Player Frequently Asked Questions

How do I register?

Registration is handled completely by ASA. The deadline for the season is September 11, after which ASA may require a higher fee AND you may not get to play on your desired team.

There are three ways to register:

• ASA Online Registration

  This is the preferred process, where you create a household account and enter all information online. If you want to volunteer you will also need follow the volunteering link.

• Paper Registration Form

  The paper form in both english and spanish is at ASA Recreational Soccer Registration Forms

  The form is stored as a PDF file so you need to have Acrobat Reader installed on your system to print it.

  If you have limited access to a computer, I can make copies of the form; please call/email me.

  The form needs to be mailed or hand-delivered to the ASA Offices with a check or money order attached (you can use cash if you are dropping directly at the ASA Offices)

• Phone the ASA Registrar (703-801-7345)

  The registrar will enter your information in the ASA system and take payment. She is bi-lingual in English and Spanish.

What if I have registered but still need to pay?

The best method is to mail a check to the ASA offices identifying the player and season. One can also call the ASA registrar and give a credit card payment over the phone.

If both of these options are difficult for you, you can give check/cash to your coach at a pre-season practice and it will get to ASA somehow.

Until you pay in some form, you will not be allowed to play in ASA games.

If you cannot afford the full registration fee, financial aid is available. Financial aid application forms in both english and spanish can be found at ASA Online Registration or by phoning ASA.

It is preferred that you provide supporting documentation for a scholarship/financial aid. However, ASA generally allows a scholarship if one gives a valid reason.

Our club will also give partial or full scholarships if the need is there. Please contact me at revs club manager email for more information.

How do I volunteer to coach my child?

See Volunteers for information on volunteering for a team.

How do I change my registration information?

Occasionally a family will change address, email accounts or want to change volunteer information. Use Family Updates to modify your information.

Those fields that cannot be modified (e.g. DOB) will need to be changed by the ASA registrar. Contact her by email or phone.

Why do I need to agree to so many waivers?

Robert Tanner asked this of the ASA Executive Director and received the following response:

Hello Robert,

I appreciate your concerns regarding the photo waiver requirement.  As a
parent who registers his kids, I would prefer to simplify things and NOT
require all of those checkboxes during the registration process.
However, specific to the photo waiver, we have received legal advice
indicating that we *do* need to make this a requirement.  This has been
a requirement for several seasons now, actually.

The main reason is that, for a variety of reasons, photos or videos of
players will happen during the season.  We've been advised that we do
need permission to use any such images, but the reality of trying to
get permission for each player depicted after the fact is that it
generally won't happen; there are too many hoops to jump.  To make the
whole thing easier for all concerned, we request the waiver at the time
of registration, and no one has to be chased down during the season if
their picture is taken.

We will reevaluate the language used in that section of registration
and try to develop a clearer explanation of what that waiver is all
about and why it is helpful for both ASA and the registrants.

Thanks,
Justin Wilt
ASA

Why can't I register my child online?

The two main reasons that one cannot register are:

1. The child does not fall into one of the age group range categories. Either the child is too old or too young. ASA has a fairly strict policy on pre-kindergarten participation.

   For children too young for U6, ASA has a Pre-k soccer program available.

2. The child does not reside in Arlington or Falls Church City. There are some exceptions for kids living in Alexandria.

If any of these reasons applies, he/she cannot be enrolled on a Revolutionaries team unless explicitly done so by the ASA registrar.

The primary other reason is a temporary technology problem with the online registration site. If this occurs, wait a day and try again.

What if I don't have access to a computer?

ASA will hold several walk-in registration meetings at convenient locations where people can go to register. An ASA rep will be there with a computer to enter the data and collect the registration fee.

How do I request a specific team, coach or player?

There is a special request field in the registration where you can make your coach, team or friend teammate preferences known. This is the only field we typically look at for requests.

I get so many emails by the time I make the rosters that it is impossible to use this as a vehicle to request preferences.

See Why didn't I get on my requested team? for how the club handles team requests.

Why was my child put on a wait list?

As the teams fill up, the coaches can decide to take no more players. The primary reason for this is the number of age/gender players registered is too much for a single team and too little to split the team. When the coaches decide they can take no more players, the new registration is marked as "wait list" until one of several things could happen:

• The best situation is enough players sign up that we create a new team within the club with coaches.
• The family chooses to play in an older or younger age group within the Revs.
• A team within another ASA club is accepting players, and you want to play for that club. This happens fairly frequently and players usually have a very positive experience.
• The final outcome the player is not placed on a team and the money is refunded.

