Do you have to have prior experience to sign up for recreational soccer?
No, recreational soccer is open to all players ( ages 4 to 18 ), regardless of experience or skill level.
When is registration?
Fall registration begins online May 1st and is open through the middle/end of July.
Spring registration begins online December 1st and remains open through the end of January.
Walk up registration dates are offered during every registration period; those dates vary every season and are posted on the website during registration. HCSA has two seasons a year, Fall and Spring. This is generally referred to as the soccer seasonal year. The soccer seasonal year begins September 1st and runs through August 31st.
When will someone contact us after registration?
After the final date of online registration, all coaches and players are placed onto teams by a computer generated draft. Every season HCSA is in need of coaches, so there is usually a 1-2 week period of the recreational coordinator trying to find coaches to coach the remaining teams. After all teams have coaches, the recreational coaching meeting is set and at that meeting, all of the coaches will receive their team contact information. The coaches are asked to contact all players, 2 weeks prior to the first scheduled game.
When does the season start/end?
The fall season games begin the first weekend after Labor Day every year and ends around the beginning of November. The spring season games begin the first weekend of March every year and end around the beginning of May.
When do the teams start practicing?
Teams are allowed to start practicing 2 weeks prior to the first scheduled games.
What age group will my player participate in?
We use our age group chart to determine what age group a child will pay for the fall and spring seasons, the soccer seasonal year.
Can my player play up an age group?
Generally players will play in their own age group, but occasionally players will want to play up an age group. No player may play up during their first season with HCSA. All requests for play ups must be submitted timely (by April 15th or Oct. 15th for the next season’s consideration) to ed@hcsa.org and are at the discretion of the professional staff coaches upon evaluating the player during regular season’s play.
Can my player play down an age group?
No, HCSA is governed by Georgia Soccer and they have strict rules on the age group chart and will not allow any players to play down, regardless of size, skill or handicaps. Not even with a doctor’s excuse requesting that the player play down an age group will a player be allowed to play down.
Will siblings be able to play on the same team?
Only siblings that are age appropriate can play together if they are the same gender. Multiples (twins, triplets, etc..) will definitely be placed on the same team unless otherwise requested. HCSA forms teams in single age groups fromU5 through U10 to better address the soccer needs of the younger child. Although it is possible, it may be unlikely that siblings could play together until they reach the U12, U14, U16 & U19 groups.
Are the teams coed?
No, they are gender specific. The only time that HCSA will put together a coed team, is if there are not enough participants in a specific age group. This happens occasionally in the U19 age group, but if the boys and girls do need to be placed together to form a team, all parents will be notified first and given the option to remove their player from the program. HCSA has only experienced this problem a few times in the U19 age group in the spring season due to high school soccer.
What is the registration fee?
U6 fee is $95.00
U7, U8, U9, U10, U12, U14, U16 and U19 fee is $115.00
A uniform must be purchased seperately during on-site registration from the equipment room or by contacting the Equipment Coordinator at equipment@hcsa.org.
What is included in the registration fee?
All field & ground equipment, referee fees (with the exception of Under 5 & Under 6 teams), impact fee to the county, administration, registration and insurance through the state, maintenance costs and cleaning fees, concession employees, advertising, and PDP clinics.
A uniform must be purchased seperately during on-site registration or by contacting the Equipment Coordinator at equipment@hcsa.org.
What equipment will my player need?
All players must wear shin guards during all practices and games. Players will need soccer cleats, no baseball cleats are allowed. Athletic shorts of any kind to play and practice in. Every player will need a size appropriate soccer ball. U6 and U8 use a size 3 soccer ball. U10 and U12 use a size 4 soccer ball. U14, U16 and U19 use a size 5 soccer ball. Sun screen is recommended for warm months. A water bottle with water or sports drink should always be available during all practices and games.
How do I get my uniform?
Contact our Equipment Director at equipment@hcsa.org to arrange a time to meet (the Equipment room is not open consistently). If you did not purchase your uniform during open registration dates in Jan. or July. Extra socks only are sold from the concessions. The HCSA uniform is mandatory to start the season. The coaches do not deliver your uniforms to you.
What is included in the recreational uniform package?
2 jerseys (gray is home & white is away) 1 pair of shorts, 2 pair of socks (navy & white). Shin guards are required to take the field of play in all practices & games. They must be purchased separately ($10 from HCSA). Cleats, goalie gloves, bags, balls, can also be purchased through HCSA.
Who will coach my player’s team?
Recreational coaches are parents that volunteer to coach a team at registration time. Every season HCSA has to search for additional people to coach because there are never enough coaches to cover all of the teams. Most of the recreational coaches are a parent of a player on the team. Coaches volunteer their time to work with your player during practices and games. Some coaches grew up playing soccer, some have watched their children play and some have never played soccer or coached soccer before. HCSA offers coaching classes and clinics before and during the season to help all of the coaches, no matter what their prior experience is.
