Questions & Answers

What equipment does my child need for soccer?

What are my registration fees used for?
Every year over 1,000 players are registered to play outdoor and indoor soccer in Fort Saskatchewan. A lot of work goes into making it a memorable season for each of these players.
Our registration fees are used to provide soccer to our registered members. Fees are paid by everyone and cover our program costs. All soccer associations basically have the same costs.
Soccer registration fees do not pay:
     Coaches - all coaches are volunteers.
    Executive Committee members - they are also volunteers.
    Sub-Committee members - these folks are volunteers too.

Soccer registration fees pay:

Practices are on the indoor soccer pitch (not school gyms) for the indoor season
Alberta Soccer Association and Canadian Soccer Association compulsory fees for membership and insurance.
Edmonton league fees - fees associated with each of the leagues in which we play.
District Fees
Coach training related fees: ASA instructor fees for coach courses, gym and meeting room rentals, coach packages, soccer program information packages, t-shirts.
Center Referee and Assistant Referee fees, ASA instructor fees for referee courses, gym and meeting room rentals for training courses, and referee equipment.
Alberta Soccer Provincials participation fees.
Soccer's portion of Minor Sports Association administrative costs including: staffing, accounting services, office rental, meeting rooms, telephone, fax, internet, webpage, postage and other administrative fees.
Jerseys for players and referees.
Equipment - balls, bags, corner flags, mesh & pop-up nets, first aid kits, cones, ice packs, etc.
Medals for our younger players.
Field lining services, paint, equipment, line painting machine, and machine maintenance.
Indoor soccer field rentals for games and practices.
Facility rentals for referee courses, coach clinics and player assessments.
meeting room rentals for for Executive Committee meetings, coach meetings and training, team, selections and various other meetings.
costs associated with registration, such as: print and sign advertising, printing of forms and information packages, electronic payment and registration systems, credit card fees.

Due to a shortage of volunteers, starting in 2014 a small portion of the soccer registration fees will go towards paying a sports coordinator to help with some of the administrative tasks required to keep over 1,000 players enjoying outdoor and indoor soccer.

Why does registration start and end so early?
Between the end registration and when the players go onto the fields there are many tasks to do, deadlines to meet and ASA forms to complete.

Once registration closes we are able to determine how many potential teams we can have this season. Regardless of how many players register, without volunteer coaches we cannot have teams. Some years we may need extra coaches at a particular level. We try and recruit more coaches. If we are unable to find enough coaches we have the unpleasant task of telling some players they are unable to play this season.

Once we have enough coaches we can start dividing the players into teams. At some levels we may have multiple teams so we do player assessments to try and balance skill level between the teams. Many hours go into balancing teams during team selection.

There are also coaches to train. Criminal Record Checks to gather. Referees to train. Equipment to hand out. Schedules to make. Fields to prepare.

Everything is done by volunteers who have full-time jobs and families.

When can we go on the outdoor sports fields?
The City of Fort Saskatchewan determines when the fields are ready for the sports teams. Depending on weather conditions we can generally be on the fields the first week of May.

When are U11 to U19 schedules available?
Our U11 to 19 teams follow the schedules prepared by the host leagues in which we play.

When are Timbit (U3, U5, U7 and U9) schedules available?
Before we can form the U3, U5, U7 and U89games schedule we need to obtain enough volunteer coaches and co-coaches.

Once we have sufficient coaches we can form our teams. Then after we determine the number of teams we are able to develop the games schedule.

Why is there a jersey deposit?
To help keep soccer affordable we loan U11 to U19 players a jersey for the season rather then increase your registration fee to cover the cost of purchasing new jerseys each year.

We charge a jersey deposit to ensure we receive all our jerseys back (clean and undamaged) at the end of the season. One missing jersey can mean a team set has to be retired because there are now not enough jerseys in the set for an entire team.

Cheques are cashed if jerseys are not returned promptly or if jerseys are returned damaged.

Our jersey deposit is actually quite low. Some communities have a $200 jersey deposit.

Why is there a volunteer deposit?
The success of Fort Saskatchewan Soccer and the development and enjoyment of our members depends on volunteers. There are many positions, which if volunteers did not fill, would result in children not being able to play soccer.

Other sports organizations have had volunteer deposits for many years. There are some organizations with deposits over $300 and requiring over 20 hours of volunteer commitment.

