Frequently Asked Questions
1. What information do I need to register my child for soccer?
You need to provide a birth certificate or Alberta Health Care Card, and your valid (current) Community League Membership card. If you do NOT have ALL of these documents, your child CANNOT be placed on a team for soccer.
2. My son wants to play with his friend down the block. Can you accommodate this special request?
EMSA South may be able to accommodate your request, depending on a number of things, i.e. Are the boys in the same Age Category/birth year? Are the boys of relatively equal skill and ability? Did one of the boys register late? Is there room on the team for this child? Each special request is evaluated individually by the Age Group Committee and a decision is made on a case by case basis. If the children are not in the same age group, see question 4.
3. My son would like to move down an Age Category in order to play with his friend. Can he do this?
As a general rule, no. It is the belief of EMSA South that any movements “downwards” is detrimental to both the individual and the team. We are concerned that a movement to a younger age group would be an unfair advantage to the player. You may request a downward age movement due to a child’s mental or physical disabilities however these are accepted only in rare cases and must be accompanied by a Physician’s recommendation. Letters from physicians must support these requests. All age movement requests are reviewed by the Age Group Committee.
4. My daughter would like to move up an Age Category in order to play with her friend. Can she do this?
EMSA South will review any and all requests for age movement. However, we are reluctant to move any player out of their age category unless the request is necessary and justified. We believe that a player moving up has a definite disadvantage against older, stronger, and faster children and this may affect the child’s self-esteem and confidence. We are also concerned about the unfair position it puts the team in, by having an under age player on the team. There are also the socialization aspects that you should consider. By that we mean that there is more to being on a child’s soccer team than simply playing soccer. One must consider that there is a certain ‘value’ in your child being able to comfortably associate with others on his/her own team that are of the same mental/emotional/physical level. We would prefer that wherever possible you keep your child in the age group that he/she is supposed to be in. Again, all age movement requests must be made in writing and submitted to the Age Group Committee via the Executive Director prior to the last Registration Payment Session.
5. What equipment does my child need to play soccer?
Soccer continues to be one of the cheapest organized sports to play. Your child will be supplied a jersey and a $200.00 deposit (post-dated cheque) will be required when you receive the jerseys for U9 to U19 players. Your deposit will be shred when the jerseys is returned at the end of the season. If your child is playing U4, U5 or U7 soccer, you may keep the jersey and no deposit is required. Your child will also need a pair of black soccer shorts, black soccer socks, and a pair of shin guards. The U4 and U5 players must wear runners and are not allowed to wear cleats (Outdoor). For the U9 and up age groups soccer cleats (Outdoor) or soccer shoes (Indoor) are recommended but not mandatory.
6. I am interested in becoming a coach for EMSA South, but I have never played soccer and I have no training. Is EMSA Mill Woods still interested in me as a coach?
Absolutely. EMSA Mill Woods is ALWAYS interested in good people to coach our children. The personal satisfaction rewards are outstanding! EMSA South holds coaching clinics which are provided to EMSA South Coaches at no charge!
7. As a new coach, will I be supplied with any equipment?
Of course. Every coach receives an equipment bag with the appropriate size of soccer balls for your age group. You will also receive a well-stocked First Aid kit, and a coaching “package” (Information Guide, rules, etc.). Depending on the Age Category you are coaching, you may also receive a goal net and flags. Note that each coach is required to provide a deposit cheque (post-dated) of $350.00 before physically receiving the equipment.
8. The season has started and I have some concerns about the way my daughter’s coach speaks to the kids. Is there anything I can do?
Absolutely. EMSA Mill Woods strives to have only the best coaches for our children. However, as we have more than 300 head coaches and another 600 assistant coaches and managers, there are many different personalities. There are occasions when these personalities conflict. We are very interested in hearing any concerns about a coach and we WILL address these concerns. Often the problem can be solved with a chat with the coach, but in extreme cases we will not hesitate to suspend a coach, hold a Disciplinary Hearing, and take disciplinary action. Please report these concerns immediately to your Community League Soccer Representative or the EMSA South office.
9. My child’s coach is clearly not playing my son as much as the other players. I don’t think this is fair. Is there anything I can do about this?
Yes. The first thing you should do is approach the coach in a respectful manner and discuss your concerns with him/her. If you are not satisfied with the coach’s response or if the situation does not change, please do NOT ignore the situation and please do NOT wait until the end of the season to bring it to our attention. Our policy, philosophy and our bylaws state that each child MUST and SHALL play equally. In other words, “you pay the same, you play the same”. The only exceptions to this is in the case of injury/sickness or if there is a discipline issue, and in the event that a team has only one designated goalkeeper, the Coach is allowed to keep this player in goal the entire game. The EMSA Mill Woods works hard to try and form it’s teams so that the players on any given team are all of relatively equal skill and ability. However, this is certainly not an exact science and we recognize that children do mature and change during the course of a season. Even if there is some discrepancy with respect to skill level, a coach MUST make every attempt to play each child equally. It is our position that NOT playing a player equally is detrimental to the child’s self-confidence and self-esteem. Coaches will NOT put “winning” ahead of playing children equally! The EMSA Mill Woods will take swift and appropriate discipline action against any coach found to be in violation of this policy.