Where will my player practice?
All practices are held on weekday evenings at North Mt. Carmel Park (307 North Mt. Carmel Rd, Hampton).
What day and/or time will my player’s team practice?
The coaches pick the time and day of practices since they have been kind enough to volunteer their time to coach the team. U5 and U6 teamsy practices once a week and start at 6:00 pm or 7:00 pm. U7 and U8 teams practice twice a week and start at 6:00 pm or 7:00 pm. U9 through U12 teams practice twice a week practice and start at 6:00 or 7:15. U12 and older teams practice twice a week and start at 6:00 or 7:30.
Where will the soccer games be played?
All games for Under 5, Under 6, Under 7, Under 8, Under 9, Under 10, and Under 12 will be played at North Mount Carmel Park.
U14 and above are scheduled through George Soccer and the Recreation Interleague scheduled program (RILS). Half of the games will be played at North Mount Carmel Park and the other half of the games will be played at other soccer associations throughout the metro Atlanta area. Most associations are on this side of the Atlanta area. The U14, U16 and U19 age groups are always RILS through Georgia Soccer, so plan on some traveling on the weekends for some games.
When will the soccer games be played?
Most games are on Saturday’s. Saturday games start anytime from 8:00 am to 6:30 pm. Teams will have some games on Sunday’s with all Sunday games starting at 1:00 pm or later when scheduled at HCSA.
When will the game schedule be available?
The game schedule is available 1-2 weeks before the season starts. All teams must be formed before the scheduling process can even start. HCSA has in-house games to schedule which are easy to do since that only involves HCSA teams and HCSA fields. HCSA also has to schedule games involving other associations playing HCSA teams at HCSA. This scheduling is done through Georgia Soccer and involves about 75 other leagues throughout Georgia through the Georgia Soccer website. Sometimes Georgia Soccer does not release the schedules until the week of the start of the season, so that is usually the reason for the delay in the schedules being published. As soon as the schedules are done, they will be available on the schedules page on the HCSA website.
How many games will the teams have?
All teams are guaranteed to have between 8 and 10 games during the season.
What are Player Developmnet Program Clinics?
Player Development Program clinics are offered to all HCSA registered players at no additional charge. They are held on Friday evenings at the Soccerplex. Parents will register their children on our website starting Monday mornings for that following Friday night clinic and space is limited each week. Our professional staff coaches instruct the clinics to help the players improve their skills and have FUN while participating in additional soccer sessions throughout the season. PDP clinics open to sign up the week prior to season’s start and continue until the end of season.
What are the raffle tickets used for? HCSA holds a raffle at the end of each season. All players are given 10 raffle tickets to sell and keep the funds for themselves. The team managers or coach will disburse these tickets to the parents after the season begins. The raffle ticket holder will be eligible to win: 1st prize $500 cash, 2nd prize $250 cash, and 3rd prize $100 cash. You do not have to be present to win as we will draft a check and mail to your address of record. Many parents choose to donate the raffle monies to the team for their team party at end of season. HCSA does not provide trophies at the end of season as this decision should be made by the team as a whole, as will the decision to have a team party.
What if I need a refund?
The recreational refund policy was clearly listed on your registration application. In summary: A refund is available to you at 100% within 72 hours of registering upon written request. Afterwards, a 50% refund is available to you by emailing our executive director at ed@hcsa.org to make the written request. Upon injury or medical need, a refund will be considered, with physician’s documentation, if the player is excluded from participating for 50% of the games played during the season As of 8 a.m. on Opening Day, no refund is available. No refund is afforded to Academy or Select players after signing.
Does HCSA offer financial assistance?
Scholarship applications are available through the HCSA website or during on-site registration dates at the North Mount Carmel Park Soccerplex at 307 Norht Mount Carmel Road, Hampton GA 30228. All scholarships are confidential and require all proper paperwork to accompany the application before being considered. Please contact vicepresident@hcsa.org to be considered.
How do I check field status for games/practices?
HCSA has a field status hotline (770) 954-0154; however, the most expedient way to learn of field closings will be to check our website. The website is updated daily by 4:30 p.m. and 7 a.m. on game days. Know before you go join Rainedout.com to receive email and/or text message field status updates from Henry County Soccer Association. Text HCSOCCER to 70359 to receive ALL field status updates from Henry County Soccer Association.
Who runs HCSA?
HCSA is a non profit organization run by volunteers. There is 1 part time paid office employee, 1 paid Director of Coaching, and 1 part time paid field worker. HCSA is run by volunteers and has about 2500 members over a seasonal year. HCSA is directed by a Board of Directors under the direction of the President. There is an Executive Board of 4 members and the remainder of the Board of Directors is made up of 8 additional board of directors positions. All Board of Directors are volunteers and none are paid for any time given to HCSA.
