• All players must wear shinguards to every practice and every game.
• Hard surfaces of shinguards must be covered with socks.
• No shoes with front cleats may be worn (i.e., no baseball or football shoes if they have a front cleat, unless you cut it off).
• Only rubber cleats are allowed; metal cleats are not allowed.
• No jewelry, metal devices, or hazardous equipment may be worn.
• Each player should bring a plastic water bottle to games and practices.
• To games, each player must wear a jersey, shorts, shinguards, socks that entirely cover the shinguards, and rubber cleats.
• Goalkeepers must wear colors that distinguish them from the other players and from the referees. Mostly they either wear a special goalkeeper jersey, a mesh training vest or a T-shirt. Caution: Don't put a long sleeved Goalie jersey on a player in hot weather. It is dangerous because they can become overheated.

• Each player should have a stitched ball (as opposed to a hard seamless ball) of proper size.
• Soccer balls come in 3 different sizes: 3, 4, & 5. The ball size is shown on the ball.
• Look for a stamp that says either "official size & weight" or "FIFA Approved".
• Even if a ball is the official weight, some balls are heavier & harder than others.
• Don't get a ball that is too heavy or hard (some seamless balls are especially hard).
• Some balls are so hard that it is painful to kick them.
• If you have a choice, a shiny, waterproof surface is best because it won't absorb water & will last longer.
• Test the ball to see if it's round & will fly straight by tossing it into the air with a lot of spin on it to see if it wobbles.
• U-6 - U-8 use a size 3 ball.
• U-10 - U-12 use a size 4 ball.
• U-13 & older use a size 5 ball.

• Micro can have 3 or 4 players on the field.
• U-7 & U-8 there are 5 players on the field.
• U-9 & U-10 there are 6 players on the field.
• U-11 & U-12 there are 8 players on the field.
• U-13 & up there are 11 players on the field.

• U-7 and U-8, all kicks are direct.
• U-7 and U-8, players are given a second chance to throw in the ball. 
• U-9 and U-10, both direct and indirect kicks are used.
• U-9 and U-10, penalty kicks come into play.  Howerver there is no offsides called.
• U-9 and U-10, If a team is "cherry picking", this can be deemed to be unsportsmanship and penalized by the referee. 
• U-11 and up play normal rules for the most part.
• U-11 and up, Substitutions are with referees permision and in U-12 and below are to be at any stoppage, however some referees do not abide by that rule.
• U-14 and up are to have substitutions at goal kicks or for the respective teams throw in. However some referees follow the high school rules that say if you sub I can sub.

Last updated: January 30, 2010