GREATER GRAND FORKS RECREATIONAL SOCCER

Welcome to the Greater Grand Forks Soccer Club (GGFSC) Recreational Soccer program. This program is for boys and girls in preschool through 6th grade and takes place in both the spring and fall. Games are at Bringewatt Park and practices take place at various parks throughout the city. Hundreds of athletes take advantage of this fast-paced, fun activity and many go on to join our competitive and winter indoor programs. The rec program goals are to have fun and promote good sportsmanship, fair play, and love for the game. As such, we do not emphasize the results of the game, but prioritize fun and the development of skills and abilities.

The Spring Rec Season generally opens for registration in late February. The season runs from mid to late April thru late May/early June, depending on holiday/school dates. The beginning of the season is also highly dependent on snowmelt and field conditions. Occasionally we might delay the full season opener, but do limited practices on a turf or indoor field if available.

The Fall Rec season generally opens for registration in late July. The season runs from late August thru early October, depending on holiday/school dates. The end of the season is occasionally impacted by early snowfall and is subject to change.

This page will be populated with season info, including dates, deadlines, and costs as details are finalized and registration opens. Once opened, registration may be made either from here or your "my account" page.

Coach General Information:

• Recreational soccer teams are coached by parent volunteers, which is standard practice for the vast majority of clubs throughout the country. We do our best to help develop volunteer coaches, including providing coaching resources, training seminars, and even certification. However, if your player is interested in receiving training from our certified staff coaches, we have many other programs available for them to develop their skills.
• We try to distribute the coaches who express interest during the registration process, but not all teams will be filled at the beginning of the season and we will seek volunteers.
• After the first week of practice (grace period), teams cannot take the practice or game field without a coach
• Any parent may be asked to volunteer if your team does not have a coach. However, GGFSC can not be ultimately responsible for finding your team's coach, so please consider stepping up! The less delay, the better it is for the kids.

• All coaches (head and assistant) must register through GGFSC. Use the volunteer tab in your "My Account"
• All coaches must complete a background check and a SafeSport module through GotSoccer. Details on this process will be emailed as coaches are registered.
• After the end of the season, each volunteer rec coach will receive a registration fee reimbursement check for one GGFSC Recreational athlete per session, per team coached. This will be prorated depending on coach participation, details in the coach registration form. 
  
  

Coach Training

• Our goal is to educate and empower our volunteer coaches and having all coaches under our roof allows us to develop a pathway for coaching development.
• We strongly encourage all coaches to take a short, free Introduction to Grassroots Coaching Module from US Soccer.
  
• We will hold one coach training session sometime within the week prior to the beginning of the season, and, depending on demand, at least one or more sessions during the first week of the season. Details will be emailed as we firm up the plan.

Coach Equipment

• Bags with several balls, cones, and pinnies (for some) will be distributed to coaches prior to the first practice. A date for this distribution will be announced via email prior to the beginning of the season. 
• We recommend that coaches provide their own additional own cones and balls, if desired.
• For 2nd grade and up: Goalkeeper gear (sweater and gloves) is not mandatory, but if you choose to use them, they must be provided by coaches or players. A pinnie or sweater may serve to identify the goalkeeper, however it must be a color that uniquely differentiates the goalkeeper from the other players.

Rules of the game summary (for more info, see the GGFSC Rec Rules and Guidelines Page)

• GGFSC generally follows US Youth Soccer modified rules for age groups as listed in the table above
• Specific position play may be introduced at U10 (2nd grade and up). If position play is used, all athletes should get a chance to rotate through all positions.
• All athletes must play approximately equal playing time.
• Deliberate play from the head (headers) is not allowed in any age level of GGFSC rec soccer. Deliberate headers should be called as a free, indirect kick for the opposing team
• For 2nd thru 4th grade games, the US Soccer Build-Out Line rules will be in effect. To foster development of play out of the back field, punts and drop kicks are not allowed for 2nd thru 4th grade goalkeepers. Goalkeepers will serve the ball out by throwing or rolling.
• Penalty kicks will not be awarded at any time for grades 4 and under (direct/indirect kicks may be awarded). Penalty kicks may be awarded as necessary for grades 5 and up.
• Kick-in restarts should be used in lieu of throw-ins for preschool and kindergarten divisions. Out of bounds on the sideline (touchline) should restart on the sideline. Out of bounds on the goal line should be awarded a goal kick by the defending team (if the attacking team kicked it out), or a corner kick by the attacking team (if the defending team kicked it out)
• If there are not enough players on one team to field the number of players for that division (see table), then the opposing coach should lend enough players to the team in need using pinnies or reversing the jersey, as appropriate. Players can be rotated in this manner, and can be sent back to their original team if more players show up. Alternatively, both coaches can agree to play up to one player short from the number of field players for that division, however a game cannot begin with more than two field players short on either side. If this is a recurring issue for a team, please contact GGFSC.