Do you have to have prior experience to sign up for recreational soccer?No, recreational soccer is open to all players, regardless of experience or skill level.
When is registration?
Fall registration begins online mid July and is open through the middle of August.
Spring registration begins online December 1st and remains open through the end of January.
Multiple walkup dates are offered during every registration period; those dates will vary every season and is posted on the website during registration. www.rysa.net RYSA has 2 outdoor 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 RYSA 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 or middle of November. The spring season games begin the first weekend of March every year and end around the beginning or middle 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?
This chart is good for the fall and spring seasons, the soccer seasonal year.
| Soccer Tots (U4) |
Born on or between 8.1.06 - 7.31.07 |
| Under 6 |
Born on or between 8.1.04 - 7.31.06 |
| Under 8 |
Born on or between 8.1.02 - 7.31.04 |
| Under 10 |
Born on or between 8.1.00 - 7.31.02 |
| Under 12 |
Born on or between 8.1.98 - 7.31.00 |
| Under 14 |
Born on or between 8.1.96 - 7.31.98 |
| Under 16 |
Born on or between 8.1.94 - 7.31.96 |
| Under 19 |
Born on or between 8.1.91 - 7.31.94 |
A player must turn 4 on or before July 31st 2009 to play in the fall or spring U6 outdoor recreational program.
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. All requests for play ups are at the discretion of the recreational coordinator. The general rule on play ups is, the player must be in the last year of their current age group to play up. Players must request to play up at the time of registration.
Can my player play down an age group?
No, RYSA is governed by Ga 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.
Are the teams coed?
No, teams are gender specific. The only time that RYSA 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. RYSA 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 and U8 fee is $115.00 plus a $5.00 refundable concession fee.
U10, U12, U14, U16 and U19 fee is $130.00 plus a $5.00 refundable concession fee.
What is included in the registration fee?
U6 & U8 players -A uniform t-shirt, soccer socks and a participation award.
U10 & above – A uniform t-shirt, 1 pair of shorts & 1 pair of soccer socks in the fall. Players returning from the fall will not receive a new uniform kit in the spring. Any new player in the spring will receive a uniform t-shirt, soccer socks.
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.
Who will coach my player’s team?
Recreational coaches are parents that volunteer to coach a team at registration time. Every season RYSA 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. RYSA 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?
Recreational players do not practice at RYSA. The O’Neal soccer fields are available along with any of the local elementary and middle schools in Rockdale County. The coaches pick the location of the team practices since the coaches have been kind enough to volunteer their time to coach the team.
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. U6 and U8 teams practice once a week. U10 and above usually practice twice a week. Practices usually start sometime after 5:30pm to give parents time to get home from work and get the players to practice. Practice times will vary depending on the coach. Most practices will last about an hour and a half. U6 and U8 practice for 45 minutes to an hour. U10 and higher from 1 hour to 1 1/2 hours.
Where will the soccer games be played?
All games will be played at RYSA for U6, U8 and U10.
U12 and above, depending on the number of players in an age group and gender may be scheduled through Ga Soccer and the Recreation Interleague scheduled program(RILS). If that is the case, half of the games will be played at RYSA 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 Ga 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 8am to 5pm. Most U10 and above teams will have some games on Sunday’s with all Sunday games starting at 1pm or later when scheduled at RYSA. The U6-U10 age groups may have a game or two on a Friday evening. Friday evening games will start at 6pm or later and will end no later than 9:00pm. Due to the number of teams and the limited amount of field space, Friday and Sunday games for some age groups are required to fulfill all of the games for the season.
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. RYSA has in-house games to schedule which are easy to do since that only involves RYSA teams and RYSA fields. RYSA also has to schedule games involving other associations playing RYSA teams at RYSA. This scheduling is done through Ga Soccer and involves about 100 other leagues throughout Ga through the Ga Soccer website. Sometimes Ga 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 Recreational Soccer link on the RYSA Website.
How many games will the teams have?
All teams are guaranteed to have at least 9 games during the season.
Our team needs more players, can we pick up players?
If your team is in need of additional players, please contact the recreational coordinator to see if there is anyone on the waiting list that can be placed on the team. All players must be registered and paid through RYSA in order to play. Teams can not pick up any players with out the approval of the recreational coordinator.
Can I request a coach or a team for my player to play on?
There is a special request area when registering online or at the walk up registration. All special request are considered but are not guaranteed. Siblings will be placed on the same team as long as they are the same gender and age group. RYSA tries very hard to have evenly distributed teams and in order to do this, not all requests can be honored.
Can my player switch teams?
Once the teams are drafted, players can not be moved off a team onto another team. All U6 and U8 teams are redrafted every season. U10 and above teams stay together in the fall and spring. Any requests for U10 and above players to switch teams in the spring must be approved by the recreational coordinator and a $25.00 transfer fee will be required if the change is approved.
What if I need a refund?
All refunds must be requested through the RYSA Office and have to be approved by the RYSA President. No refunds will be issued after the close of registration. No exceptions.
Does RYSA offer financial assistance?
Financial Aid applications are available through the RYSA office. All Financial Aid packets are confidential and require all proper paperwork to accompany the application before being considered. Please contact rysaadmin@comcast.net to receive a copy of the form.
How do I check field status for games/practices?
For practice cancellations, contact your coach. For game cancellations, please check the RYSA website at www.rysa.net. Any field closures on game day will be posted on the front page of the website. You can also subscribe to www.statusme.com for field closure information. A text and/or email will be sent to you if you sign up for this FREE service.
Who runs RYSA?
RYSA is a non profit organization run by volunteers. There is 1 paid office employee, 1 paid Director of Coaching, 1 paid Asst. Director of Coaching, 1 paid Director of Recreation Programs, and 1 full time paid field worker. RYSA is run by volunteers and has about 2000 members over a seasonal year. RYSA is directed by a Board of Directors under the direction of the President. There is an executive board of 5 members and the rest of the Board of Directors is made up of 16 positions. All Board of Directors are volunteers and none are paid for any time given to RYSA. The Board of Directors is listed on the RYSA website under the Board of Directors link.
If I have a problem/complaint, who do I contact?
Contact the recreational director for your age group.
RYSA Office Manager
RYSA U6-U10 Rec Director
Stephanie Guadagno
RYSA U12 - U19 Rec Director
Ivey Suber
RYSA President
Casey Black
Mailing Address
PO Box 51 Conyers, GA 30012
770.483.0284 Office - 770.679.4048 – fax
Physical Address
1780 Old Salem Road Conyers, GA 30013