10. I am a soccer coach and I would like to know if I can stop by the EMSA South office to pick up my new schedule?
We would prefer that you check the web site at www.emsamillwoods.com
11. The field our team played on the other day had a couple of big holes in it. I consider the field unsafe for our players. What can I do about it?
The responsibility for ensuring the safety of the fields belongs with the City of Edmonton, please contact the City of Edmonton directly by calling 311.
12. My daughter is going to be playing U13 community soccer this coming season. Does she need a player card complete with picture that she has to produce to the referee before each game?
Absolutely. EMSA E-Card (Electronic Card) is the new version of the EMSA ID card (Hard Card Printed) and will be produced by EMSA Main.
13. My child plays Outdoor soccer and lives in the Southwood Community League. Why did the EMSA South place my child on a Burnewood Community League team?
There are a number of reasons why this may have occurred. First of all, teams in our ‘Mini’ program (U5-U11), are put together on a first come, first serve basis, coupled with the community league the child lives in. Teams in the Mini program are put together with a maximum of 10 – 16 players per team depending on the age group. If your child was in the “Mini” program and registered late, our Community Representatives may not have been able to put your child on a Southwood team simply because there was no room on any team in that particular community. You can see the importance of registering on time. Remember, the players are registered with EMSA Mill Woods, not individual communities. All teams play their games throughout Mill Woods, regardless of which community the team is primarily based.
14. How much does a community league membership cost?
Mill Woods area Community League Memberships are $25.00. They are available during the main registration events or online at www.efcl.org .
15. I always thought that soccer would be such a cheap game to play. After all, you only need a ball. Where does my registration fee go?
It would be nice if you only needed a ball. Unfortunately, there is much more to running a comprehensive soccer program for community soccer and competitive soccer. Besides purchasing soccer balls (10-16 per team), your registration money also goes towards equipment bags, nets, flags, cones, first-aid kits, player jerseys, lining the fields, field paint, medals, trophies, referee fees, photo-copying, computer and office equipment, Web Site, email, office overhead, salary for 2 full-time staff, volunteer appreciation, and coaches appreciation nights and subsidized tournaments. Not to mention insurance, Edmonton Minor Soccer Association, Alberta Soccer Association and Canada Soccer Association fees. We save a small fortune in salary because every person on our Executive Board with the exception of one person is a volunteer. These Executive Board members donate literally hundreds of hours of their time each season. We also apply for every available grant to help us subsidize our program to keep costs down. Our Executive Board has the responsibility to ensure that all registration fees are kept to a minimum, and that all expenditures are justified. We are a NOT FOR PROFIT registered society, governed by the Societies Act, and our books are audited each year.
16. Your Executive Board sounds like a really good group of people, who are really contributing to the community in Mill Woods and area. How do I get involved?
We are always looking for volunteers to help us in the office, or as a Field Marshall at Tournaments, or to help out with Equipment hand out, etc. If you have some time and you want to contribute some energy to a good cause, simply send us an email, give us a call at 468-5233, or drop by the soccer office. Our Annual General Meetings are held in October each year, and virtually every position is open for election each year. One word of caution if you are running for a position on our Executive Board: You should first find out a little about the position that you are running for. We certainly don’t want to scare anyone off, but before you take on a key position on our Executive Board, make sure that you can do what the job requires and that you will have the time to meet those commitments.
17. Can anyone attend the EMSA Mill Woods Executive Board meetings?
Any member of the EMSA Mill Woods Soccer program can attend any monthly Executive Board meeting. These “guests” can speak, but have no vote.
18. I have just offered to become a Coach for EMSA South. Now I am informed that I must personally provide a ‘deposit cheque’ of $350.00 for soccer equipment. Why should a volunteer have to do that?
The practice of requiring a deposit cheque of $350.00 for the soccer equipment that the EMSA South supplies to its coaches has become a necessity due to the thousands of dollars in equipment that was not returned to us after each season. We were at the point several years ago where we would have to implement a serious increase in Registration fees to pay for new equipment! We were extremely reluctant to introduce such a system several years ago, but found we had no choice. We lost literally thousands of dollars in equipment and could no longer find the volunteers to phone these coaches again and again or go to their homes to pick this equipment up. The equipment bag provided to our Coaches includes well-stocked First-Aid kits, game balls, practice balls, Home and Away Jerseys, and Goalie Jerseys. We do NOT want to cash any Coaches deposit cheque. We would much rather get our equipment back! Since implementing the ‘deposit cheque’ system, the problem of Coaches not returning equipment has been virtually eliminated! I guess the system works!
19. What happens to my deposit cheque once I’ve completed by volunteer time?
Your name is removed from the database and the cheque is shredded.