The Fort Saskatchewan Soccer Executive accepts the need to promote 'volunteerism' and a more active participation of our members. The aim of our Policy 130 - Volunteer Deposit is to develop volunteer involvement in support of the Fort Saskatchewan Soccer Programs.

What is the Fort Saskatchewan Minor Sports Association (FSMSA)?
FSMSA provides its member sports centralized governance, advocacy, administrative and financial support plus many other valuable resources which enable the member sports groups to continue providing top quality sports to the children of Fort Saskatchewan. FSMSA provides the sports services which include: office staff, accounting services, a central office, meeting rooms, photocopying, telephone, fax, internet access, a centralized webpage, and other administrative services.

Financial integrity is ensured because FSMSA financial records are audited on a yearly basis by a public accounting firm registered with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Alberta. The Fort Saskatchewan Minor Sports Association safeguards the financial and equipment assets of its member groups should any of its member sports be unable to operate for any reason.

City of Fort Saskatchewan and Community representatives regularly meet with Member Sports to consult on sport and recreational topics.

Currently Soccer and seven other minor sports programs are banded together under the umbrella of the Fort Saskatchewan Minor Sports Association (FSMSA). The other sports include: baseball, gymnastics, hockey, judo, lacrosse, ringette, and softball.

The Fort Saskatchewan Minor Sports Association was incorporated as a Society in 1974. Soccer and hockey are two of the original member sports.

What are Player Assessments?
We do player assessments when we have more than two teams at the same U-level playing in the same league. The goal of player assessments is to help us balance the skill levels between teams at the start of the season. Since player skill level develops at varying speeds, a team's skill level may change and teams might not stay balanced as the season progresses.

We send out an email and post information on our website to let folks know which U-levels are having player assessments and on what day and time the assessments will be held.

On player assessment day players will come to the DCC indoor soccer pitch about 15 minutes prior to their U-levels start time. Players sign in, are given a numbered pinnie and change into their soccer clothes, shin pads, socks and indoor soccer or running shoes.

During the assessments for their U-level, players will participate in a few drills and then play in a short scrimmage. Assessments take about 60 to 90 minutes depending on the U-level. Parents can stay in the bleachers and watch or come back when their child's U-level is finished.

We use the information from player assessments to help us form the teams. While we are forming teams we divide up the players so that each team has about the same number of more experienced and less experienced players.

It may then be a couple of weeks before your child hears from their coach. Since we are all volunteers and we have many players to divide up into teams it takes a little while before all the teams are formed.

Why do volunteers need to provide a RCMP Criminal Record Checks (CRC)?
The Alberta Soccer Association requires all soccer volunteers to provide CRC's. Fort Saskatchewan Soccer must make all our volunteers' CRCs available to Alberta Soccer and our District.

Fort Saskatchewan RCMP provide CRCs at no cost to soccer volunteers who provide a letter from the Fort Saskatchewan Minor Sports office which identifies the person as a soccer volunteer. All CRCs are kept on file for three years at the FSMSA office.

Why do coaches need to take a coaching course?
The Alberta Soccer Association requires all coaches to be trained to the appropriate level at which they are coaching. These courses are designed to help coaches learn soccer skills appropriate to the age level they are coaching. Plus coaches learn techniques which help them coach to children at their teams age level.

We host courses in Fort Saskatchewan each spring and each fall for our soccer coaches. Watch our website around registration time for more information about which courses we are hosting each soccer season. Fort Saskatchewan Soccer covers the course costs for our coaches.

Can my child move up an Age Category?
Fort Saskatchewan Soccer will review any and all requests for age movement. However, we are reluctant to move any player out of their age category unless the request is necessary and justified. We believe that a player moving up has a definite disadvantage against older, stronger, and faster children and this may affect the child’s self-esteem and confidence. We are also concerned about the unfair position it puts the team in, by having an underage player on the team. There are also the socialization aspects that you should consider. By that we mean that there is more to being on a child’s soccer team than simply playing soccer. One must consider that there is a certain ‘value’ in your child being able to comfortably associate with others on his/her own team that are of the same mental/emotional/physical level. We would prefer that wherever possible you keep your child in the age group that he/she is supposed to be in. Again, all age movement requests must be made in writing on our Player Movement Request form.

How do I make special requests or report concerns?
Team or coach related special requests and concerns are to be identified on the original registration form. Fort Saskatchewan Soccer will only review team related special requests and concerns submitted during the registration process. Special requests submitted in any format after the registration will not be reviewed. Reviewing a request does not mean a request can be granted.

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