Recreation (House League)

Frequently Asked Questions

Updated:  Feb 2024

For information regarding cost, season start and end dates, practice nights, game nights, tournament dates, and how to register please refer to the page dedicated to your division, using the appropriate button on our Recreation information page.

For all other information please click on the question (link) below to read the answers:

What is the format for my division?

What is the retreat line?

Where will the games be played?

Which community can I register in?

What is my child required to wear?

Can my child play with jewellery or earrings?

My child is an exceptional player, can he/she play up a division?

Will you be able to accept friend requests for team mates?

Are parents expected to participate?

When will I find out which team my child is on?

How can I sign up as a coach/assistant coach?

Why are there girls only and mixed teams?

My child is having such a great time, can he/she join second team?

Practice/Game cancellations due to extreme weather

Can any child join the practice/game if they are short players?

Can my team call up players during the season if they are short players for a game?

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What is the format for my division?

Micro-U10

Division	Micro	U6	U8	U10
How often	1 session per week -1 hour practice	1 session per week -30 min practice -30 min game	2 sessions per week -1 hour practice -40 min game	2 sessions per week -1 hour practice -50 min game
Game Duration	n/a	15 minute halves	20 minute halves	25 minute halves
Ball Size	3	3	4	4
Field Size	1/4 of mini	1/2 of mini	1/2 of mini	1/2 of mini
Retreat Line	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
Number of Players	n/a	3 v 3 or 4 v 4	5 v 5	7 v 7
Minimum #	n/a	n/a	5	5
Throw in	n/a	dribble in	kick in or dribble in	kick in or dribble in
Offside	n/a	no	no	no
Officials	Coach/ assistants	Coach	qualified "game leader"	qualified "game leader"

U12+

Division	U12	U14/U16	U17/18
How often	2 sessions per week -1 hour practice -50 min game	2 sessions per week -1 hour practice -50 min game	2 sessions per week -1 hour practice -50 min game
Game Duration	20 minute halves	20 minute halves	20 minute halves
Ball Size	4	5	5
Field Size	mid field	full field	full field
Retreat Line	1/3	n/a	n/a
Number of Players	9 v 9	11 v 11	11 v 11
Minimum #	6	7	7
Throw in	throw in	throw in	throw in
Offside	yes	yes	yes
Officials	qualified officials	qualified officials	qualified officials

2

What is the retreat line?

 When the goalkeeper has the ball at a goal kick or after making a save the opposing team members will "retreat" to the predetermined area of the field. With the opposition retreating to the correct part of the field the goalkeeper can now successfully throw or pass the ball to a team mate without pressure. Once the player receiving the ball from the goalkeeper receives the ball, the ball is in play and the opposition players can pressure and attempt to win the ball.

Where will the games be played?

The WCSC aims to have each team play half of their games in their own community and the other half in the community of their opponent.

Please note that due to new field size recommendations, not every community will have their own U12 field, some players may need to play in neighboring communities.

Division	Location
Micro	Players register to play in either Carp, Constance Bay, Corkery, Dunrobin, Fitzroy Harbour or Kinburn
U6 Girls	U6 girls teams will be offered in all six communities this year, however, teams may be combined if there are insufficient registrations in a particular community.  Half the games will be played at home field, the other half throughout West Carleton, with the schedule set up to reduce travel as much as possible.
U6 Mixed	half the games at home field, the other half throughout West Carleton. Every effort is made to reduce travel as much as possible. If registrations allow a north and south division will be created. North: Dunrobin, Constance Bay, Kinburn, Fitzroy South: Carp, Corkery
U8	practices in home community Games throughout West Carleton, half the games will be home games, the other half away games at the opponent's community.
U10-U17	GLSL Teams (if inter-club league games allowed, otherwise, WCSC Rec League) practices in home community games in West Carleton, and possibly Almonte, Carleton Place, Arnprior, Smiths Falls, Perth.please note: in a *10-12 week season: approximately six games will be home games, away games against other West Carleton Teams will still be in West Carleton. Travel to outlying fields will be very infrequent.  *Note:  number of games may vary due the length of season, number of teams in a division and the league.

* at times field availability will cause the above mentioned distribution to be altered.

Which community can I register in?

• A player may register with any community, though the club reserves the right to ask a player to join a team in a different community due to registration numbers as teams are being formed.
• A player shall only be allowed to transfer to a different community after initial registration at the discretion of the program director and if it does not negatively effect either of the teams in terms of team size and ability to compete with other teams in the division.

What is my child required to wear?

• Mirco and U6: Players are provided with a jersey as well as shorts and socks from our sponsor: Tim Hortons. Players must provide their own shoes  and shin pads. Either running shoes or cleats are allowed at this age group. Please note: shorts and sock may not fit all players as sizes are limited to what we receive from the sponsor. 
• U8 +: Each player will be provided with a team jersey. Players must provide their own shorts, shin pads, socks fully covering the shin pads, and soccer cleats.