Can I transfer my child to another team?

You may make a request to transfer your child to another team. However, both coaches must agree to the transfer. The parental request is almost always honored. However, there are situations where the request would be detrimental to one of the teams and the coach declines to make the transfer. The club must honor the wishes of the coaches. If this occurs, the players family can request a full refund if the season has not begun.

You may also request to transfer your child to another club (which happens for five or six players each season.) Both club managers, after consulting with their coaches, must approve the transfer. I have never seen a club transfer NOT take place.

Can I transfer my child to another club?

You may make a request to transfer your child to another rec club within ASA. The two club managers will work together to fulfill the request. There has to be a formal transfer of the player from the current club manager's online database to the receiving club managers database. In the past, all club transfers have been granted.

Who can see my childs registration information?

After players and teams are assigned, team rosters are electronically retrievable by coaches, the club manager and ASA officials. The roster entry for your child contains all information you entered during registration. The coaches generally distribute this roster to all families on the team so team members have phone numbers and emails.

Coaches are required to bring a roster to all games for review by the referees and opponent coaches to verify that only registered players are playing.

Assume that the coaches and, at least, the team families and game referees will see everything you entered during registration. DO NOT ENTER SENSITIVE INFORMATION IN YOUR REGISTRATION PROFILE

If it is something that only the coaches should be aware of, talk to them individually.

What age group is my child?

Here is the ASA Age Group reference for this season.

Late summer and early fall birthdays are difficult to place; these kids are either the youngest or oldest in their classes. The young players tend to play "up" to be with their classmates rather than play at their default age level.

It is especially important for these players to be registered to the desire age group

Can my child play "up"?

ASA prefers that children play in their age group for several reasons, not least of which is playing with friends and children at the same mental maturity level.

However, you may request that your child play "up" one year (the next older age group) without specifying a reason. The ASA Technical Director must approve all players playing up two years or more.

Can my child play "down"?

Generally no but for rec soccer there is no strict rule about this. A player may play with a younger team to balance player numbers across several teams or for the convenience of the family. The point of rec soccer is for everyone to play as much as possible and have a good time.

However, all requests to play "down" must be approved by the ASA Technical Director.

At what age group do boys and girls separate?

U6 and U7 are coed, boys and girls play on the same team. Generally there are more boys enrolled than girls so we try to balance the girls across teams in the same age group.

Can my girl play on a boys team?

Yes, put this in the special request field as to which boys team to place her on.

Can my boy play on a girls team?

No.

What is Travel Soccer?

The ASA Travel Soccer Club (ATSC) currently has over 700 participants from Arlington, Falls Church and other local counties. It is a large program with this Mission Statement.

Due to the use of professional coaches, the fees for ATSC are much higher than the Rec clubs, around $900/season in 2010.

There are a number of local Travel Soccer clubs in the area: Alexandria, McLean, Fairfax, Washington Area Girls Soccer (WAGS) to name a few. These clubs compete against each other in league play and at tournaments.

Why are Travel players allowed to play on Rec teams?

Over the years, coaches and parents have expressed concern about the impact of ATSC players on Rec teams with the following argument:

ATSC players are professional coached, play several several times a week (a practice, a clinic and one or more games), and participate in several regional tournaments ever year. With this level of experience, "travel" players dominate recreational games and give an unfair advantage to their rec team. Furthermore, coaches tend to play their travel players more than other players at the expense of improving the rec players.

The ASA Recreational Committee (of which the Revs Club is a voting member) has struggled with this at almost every rules meeting for years. There are good arguments on both sides of the issue and no one seems to be entirely happy with any solution proposed. The least-evil solution that can be agreed upon AND ENFORCED is to limit the number of "travel" players on a team. See the following rule from the ASA Admin Handbook

The maximum number of travel players (by VYSA definition; regardless of
gender, age or location) that a Recreational team in an age group may
have on its roster is limited below:

* under 8 and younger age groups - no travel players may be rostered
* under 9 and under 10 age groups - no more than three (3) travel players
* under 11 and under 12 age groups - no more than four (4) travel players
* under 13 and under 14 age groups - no more than five (5) travel players
* Teen Soccer Program - no more than five (5) travel players

There is a lot of contention around this issue. The official ASA position to "Why are Travel players permitted to play in Rec games?" can be found in the ASA FAQ

Jeff Oliver, the ASA Rec Committee Chairman, added the following comments:

Chuck - I just wanted to thank you for providing a lot of well thought
out comments regarding the issue because the Rec Committee (which I
chair) has addressed this issue almost every year that I have been
involved with ASA soccer (15+ yrs).  The good news is that the Club
Managers have wrestled with these exact comments and honestly there are
strong technical positions for both sides of this issue.  However one
major point is that the concept of travel players on rec teams should
not be dismissed because of the coaching issues (which is really where
equal playing time, positioning, etc should be addressed - of course
remembering that the Rec Coaches are volunteers/parents).  It would be
great to have you as a new coach to help resolve the coaching issues we
have.

