elementary.

If the goalkeeper punts or dropkicks the ball, an indirect free kick will be awarded to the opposing team, outside of the penalty box, beyond the penalty box line that’s parallel to the goal line and closest to where the offense took place.

This is part of small-sided build-out Player Development Initiatives from FIBA and U.S. Soccer meant to encourage build out play and prevent unnecessary heading. Goalkeepers should be taught to throw/sling/roll out the ball, or drop it to their feet to play out.

More build-out rules will be implemented in the coming seasons.