Can my child play with jewellery or earrings?

No item of jewellery of any sort will be allowed on the field of play, even if it is taped. This includes but is not limited to necklaces, rings, bracelets, earrings, leather or rubber bands or visible body piercings. Loose beaded hair is also not permitted unless tied back or covered by a net. This rule follows Law 4 issued by the Canadian Soccer Association and is in place to ensure the safety of everyone on the field. Please, DO NOT GET YOUR CHILD ANY PIERCING DURING THE SOCCER SEASON, THEY WILL NOT BE ABLE TO PLAY WITH STUDS IN.

• The only exception to this are Medic Alert Bracelets.

Where possible they should be the soft Velcro style which does not present any danger. If the medical alert bracelet is the normal metal type it should be either covered by a sweat band or taped. If taped the taping should be such that the description of the medical problem is clearly visible.)

My child is an exceptional player, can he/she play up a division?

Players playing outside their assigned division is not very common. In order to play up a division your child must be evaluated as exceptional across several categories by the club's head coach using official documentation as outline by the Ontario Soccer Association. Players born in 2008 or earlier can join our competitive program. For house league please sign up in the correct division based on birth year and contact our head coach AND division coordinator for any further information.

Will you be able to accept friend requests for team mates?

In order to ensure teams can be balanced properly we do not accept any friend requests for the U8-U17 levels. Players are encouraged to get to know the other kids on the team and form new friendships with their team mates. Siblings who are signed up to play in the same division will automatically be placed on the same team. 

Are parents expected to participate?

Without participation of parents soccer cannot happen in our community.  Whether that is stepping up to be a coach, a team manager or to offer assistance to the coach during the season, your participation is appreciated. Parents are responsible for their children while they are on and off the field. We ask that parents not leave their child unattended at practices or games.

When will I find out which team my child is on?

Depending on the number of players registered in your community, players may need to go through a team leveling process. This process aims to distribute talent as evenly as possible among all the teams within the community. The leveling process can not take place until the fields are deemed playable by the City of Ottawa, as a result, final team assignments may not be able to occur until very close to the start of the season.
Once teams have been finalized (via leveling or not), you will be emailed by your team’s coach with your team information as soon as possible. Game nights and practice nights for each division are predetermined to help families plan other activities well ahead of time.

How can I sign up as a coach/assistant coach?

We always need a LOT of volunteer coaches as well as assistants. If you are willing to coach or assist please check the appropriate box when registering your child and register yourself as a coach under your own name using the online coach/assistant registration form. Do not worry about not being familiar with the sport, the club will provide coaches with sample drills and have a coaches info session before the season starts to go over basic skills and rules of the game.

If you are willing to coach but did not sign up during the registration process, please contact your program director.

Why are there girls only and mixed teams?

Our data has shown that girls playing on girls only teams are more likely to stick with the game long term. The WCSC will try hard to offer the option of girls only as well as co-ed teams in each community. Depending on the number of players registered this may or may not be possible. If you have a girl who signed up for a girls only program where numbers were not sufficient you will be given the option of moving her to a co-ed team in your community or joining a girls team in a neighboring community. Girls divisions are available U6-U17. 

Please note that while some girls opt to play on the mixed teams, most mixed teams are predominantly male, often having only a lone female member or none at all.

My child is having such a great time, can he/she join second team?

During a given season, a player can play for only ONE house league team within their age division inclusive of a Girls or Mixed Division, with the exception of being called up to an older age level if that team is short players. Players may only play up a maximum of 6 times during the course of a season.

Practice/Game cancellations due to extreme weather

• Micro: in extreme weather practices can be cancelled at the coaches' discretion.
• U6 - U8, if, 90 minutes before scheduled kick off, the humidex is equal to or greater than 37C, the practice/game shall be cancelled.
• U10 and higher, the rules of the league the team is playing in applies for cancellation of games.  Practices for WCSC teams U10 and higher shall be cancelled if the humidex is 45 degrees or more 90 minutes before the scheduled practice time.

• Lightning PRACTICE - if lightning can be seen from the field, the practice will be canceled by the coach. 
• Lightning – GAME - this decision is only made by the Referee and is made at the field at start time or during the game following the CSA Lightning Policy

Can any child join the practice/game if they are short players?

Unfortunately players MUST be registered with the WCSC to be on the field, otherwise they are NOT covered by insurance. In fact players must wait 24 hours after registration to play to allow the insurance coverage to take effect.

Can my team call up players during the season if they are short players for a game?

Yes you can but only if the following criteria is met:

• Players MUST be registered with the WCSC to be called up. Otherwise they are NOT covered by insurance.
• A player can be called up to an older age level within their own community if that team is short players.
  • A player can only play a maximum of 6 games at the higher age level.
• Players from another same aged team within their community, or from another community, may not play across.

Updated:  Feb 2022