How do I register?



Do you have to have prior experience to sign up for recreational soccer?

No, recreational soccer is open to all players ( ages 4 to 18 ), regardless of experience or skill level.  The age group cut off date is December 31st of each year.  The minimum age for an U5 recreational player is 4 years old; however, we do have programs for 2 and 3 year olds (Parents & Tots).

When is registration?

Fall registration begins on-line June 1 and is open through the end of July.

Spring registration begins on-line December 1 and remains open through the end of January.

Walk up registration dates are offered during every registration period; those dates vary every season and are posted on the website during registration. 

HCSA has two seasons a year, Fall and Spring. This is generally referred to as the soccer seasonal year. The soccer seasonal year begins September 1 and runs through August 31.

When will someone contact us after registration?

After the final date of on-line registration, all coaches and players are placed onto teams by a computer generated draft. Every season HCSA is in need of coaches, so there is usually a 2 week period of the recreational coordinator trying to find coaches to coach the remaining teams. Parents must volunteer to coach the teams in rec soccer.  After all teams have coaches, the recreational coaching meeting is set (third week of February or August) and at that meeting, all of the coaches will receive their team contact information. The coaches are asked to contact all players ASAP prior to the first scheduled game.  HCSA cannot guarantee play without parent volunteers in the coaching role. Please consider coaching your child and others this season. Please contact our rec doc at [email protected] with your interest in coaching. Coaching courses are offered prior to each season at no cost to you for the "G" and "F" courses.

When does the season start/end?

The fall season games begin the first weekend after Labor Day every year and ends early to mid-November. The spring season games begin the first weekend of March every year and ends early 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?

We use our age group chart to determine what age group a child will play for the fall and spring seasons, the soccer seasonal year.
If you register for Fall and return to register in Spring, you will stay on the same team if the coach returns in spring.

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. No player may play up during their first season with HCSA. All requests for play ups must be submitted timely (by April 15 or Oct. 15  for the next season’s consideration) to [email protected] and are at the discretion of the professional staff coaches upon evaluating the player during regular season’s play.

Can my player play down an age group?

No, HCSA is governed by Georgia 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.

Will siblings be able to play on the same team? 
Only siblings that are age appropriate can play together if they are the same gender. Multiples (twins, triplets, etc..) will definitely be placed on the same team unless otherwise requested. HCSA forms teams in U5 through U10 and teams will be split every fall season to better address the soccer needs of the younger child. Although it is possible, it may be unlikely that siblings could play together until they reach the U12, U14, U16 & U19 groups.

What about Special Requests?
HCSA offers a special request option on-site only on the HCSA form. No text, emails or phone calls can be considered and will not replace the written form for you. We will make our best efforts to help with same practice evenings, if they are available to us, for multiple children in your immediate family, but no one may request a particular coach due to unfair team building in the past.

Are the teams coed?

No, they are gender specific. The only time that HCSA will form 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. HCSA 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?

U5, U6 fee is $120.00

U7, U8, U9, U10, U12, U14, U16 and U19 fee is $140.00

A uniform must be purchased separately on-line 4 weeks prior to opening day.  The link to order is provided below.  Please allow 4 weeks for the delivery to your home. For questions please contact the Equipment Coordinator at [email protected].

What is included in the registration fee?

All field & ground equipment, referee fees (with the exception of Under 5 & Under 6 teams), impact fee to the county, administration, registration and insurance through the state, maintenance costs and cleaning fees, concession employees, advertising, and PDP clinics.

Are trophies provided for the players by HCSA?
No, HCSA does not provide trophies to the players, but every team may vote amongst themselves to purchase their team trophies. If the team, as a whole, decides to purchase trophies the awards are usually presented to the players at your end of the year party if your team chooses to arrange one.  

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. Lightweight athletic shorts of any kind to 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.

How do I get my uniform? 

All players will be able to purchase uniforms from our equipment room located at the lower fields on the back of the building.  The equipment room is not open at all times.  Please contact the Equipment Director at [email protected] as uniform availability will be limited.  The HCSA uniform is mandatory to start the season. The coaches do NOT deliver your uniforms to you.

What is included in the recreational uniform package?

2 jerseys (navy jerseys & socks are home & white jerseys are away) 1 pair of navy shorts, 1 pair of socks (navy).
Shin guards are required to take the field of play in all practices & games. We will set up a Dick's Sporting Goods Shopping Day (Jonesboro Rd. location only)  each season for you to purchase soccer cleats at a discount. The shopping day will be listed on our Home page on our website.

Who will coach my player’s team?

