Frequently Asked Questions
What ages can play soccer with Hueytown Soccer?
Our youngest age group is called U6. This age group is primarily comprised of 4 & 5 year old players. The age of a player is determined by his or her age on August 1rst of each year. This is the age that is used during the fall and spring seasons, which coincides with the school year. Our oldest age group is currently U12 during the fall, and then U10 & U12 for travel teams in the spring.
Who runs the Hueytown Soccer Club & League?
The league is run by a board of volunteers. As such, there is always needs that would be beneficial to have full-filled.
If I sign my child up, how much will he or she get to play?
Our typical seasons are 8 games long, usually spread over 9-10 weeks because of holidays or weather cancellations. For all U6-U10 teams, everybody plays at least half of the game. Most teams, however, have far fewer than double the number of players than are on the field at one time, and players get to play most of the game. For U10 travel and older teams, coaches will do thier best to insure that all players receive at least 50% playing time in league games, but playing time is not guaranteed for tournaments.
Does my child have to tryout in order to play?
At this time we do not have tryouts. Generally during the fall seasons, we will have a skills assessment so that Division IV (Recreational) teams can be more evenly matched. For the U6 & U8 age groups score is not kept and neither are standings. Just sign-up and we will place your child on a team. For our older players (beginning with the Spring U10 year), we do participate in a travel recreational program, again with an emphasis on player development. The cost of this program is slightly higher, but each team receives training from certified coaching staff and gets to play against other teams in the Greater Birmingham area. As the club grows, we plan to offer a lower-cost recreational program for the older players as well.
Where will the games be played?
We have been playing all Fall recreational matches at the Martin Luther King Jr. Facilities. During the Spring, our Division III teams travel around the Greater Birmingham Area and the MLK Jr. Park.
My child has signed up for soccer. When will I hear about practice?
Coaches or Team Managers will generally be calling thier players 4-5 days before the first practice. Each team will normally have 2-3 formal practices each week. All families are added to an email list to announce things like the first day of practice, game schedules, special events, and so on. Every player's family gets placed on an appropriate emailing list each season. We re-do the lists each season because so many people change their addresses.
What should we bring to the first practice next week?
Something to drink, preferably water or a sports drink. Each player must have shin guards with socks that cover them. An appropiate size ball for the players age group. (U6-U8: size 3; U9-U12: size 4; U13+ size 5) Cleats are recommended for U6, but required for U8 and older players. Soccer cleats are different from baseball cleats in that they do not have a central cleat in the front toe area. No metal cleats are allowed.
Are there special rules for the younger kids or do they play the regular game?
As part of the Alabama Soccer Association, we play "small-sided games" on smaller fields in our younger age divisions. We strongly endorse these small-sided games, because they give greater opportunities for every player to touch the ball and achieve success, something that is critically important for our younger players. During Recreational league play, some rules have been modified to faciliate our players development and special needs.