The Mebane Youth Soccer Association (MYSA) provides a variety of youth soccer programs to Mebane area youth in Orange and Alamance counties. Our affiliations with the North Carolina Youth Soccer Association and the United States Youth Soccer Association allow us to provide soccer programs at all levels for children as young as 4 and as old as 18. Over 1000 children participate in our soccer programs at the Recreational, Academy, and Classic levels. We also have a TOPSoccer program for special needs children.

We offer fall and spring soccer programs and also support other playing and training opportunities for players year round.

We are glad you have decided to have your child participate in our exciting and growing soccer league. We have collected information here to help newcomers to our league understand how it functions and what is expected of them during the season. Have a question that we didn”t answer here? Ask your coach or contact us at [email protected] and we”ll do our best to get you an answer!

League Info

Our league was formed by area parents who wanted a soccer league in their hometown that their children could participate in inexpensively. With some encouragement from the Mebane City Council, the parents formed a non-profit association to coordinate and run a soccer league. The Mebane Youth Soccer Association works in close coordination with the Mebane Recreation Department to ensure our teams can continue to use Mebane”s outstanding field facilities, but our teams also utilize other fields in Alamance and Orange counties. We play two seasons a year, one in the Spring from February through April and another in the Fall from August through October. Seasons generally consist of one month of practice followed by 8-9 weeks of games (with practices during the week). We field teams at multiple levels – Recreation, Travel, and TopSoccer for special needs children.

Administrative Info

• Registration for the Recreational season costs $50 per player, which is due upon registration online.  Online payment is available in the registration process and is the preferred method.   Checks are also accepted for registration fees but must be mailed and received before the start of the season and MYSA is not responsible for lost or misdirected checks.  Mailing address for checks is given in the registration process.  Please make checks out to “Mebane Youth Soccer Association”.
• Parents will be need to bring completed paperwork (an NCYSA medical waiver, link available on the MYSA website homepage) to their first practice.
• The league must have a birth certificate on file for each player. We only need this once – it will remain on file as long as your child plays.  If you have not played with MYSA before, please bring a copy of your child’s birth certificate to your first practice, along with the NCYSA medical waiver.
• Players play at various age levels, like ‘U5’ or ‘U10’. U5 means your child is ‘Under 5’ on August 1st of the current soccer year (soccer runs August through July). Or thinking of it another way, take your child’s age on August 1st, add one, and put a ‘U’ in front of it and that will be their ‘soccer age’ from August through July.

Equipment

• Soccer Balls: Different age groups play with different sized soccer balls. Each child will need their own ball so they can practice/play on their own. Coaches may or may not have their own practice balls, so don’t assume they will have one for your child to use. The U5-U8 divisions play with a Size 3 ball. The U10-U12 divisions use a Size 4 ball. U13 and above use a size 5 adult size ball. Balls can be purchased at sporting goods stores or large retailers like Wal-Mart, K-Mart, etc.
• Shoes/Cleats: We recommend that players wear soccer cleats for practice and games, but they are not required. Without them, though, players will find they have trouble turning, cutting, and running to play soccer.  Younger players don’t necessarily need them, but many players wear them anyway. Good cleats can be found for very little money at larger retailers and sporting goods stores. Do not spend excessive amounts on cleats as the kids outgrow them quickly. If you do get cleats for your child, beware they MUST be soccer cleats. Baseballs cleats can NOT be used since they usually have a spike in the front center of the shoe – this spike will catch the ground during normal kicking motions and can cause injuries. Soccer cleats will not have a spike up front like this, making it easier to kick the ball. Ask a store associate if you are unsure. Your coach can also give you pointers.
• Shin Guards: Players MUST wear shin guards during practices and games. There are NO exceptions! Serious injuries can occur if players don”t have shin guards on. Again, you can find shin guards at most large retailers and sporting goods stores. A special note for younger (U5-U7) players. Most of the larger stores stock plastic molded shin guards for older children that do not fit younger children well. For 4-6 year olds, you should go to a sporting goods store and get proper size shin guards. Most guards for smaller children are fabric with plastic strips sewn into them which allows them to curve and fit their smaller shins.
• Mouthguards: The MYSA encourages mouthguards for players in U8 and above. Soccer IS a contact sport where players run at high speed so mouth protection is a good thing.
• Uniforms: Uniforms consist of jerseys purchased by parents for $25 which are theirs to keep and reuse each season and can be passed on to other siblings/children as desired.  Uniforms for travel teams are procured directly by parents through our uniform supplier via information that MYSA will supply to parents.
• Miscellaneous: Even the smallest children will work up a thirst during practices and games…be sure to send your child to practice with plenty to drink. Be sure to send an ample amount of drink for the weather conditions…they will need more to drink when it is hot. If you plan to practice with your children at home, you may want to get some inexpensive cones. They come in very handy for drills and also are ideal for marking ”goals” for shooting. There’s no need to spend lots of money on folding goals, etc. A few cones can help them setup drills they learn at practice and allow more flexibility anyway.

Practices

Recreation teams practice once per week and practice days are Monday-Thursday. Practice times are based on the coach’s availability and last for one hour, starting at 5:30, 6:30, or 7:30.  Younger ages generally practice at earlier times and older ages at later times. Your coach will explain what he/she hopes to accomplish at practices and when attendance is mandatory vs optional. Children should come dressed for the weather and ready to play. Bring a water bottle. If you plan on staying through the practice, a folding chair can be essential!

Games

• Game schedules will be released approximately 2 weeks before opening day. Most Recreational games are played on Friday nights and Saturday mornings, though makeup games (due to weather cancellations, etc) may require occasional games through the week.. We will publish the schedules online as soon as they are set. During games, the teams will sit on one side of the field while parents are required to sit on the opposite side. This is done to help the players concentrate and ensure players on the sidelines don’t roam off to parents when a coach needs them to sub in.
• U5-U8 age games are NOT scored. All older ages keep score and standings are tracked online.
• We remind parents that while we all are excited when our kids play, try to avoid shouting instructions to them from the sidelines. This combined with a coach’s instructions can often confuse players and distract them.
• And, of course, don’t forget it’s all about having fun!

Rules

Our games adhere to FIFA’s Laws of the Game. Most youth leagues make minor alterations to the laws, especially at the younger ages. We encourage parents to read the appropriate laws for their child’s age group. The current version of our league’s laws can be found in our Coaches Section.