Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Here are some questions that come up from time-to-time with the Club's answers:

General

1. Why isn't the grass cut more regularly (and lines painted) on the fields?
   The cutting of the grass and the lining of the fields is the responsibility of the Town of Markham. The Town cuts and lines the fields in a set sequence which is repeated once all the fields are done. How long it takes to complete the sequence depends mainly on the weather. The Town can't put the equipment on the fields when there has been too much rain, otherwise, it will damage the field. Thus, when it rains, the schedule is delayed by one or more days. This is compounded by the fact that rain will cause the grass to grow quicker. This situation is most common in the spring but it can occur any time that there is a lot of rain. The Town does not have extra equipment or staff that it can use to catch up when there are delays.    
    
2. What happens when no referee shows up?
   Each League defines how this should be handled. For the MSC House League, the game is expected to continue with the coaches splitting the responsibility or agreeing to some other arrangement. For Adult and Competitive Leagues, some require the game to continue in the same way and some require the game to be re-scheduled. You must consult the League rules for the League in question. 
    
3. What if I have a concern with the calls that a referee has made?
   If you have a concern with how a referee has handled a game or called a particular situation, feel free to send a note to scheduler@markhamsoccer.org  identifying the age group, time, field, date and your specific concern. During a game, the referee is in charge and the players, coaches and spectators are expected to abide by his / her decisions without any dissent. Referees are expected to use their knowledge of the rules and their best judgement to call the game as fairly and consistently as they can. Referees don't see everything that happens, they don't get the opportunity to see a replay and in many cases they are still gaining experience in the role. They will miss things and they will make some mistakes. This is all part of the game and must be accepted as such. In the same way that the coaches and players rarely achieve perfection, the same is true for the referees.
    
4. Why isn't the referee calling hand-balls by the players!
   A hand-ball is an attempt by the player to affect the play by using his/her hand or arm to direct the ball. It is not any contact between the ball and the hand / arm. In many cases, parents / coaches do not understand this and harass the referee for a situation in which the contact was unintentional (ball-to-hand) not intentional (hand-to-ball). In some cases, the referee will use his / her judgement and decide not to call it. In others, the referee may miss it entirely. These are all part of the game.
    
5. Why isn't the referee calling offsides!
   The offside rule applies to players who affect the play. If a player is in an offside position (no matter how blatant) but doesn't take part in the play or distract the keeper or the defense, then it shouldn't be called by the Referee / Assistant. Some parents and coaches have the mistaken impression that any player in an offside position should result in the play being called. This is not the case.  
    
6. Refunds
   The Club policy is that a partial refund is provided up to a specified date. No refund is provided after that date. This policy has been in place for many years. It was implemented based on the experience that the Club had with a more liberal policy, the work that created and the impact on the programs.
    
7. Playing Up
   The Club generally doesn't allow playing-up to an older age group for the House League or Competitive teams. Exceptions are only made in a few limited situations:
   
    * Competitive Teams: A player who has the skills, maturity and sufficient size to play on an older team and be among the top players in that older age group may be allowed to play up. Such a player must be evaluated by the Technical Staff and judged to fit the criteria. This has been done in a few cases in the past but very few players have met the criteria.
   
    * House League: In the situation where an older age group is very short of players and there is an excess of players in the age group below, a few of the strongest players in the younger age group may be asked to play up. They must be judged to be strong enough (and of sufficient size) to be capable of playing in the older age group. There is no obligation on the parents / players to accept this option. This is done before the season starts and would not normally be done with a player who is more than 1 year younger than the minimum age in the older age group. This is not done in response to player requests or to address a waiting list issue. This is never "grandfathered". Such a player will return to their own age group in the following seasons (unless such a situation occurs again and that player again fits the criteria to provided the option again).  
   

House League

1. Why doesn't the team balancing work better. My team is losing (winning!) most of its games
   Team balancing isn't an exact science and there are factors that affect the eventual team results that go beyond the assignment of players. We haven't had the complaint from teams that are winning too many games so the real concern is losing. Despite the best of efforts, it is rare for a Division to have all its teams relatively equal throughout the season. It is much more normal to have one or two that are stronger, one or two weaker and the rest somewhere in the middle. Some players, coaches and parents can cope with losing and maintain a strong work ethic and a positive attitude and others have difficulty doing this. Soccer is like life. You can't expect to win all the time and you have to learn to handle losing and keep on going. It could be argued that the players will learn a lot more by losing and trying to turn that around than they will be easily winning.  

Competitive and All-Star Teams

1. How do I get books for my players (and do I need them?)
   
   
2. I'm going to a tournament, do I need a Travel Permit?
   
   
3. What is the procedure to get a Travel Permit and how much time does it require? 
   
   
4. For a Competitive Team, what should I do to call players up from another team?
   
   
5. For a Competitive Team, how do I get a Temporary Permit for a player?
   
   
6. For a Competitive Team, how do I de-register a player?