The New Grassroots Referee training course is a 16 hour course with half of the time spent online and the other half in the classroom. It is designed to provide entry level referee skills and information through classroom and field training for candidates. Emphasis is on preparing for Grassroots program participation – including recreational and competitive games. Field emphasis is on practice of specific procedures.

Participants must be at least 13 years old at the beginning of clinic to attend a New Grassroots Referee course. Individuals over the age of 18 will be required to complete the SafeSport certification and successfully pass a background check.

There are costs associated with becoming a referee – you should budget for approximately $100-$125. Referees can quickly earn that back after officiating their first few games. A course fee of approximately $25-$35 (depending on area) covers the costs associated with attending the course. A registration fee of $40 covers your registration with the United States Soccer Federation. You’ll also need a new uniform. Entry level starter uniform kits start around $37 (Source: http://officialsports.com/off-field-apparel/starter-kits/).

Recreational Soccer

FOR PRACTICE: Your child will need to bring a water bottle or other forms of hydration, soccer cleats and shin guards.  Your child will need SOCCER CLEATS (not football or baseball cleats), shin guards to protect the shins and ankles from kicks. Here is a recommended type of shin guard that protects both shins and ankles: Adidas X Youth Shin Guards

FOR GAMES: Your child will need to bring a water bottle or other forms of hydration, PYSA Jersey, PYSA Black Shorts, PYSA Striped black socks, soccer cleats and shin guards.

Practice balls are provided, however, we do recommend they have a ball to practice with at home and at the field before practices and games start.

If you register and the U team for your child’s age is not showing and you see an option for waitlisting or you see registration for a U team above your child’s age group, that means the team for your child’s birth year is full.  Per MAYSA and US soccer rules, only a certain number of players can suit up for a game.  You can wait and see if someone drops out, or your child can play up a level if that option is available in your registration.  Registration is first come first serve, no exceptions.

Approximate fees per player: $115-$145

In the fall, we offer a $40 discount for those that register for a full school year (Fall and Spring).  Registrations must be done in Fall and the spring season must be added on when checking out. This does not apply if registering separately for both seasons.

MAYSA (Madison Area Youth Soccer Association) Club fees, Demosphere licensing and insurance: $40.00/player
WYSA (Wisconsin Youth Soccer Association) Fees:$3.00
Fields, concessions, line markings and lawn maintenance fee: $20/player
Equipment Costs: $20/player
PYSA Fees: $25/player
Referee Fees: $10-$18/player depending on age bracket

Tournament fees (if any), Uniforms/Personal Equipment are not included.

Some of our coaches use the Demosphere Mobile app to communicate with parents and to publish the game schedule.  You can get it here for iPhones/iPads:  or here for Android.

For traveling teams, games are normally played on the weekends.  If the weather in spring is snowy and rainy like it usually is, sometimes there are doubleheaders or back to back games on Saturday and Sunday.  Sometimes games may need to be played on a weekday.  Most coaches do not want to have games go past Memorial Day in the Spring and past October in the Fall, but may have to if weather does not cooperate.

Practice schedules are at the sole discretion of the Coaching Volunteers.  As the season approaches, the coach will put together a practice schedule that can accommodate field availability with other teams and his her own personal schedule.  This might be 2 or 3 times a week.  Any questions on the scheduling of games and practice please contact your coach.  Please remember these coaches are all volunteers and donate their time and knowledge to the organization.

The schedule for all the PYSA games is usually not published from MAYSA until the reconciliation period is over.  This gives the coaches time to make sure there are no schedule conflicts and that fields are available.  You can check to see if the schedule is published by navigating here: Demosphere PYSA Schedule. Select your team to see their schedule and roster information.

Some coaches will push the schedule through to the Demosphere Mobile app. Talk to your coach about this functionality.

If your child is placed on a coed team, it is likely we did not have enough registrations for either the boys or girls team in his/her age group. This is common as sometimes children play different sports in the fall or spring. Sometimes we receive too many requests for registration and we need to open up another team and combine boys and girls so that we can allow more players.