Notwithstanding your very good thoughts - I think we have missed
stating the most compelling reason for travel kids to be on rec teams -

The travel players are some of the Rec players best friends - and most
Rec and Travel players do not want to lose the opportunity to have fun
and play with their best friends.  Rec vs Travel alignments do not align
with friendships - fortunately!

This last issue is by far the real reason for this policy - I have 18
girls at u14 (3 Travel players - none my daughter) and they have all
played together since kindergarten - is it fair to take that
opportunity away from these girls?  Travel is a "label" applied
potentially from 3rd grade up - many of these friendships exist before
that label is applied.   As a coach and as a parent - I think the best
solution is to make the travel players and coach aware of the concerns
and talk about it as a team with all the parents and players involved.

Thanks Jeff

What happens after I register?

Once a player is registered, the ASA assigns him/her to a club. If a specific club is requested, the player is assigned to the club. Otherwise, the player is assigned based on club district.

Once the ASA assigns a player to a club, he/she is entered in a database accessible only by me or volunteers who work with me. Using this database, we assign the player to team and assign coaches to that team.

Why didn't I get on my requested team?

Our club tries to accomodate all player requests. However, we must balance the teams for each age group so they have roughly an equal number of players and comparable skill sets. The club manager will work with the coaches to balance teams as well as possible.

It is important to register as early as possible to get on your desired team as stated on the ASA registration forms:

New players will be placed on teams on a first-come, first-served
basis, according to the registration date. Players who are registered
late may not be placed on the same team from last season if the team
is full. Player placement is done on a first-come, first served basis,
and spots cannot be held open for players who wait to register until
later in the process.

When does the season begin?

See the Season Schedule

When do teams start practice?

Your coach will contact you for practices. Generally practices begin a week or two before the first game.

When does a team practice?

The practice day(s) and time(s) depend on the coach, usually after polling players families. Generally there is one weekly practice, held in the middle of the week starting at 5:30pm. Again, this is entirely at the discretion of the coach and families. Some coaches prefer two practices and start later. Some coaches prefer to start earlier.

Most, but not all, practices are held on county fields for which ASA receives a playing permit. To see Revs fields, go to Practice Fields. Our most important practice field, TJ Upper, starts at 5pm.

How do I know when and where our games are played?

The schedule will be posted on the ASA website as soon as it is available, usually during the week before the first U8 game.

What if I have conflicts with game or practice times?

This is a common occurrence with so many players having so many activities. It is the responsibility of the parent and coach to work together to resolve the conflicts. If there are irreconcilable conflicts, we will mark the player as "not playing" and the ASA will provide a full refund BEFORE THE FIRST GAME. If the player participates in a game then ASA will not honor a refund request.

What do the ASA divisions mean?

Depending on the number of teams for each age group, ASA teams are divided into numbered divisions (I-V). In order to have games that are reasonably competitive, the stronger teams generally play in the lower number divisions, but there is considerable overlay in skill levels among the divisions - especially for the U9 and younger teams.

Note that the U6/U7/U8 age groups are considered developmental and games are not officially scored. The division placement for these teams is mostly random.

As a rule, at the beginning of a season ASA will move the first place team of each division from the previous season to the next higher division (e.g. from Division III to II) and last place team to the next lower division (e.g. from Division I to II). Coaches can also request to change divisions by asking their Club Manager to submit the Request for Exception Form to the Director. If there is little difference between the first and second place teams in a division and both teams dominate the others in the group, then the second place team should also consider moving up a division. Division I teams that are consistently first in their division can also play in an older age group if they chose.

Division placement is made by the ASA and club manager before the schedule is generated. All divisional changes after the season begins will be handled on a case-by-case basis.

What do the Referees do?

No referees are provided for U6/U7 games. Games are refereed by a coach from each team.

One or more referees are provided for U8+ games by ASA. However, in instances where one or more fails to show up for your game, a knowledgable parent or other adult should act as the game leader.

