Fall Ball 2026

This is recreational soccer. The point is touches on the ball, everyone playing, and kids wanting to come back next Saturday. Referees and coaches should keep the game moving and explain calls rather than whistle everything.

How age groups work

The cutoff is August 1, not January 1 and not the school year. Your player's group is set by their birthday, not by how old they are today.

• Every group covers two years of birthdays, so roughly half the players in any group are at the young end and half at the old end. A nine-year-old in U10 and a ten-year-old in U10 are both exactly where they belong.
• Being the youngest in a group is normal, not a mistake. If your child's birthday falls in July they will be among the youngest; if it falls in August they will be among the oldest. That is how a cutoff works, and it evens out as they move up.
• The group is named for the age a player is under for the season, which is why a 10-year-old is in U12 and an 8-year-old is in U10.
• Genuinely in the wrong group? If your player has landed somewhere nowhere near their birthday, that is a mistake and we want to fix it — use the contact form.

How each division plays

Shirts

• Home team wears WHITE. Away team wears RED. These are the same two shirts from summer rec. The schedule lists the home team first and shows a white or red dot beside every Canandaigua team, so you can check before you leave.
• Bring both colors every week. Home one week and away the next is normal — every team is scheduled for a near-even split across the six weeks.
• Visiting clubs wear their own kit and have no dot beside their name.
• New players who didn't play summer rec get a shirt on the first day.
• Forgot one? Ask your coach — there are usually spares in the storage shed. Please return it washed.

Every division

• Shin guards are required, fully covered by socks. No shin guards, no play.
• No jewelry, watches or hard hair clips. Earrings must come out — tape is not enough.
• Cleats or sneakers. No metal studs.
• Everyone plays. Aim for roughly equal time; no one sits two periods in a row.
• Substitutions are unlimited, at any stoppage, with the referee's nod.
• No deliberate heading at U6, U8 or U10 — this is a US Soccer safety rule. An indirect free kick goes to the other team. At U12 heading is legal but we don't coach it.
• No slide tackling.
• Coaches and spectators stay on opposite sidelines, behind the marked line, and off the goal lines entirely.
• If a team is short, borrow a player from the other side rather than cancelling. Play the game.

U6 and U8 — 4v4

• No goalkeepers. Nobody stands in the goal.
• No offside. But no goal-hanging either — coaches should encourage players back rather than have the referee police it.
• Kick-ins instead of throw-ins if a player is struggling. Give do-overs freely.
• Opponents retreat to the halfway line on a goal kick.
• No penalty kicks. All free kicks are indirect and opponents give 5 yards.
• Scores are not recorded and there are no standings.

U10 — 7v7

• Build-out line. On a goal kick or when the keeper has the ball in hand, the other team retreats behind the build-out line until the ball is played. This is how young teams learn to play out of the back.
• Offside is called at the build-out line, not the halfway line.
• No punts or drop kicks by the keeper — roll it, throw it, or place it and pass. An indirect free kick goes to the other team from the build-out line.
• Standings are kept.

U12 — 9v9

• Normal offside, normal keeper distribution — this is closest to the full game.
• Standings are kept.

Weather — we play rain or shine

• Rain is not a cancellation. Neither is wind, cold or mud. Dress for it and come anyway.
• Lightning is the only thing that stops us. If the referee sees it, they will clear the field. Everyone to their cars — not under trees, not under the shelter.
• A game stopped for lightning is over, not paused. We do not delay and restart. Moving one game moves the whole day, and there is nobody on site to manage or communicate that. If the referee calls it, consider your game finished and head home.
• If lightning shows on the radar ahead of time, the league may email a cancellation before you leave the house. Check your email on a bad morning.
• Want to make a cancelled game up? The two coaches can arrange it directly — see the note for coaches below.

For coaches

• Balls, cones and supplies are in the storage shed by the softball field — it's marked on the field map. Every coach gets a bag on the first Saturday. Spare shirts are kept there too.
• Rescheduling a cancelled game is yours to arrange. Agree a time with the other coach and go ahead. Any time outside our Saturday slots works — FLCC is usually free all day Sunday and on week nights after school, and there's nothing to book.
• You'll referee it yourselves. The board can't assign an official or manage a fixture outside the normal day. Two coaches and a whistle is fine at these ages.
• Practices during the week are encouraged, but not mandatory. Coaches are welcome to hold one and nobody has to. If your team wants one, run one. The FLCC fields are open during the week. No booking needed for now — if it gets crowded, tell the league and we'll put a reservation system in place.

Parking and drop-off

• Drive slowly — walking pace. There are small children between the cars and the fields all morning, and they do not look before they run.
• You may drive up and drop off grandparents or anyone who can't manage the walk, then park in the lot. Please don't leave a vehicle sitting by the fields.
• Keep the drop-off lane clear so the next car can pull through.
• Hold your kids' hands in the lot. One accident is one too many.

Behavior

• Referees are often teenagers and are learning too. Nobody argues with the referee — questions go through the head coach, quietly, at a stoppage.
• Cheer for effort, for both teams. Coaching from the sideline belongs to the coaches.
• A coach who is asked to leave forfeits the game. It has never happened here. Let's keep it that way.
• Take your chairs, cups and wrappers with you. FLCC lets us use these fields.

Anything not covered here follows the FIFA Laws of the Game as modified by US Youth Soccer for small-sided play. Questions or a judgement call you're unsure about — ask the league through the contact form.