Soccer Parents

Kansas State Youth Soccer Association (KSYSA) offers fun, safe and healthy opportunities for all kids.  When your youth player is registered with a KSYSA member club (League, Registrar, Club or Community), you become part of the larger soccer world. 

Kansas State Youth Soccer Association (KSYSA) offers fun, safe, and healthy opportunities for all kids.  When your youth player is registered with a KSYSA (League, Registrar, Club or Community) member, you become part of the larger soccer world.  Registration with membership means you are affiliated with KSYSA.  KSYSA is affiliated and sanctioned by US youth Soccer, which operates as the largest branch of the U.S. Soccer Federation.  The U.S. Soccer Federation oversees youth, adult, amature and professional soccer players in the United States and is sanctioned by FIFA, the world governing body of soccer.

As a member of USYS and U.S. Soccer, there are expectations, guidelines, and rules that come with every program, league, tournament, and other events that your youth player participates in. 

Kansas Youth Soccer, US Youth Soccer, and U.S. Soccer operate using the birth year age groups. This means players are placed in an age group based upon the year they were born, not what grade in school they are in.  

Age groups followed by a “U” means younger than the age. For example, the 8U age group means 8 and under, meaning the players are younger than 8 in the Fall season or some will be turning 8 before the end of the Spring season. See the age chart below.  Players can play up in an older age group, but CANNOT play down in a younger age group. Playing in an older age group is between you and the club you register with. 

As a member of US Youth Soccer, it is a requirement that each player have their date of birth verified. This means that a member of our staff must view a government-issued document with the player’s name and date of birth. Through this process, we can also verify if the player in question has to go through the International Clearance process.

The soccer season runs by what is referred to as a seasonal year.  The seasonal year runs from August 1st to July 31st.  

• The fall season is typically played mid August to late November.
• Between late November and mid February are the winter months, when camps, futsal and indoor soccer are typically held. 
• The Spring season is typically played mid February to late May.
• From late May to late July, soccer camps, tryouts, and other activities take place.

Recreational is the level every player enters the sport at. The recreational level will prioritize on players having fun, getting playing time, and playing with friends over developing players.

When a player is ready to take soccer seriously, they may transition to the competitive program. Some clubs offer a pre-competitive program for certain age groups to help with the transition.

Here are some major differences between recreational and competitive soccer:

• Price: Recreational soccer usually remains affordable so that parents and players can register from any demographic. Most competitive programs, however, require higher fees. The increase in fees helps cover coaching fees, registration fees to higher-level events, referee fees, and administrative costs.
• Time Commitment: Recreational teams may have practice once, maybe twice, a week and the expectation for player attendance is lower. Competitive practices are typically longer and more frequent and their attendance may have a bigger influence on their season.
• Travel: Recreational teams rarely travel out of state for tournaments and don’t travel as far for league games, depending on the league. Competitive teams tend to enter more tournaments, which may involve traveling out of state.
• Development and Playing Time: Recreational teams tend to focus on players having fun and getting playing time. Competitive programs put more emphasis on player development and players may not get equal playing time.

Both recreational and competitive soccer programs can be amazing for players and parents. Knowing the expectations, approach, and atmosphere of the programs and your club is vital to having a great experience. Some clubs offer both types of programs, while other clubs concentrate on one or the other. Please reach out to your club with specific questions regarding their programs. 

Click here to view Kansas Youth Soccer Members. 

Please contact your club or clubs you may be interested in for specific dates, costs, and any other questions related to registration and tryouts.   Registration windows and marketing are set up in the Kansas Youth Soccer Rules based on the level (Competitive, Recreational, Academies, etc) of the program.  

Registration costs and any other fees differ by club.  Please contact your club or interested club for more information.

When you register your player with a club as a competitive player, there is a commitment tied to the contract. Each club runs differently and the registration agreement you completed upon registration may vary. The commitment made during the registration process may be for a season (Fall OR Spring) or the entire seasonal year (both Fall AND Spring). Please check with your club for any questions regarding your registration form and agreement.

If you are registered with a club for an entire seasonal year, there is an online form the player needs to complete using the GotSoccer player account that should have been provided to you by the club.  Once you submit a request for release, the current club is notified of the request and has a specific window to approve or deny the request.  Click the button below to get more specific information on the process and the official Kansas Youth Soccer Rules.

Many clubs have a code of conduct, which dictates how the spectators should behave at games.  The majority of them share a common theme:

Treat all individual on the field – referees, coaches, parents & players with respect.