The referees have been trained in the ASA rules and should be considered the final authority for all game-associated events including behavior of the players, coaches and parents. The referee has the right to end the game prematurely and file a complete with the ASA Discipline Committee.

How do I know if a game/practice is cancelled?

All games and practice cancellations are directed by the Arlington County Inclement Weather Hotline: 703-228-4715 run by Arlington Parks Department. Arlington Parks Department is the sole authority for field maintenance.

ASA and the clubs have no authority for the county fields. If a practice or game is carried out on a field when Arlington Parks Department has cancelled play, ASA will be notified and possibly lose privilege on that field.

If grass field play is cancelled then practice is cancelled.

The Arlington Parks Department is very sensitive (I think overly) to the maintenance of grass fields. Sometimes they will cancel field use after a heavy rain to save the grass. It is safest to always check the Inclement Weather Hotline before any soccer event.

This is especially important for U6/U7 practices at Lyon Park where we are indebted to the Lyon Park Community Center for allowing us the use of the Park. They can strip us of this privilege if we do not abide by their rules.

If a game is cancelled, your coach will contact you about when it is rescheduled.

How do I order a uniform and other personal equipment?

The Revolutionaries uniform is a red jersey, black shorts and black socks. Shinguards are required, and the referee can dismiss a player not wearing them. Socks must cover the shinguards. Turf shoes or soccer cleats are recommended but not required.

Each Revolutionaries team has a collection of age-appropriate balls but it is a good idea for a player to have a personal one also, according to the chart below:

If you need a Revolutionaries jersey, please purchase one from Tanzmans Sport Apparel online at Tanzmans Sport Apparel. If you have limited computer access, you may use the Tanzman's order form to order personal equipment OR call them at 703-522-2235. Note that Tanzman's no longer has a store front, so all purchases must be made electronically.

This season, Sandy from Tanzmans Sport Apparel will come to several practices to show uniforms and take soccer clothing orders.

However, if you do not have a jersey for a game you can use a dark red t-shirt in its place.

Local stores to purchase equipment are:

• Soccer Kicks
• Dicks Sporting Goods, Soccer

Other recommended online equipment sites are:

• Score Sports
• Eurosport

What if I cannot afford to purchase the necessary equipment?

Our Equipment Manager holds used equipment for re-use.

If there is no matching equipment, your coach can authorize the purchase of equipment. In order to get reimbursed for expenses, a receipt and expense form must be provided to our Treasurer.

Can a player wear jewelry or a watch during a game?

Some items, such as earrings or watches, are considered dangerous for the player or competitors. The referee may ask a player to remove personal items for the sake of safety.

Required Equipment

• red jersey
• non-red jersey for the goalie
• shinguards
• socks covering the shinguards.

Do not be surprise if a referee removes a player if he/she is not wearing shinguards or socks covering the shinguards.

How big is the club?

The Club comprises roughly 300 players and 20 teams each season. It primarily pulls players from the surround Jefferson school district, including private schools. However, some of the players come from outside the district but have requested to play on a Revolutionaries team.

Who is the club manager and what does he/she do?

Dave Turvene is the club manager starting in Spring 2009. He is assuming the role from Lisa Turcios, who was the club manager for twelve seasons.

The primary club manager effort is expended during a very intense period over several weeks leading up to the first game of the season. It involves:

• matching each player to a team,
• allocating coaches to each team,
• balancing the team rosters,
• assigning practice fields

What is the best way to communicate with the club manager?

The best way to communicate with me is by email to the revs club manager email account. My home phone number is published, but should only be used if immediate attention is required.

I will attempt to respond to as many queries as I can but the only promise I can make at this time is I will read every email and listen to every voice mail.

What is the ASA?

The Arlington Soccer Association is an umbrella association for eleven neighborhood clubs in Arlington, the Arlington Travel Soccer club, a Teen Soccer club and the TOPSoccer club.

ASA is part of, and takes direction from, the Virginia Youth Soccer Association

There are roughly 5000 players participating in ASA clubs. ASA provides the following support for its member clubs:

• Coordination with Arlington County for game and practice field assignments
• Game schedules
• Insurance
• Referee assignments
• Rules and rule interpretation
• Player registration
• Electronic support, including team management software, player database and email lists

Who are the main ASA officials?

The ASA strategic direction is charted by the Board of Directors and the club managers. See ASA Board and Key Volunteers. All of these people are volunteers and receive no monetary disbursement for their services.

The ASA tactical and operational functions are carried about by the paid ASA Staff

Where are the ASA Offices?

The offices are located at:

This is the old Tanzman's Shoe store.