Recreational coaches are parents that volunteer to coach a team during and after registration. Every season HCSA 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. HCSA offers coaching classes and clinics before the season to help all of the coaches, no matter the level of their prior experience.

Where will my player practice?

All practices are held on weekday evenings at Patrick Henry High School 109 South Lee St., Stockbridge). 

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. U5 and U6 teams practices once a week and start at 6:00 pm or 7:00 pm. U7 and U8 teams practice twice a week and start at 6:00 pm or 7:00 pm. U9 through U12 teams practice twice a week practice and start at 6:00 or 7:15.  U14 and older teams practice twice a week and start at 6:00 or 7:30.

Where will the soccer games be played?

All games for Under 5, Under 6, Under 7, Under 8, Under 9, and Under 10 will be played at Patrick Henry High School or North Mount Carmel Park.

U12 and above are scheduled through George Soccer and the Recreation Inter Associate Schedule (RIAS). Half of the games will be played at Patrick Henry High School or North Mount Carmel Park 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 U12, U14, U16 and U19 age groups are always RIAS through Georgia 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 8:00 am to 6:30 pm and each game will be varied from week to week.  Teams will have some games on Sunday’s with all Sunday games starting at 1:00 pm or later when scheduled at HCSA's Patrick Henry High School or North Mt. Carmel Fields..

When will the game schedule be available?

The game schedule is available 1 week before the season starts. All teams must be formed before the scheduling process can start. HCSA has in-house games to schedule that only involves HCSA teams and HCSA fields. HCSA also has to schedule games involving other associations playing HCSA teams at HCSA. This scheduling is done through Georgia Soccer and involves about 75 other leagues overall throughout Georgia through the Georgia Soccer website. Many times Georgia Soccer does not release the schedules until the week of practice, so that is usually the reason for the delay in the schedules being published. As soon as the schedules are complete, they will be available on the schedules page on the HCSA website.  

How many games will the teams have?

All teams are guaranteed to have 8 games during the season.  All weather related game reschedules will be handled by our scheduler and all coaches will be notified via email of changes. Games will not be rescheduled due to lack of players attending their games.
HCSA asks that your player be committed to his/her team for practice & games in order  to improve their skills and to enjoy a successful season.

What are Player Developmnet Program Clinics?
 
Player Development Program clinics are offered to all HCSA registered players at no additional charge. They are held on Friday evenings at North Mt. Carmel Park. Parents will register their children on our website starting Monday mornings for the following Friday night clinic. Space is limited each week. Our professional staff coaches instruct the clinics to help the players improve their skills and have FUN while participating in additional soccer sessions throughout the season. PDP clinics open on-line a couple of weeks after season’s start to sign up and continue for 4 weeks.

What if I need a refund?

The recreational refund policy was clearly listed on your registration application. In summary: A refund is available to you at 100% within 72 hours of submitting your registration application and upon written request. Afterwards, a 50% refund is available to you by emailing our registrar at [email protected] to make the written request. Upon injury or medical need, a refund will be considered, with physician’s documentation, if the player is excluded from participating for 50% of the games played during the season. As of 8 a.m. on Opening Day, no refund is available. No refund is afforded to Academy or Select players after signing.

Does HCSA offer financial assistance?

Scholarship applications are available through the HCSA website or during on-site registration dates at the North Mount Carmel Park at 307 North Mount Carmel Road, Hampton GA 30228.  All complete scholarships packages must be received by the last day of on-site registration at NMC Park.  All scholarships are confidential and require all proper paperwork to accompany the application before being considered. Please contact [email protected] to be considered.

How do I check field status for games/practices?

The website is updated daily by 4:30 p.m. and 7 a.m. on game days.  "Know before you go" join Rainedout.com to receive email and/or text message field status updates from Henry County Soccer Association. Text RECREATIONAL to 84483 to receive ALL field status updates from Henry County Soccer Association. 

Does HCSA hold fund-raisers?

HCSA has one fundraising event that we hope all players will take advantage of.   This will be the opportunity for you to purchase a soccer photo package from our contracted professional photo company.  This is an exclusive contract and others may not offer to take team or individual photos for your team and offer them to you at any costs. This is our only fundraising event and we hope you with participate to support your club.

Who runs HCSA?

HCSA is a non profit organization run by volunteers. There is 1 paid office employee, 1 paid Executive Director and Director of Coaching, 1 paid part-time bookkeeper, and 1 part-time paid field worker.  HCSA is run by volunteers and has about 2500 members over a seasonal year. HCSA is directed by a Board of Directors under the direction of the President. There is an Executive Committee of 4 members and the remainder of the Board of Directors is made up of 6 additional board of directors positions. All Board of Directors are volunteers.