Below are many Frequently Asked Questions.  If you don't find the answer to the question that you have, email registrar@prairiesoccer.org, or webmaster@prairiesoccer.org (or both).

• Why should I register with Prairie Soccer Club?
  
  
• What is recreational soccer vs. select soccer?
  
  
• What is "modified soccer" or "mini-mod soccer"?
  
  
• Will I get better competition in another club?
  
  
• How often and where are practices? Games?
  
  
• How many players are on a team?  The field?

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Q.  Why should I register with Prairie Soccer Club?

A. Here are 5 reasons you may want to consider Prairie Soccer Club:

1. Prairie Soccer Club has NO fundraiser.  The cost of registration covers all of our expenses so you can focus on enjoying soccer, not selling / buying chocolate, manning a snack shop, or doing other things to raise additional money.  Most other clubs require some sort of fundraising, making their cost much higher.
   
2. Prairie Soccer Club has some of the best fields in CYSF.  Our fields are well maintained and are sized to the maximum field and goal size.  If you've played at some of the other clubs' fields, you will quickly appreciate just how nice and big our fields are.  For Fall 2010, our brand new game fields will be the new Hockinson Meadows park!
3. Prairie Soccer Club pays for coaches to receive training.  We encourage all our coaches to attend training classes to ensure PSC has great coaches which help develop our players' skills and keep soccer fun.  Soccer coaching clinic fees are re-imbursed for all PSC coaches.
4. Prairie Soccer Club has the best referee program around.  We have 3 very dedicated individuals on the board that also serve as referees themselves and have extensive experience in what it takes to develop new referees.  Referees are critical to ensure a safe, fun environment for our players.  In fact, PSC goes above and beyond by providing linesmen for U-10 games, which is not required and not done by most other clubs.  Referee training can be reimbursed by the PSC.
5. Prairie Soccer Club is YOUR club.  The current PSC Board of Directors believe their role is to meet your needs.  We want to provide the most fun and developmentally appropriate program for all our players that we possibly can.  This starts with a good registration experience and carries through to your end-of-season party.  We provide 2 free soccer camps for our members in the summer (see our Calendar).  We provide our coaches with a coaching guide, classes, and mentoring.  We are incorporating additional feedback we've recieved to improve the club (such as removing the fundraiser, and lowering uniform costs).  If there is anything at all that we can do to help you, please let us know.
   
   If you'd like to help make your club better, we often need coaches, asst. coaches, team coordinators, and board members -- send us an email if you are willing to help make a difference!
   

Q.  What is recreational soccer vs. select soccer?

A.  Select soccer offers an advanced level of soccer for experienced soccer players.  Select starts at U11 (advanced U10 players may also tryout) and the players are chosen during tryouts.  Tryouts are held each year, often beginning between March and May.  Teams begin practicing mid to late Spring and may play a few tournaments during the Summer.  They continue as a team in the Fall and play other Select teams in the District 5 region (see the Links page for more information on District 5), this includes the following counties: Wahkiakum, Cowlitz, Skamania and Clark.  Select soccer is coordinated through an alliance Prairie Soccer Club has with Eisenhower, Lewis River, and Battle Ground: Pacific FC.  Pacific FC allows participating clubs to join together to provide a more complete and more competitive select soccer program.

Recreational soccer provides a fun soccer experience for all players.  Recreational soccer at Prairie Soccer Club begins at age 5 (normally referred to as U6, see our age chart for more information).  The focus of recreational soccer is to build soccer skills in a fun, safe environment.  At Prairie Soccer Club (and most clubs in the area) U6 through U8 play within the club, meaning you will play other Prairie Soccer Club teams.  U9 teams and older play teams throughout Columbia Youth Soccer Federation (CYSF) (see the Links page for more information on CYSF), this includes the following neighboring clubs: Battle Ground Youth Soccer Club, Eisenhower Soccer Club, Lewis River Soccer Club, Westside Soccer Club, Salmon Creek Soccer Club, and Vancouver United Soccer Club.  U-9 and above teams are grouped by experience in an attempt to match similarly-skilled teams, adjustments are made halfway through the season as needed to help ensure a fun season for all players.  See our Registration page for more details.


Q.  What is "modified soccer" or "mini-mod soccer"?

A. The terms "modified soccer" or "mini-mod" soccer simply refer to the modified rules meant to accommodate younger soccer players.  All U-6 through U-11 teams are modified.  One of the modifications is reduced players on the field (U-6 has 3; U-11 has 9), to allow players to have more experience with the ball.  The field size is reduced, and some of the rules are also modified: no off-sides until U-10; U-6 through U-8 may play quarters instead of halves; etc.  These modified rules are recommended by Washington State Youth Soccer Association and are the same throughout most of Washington.  Below is a portion of the table with information from the WSYSA 2008-2009 Administrative Handbook (Section 3, page 5):

Field Size

	U-6	U-7	U-8	U-9	U-10	U-11
W x L in Yards	20 x 30	20-25 x 30-35	20-25 x 35-45	25-30 x 35-45	30-35 x 35-55	35-50 x 50-80
Center Circle	6 yards	6 yards	6 yards	10 yards	10 yards	10 yards
Penalty Mark	No	No	No	No	No	No

	U-6	U-7	U-8	U-9	U-10	U-11
Ball Size	#3	#3	#3	#4	#4	#4
Max Roster	6	6	8	9	10	14
# of Players	3	3	4 (3 + goalie)	5 (4 + goalie)	6 (5 + goalie)	9 (8 + goalie)
Goal Keeper	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes

Game Lengths

	U-6	U-7	U-8	U-9	U-10	U-11
Max Time	32 min	40 min	50 min	50 min	50 min	60 min
Recommended	2 x 18 min	2 x 18 min	2 x 22 min	2 x 25 min	2 x 28 min	2 x 30 min
Permitted	4 x 9 min	4 x 9 min	4 x 11 min	Halves Only	Halves Only	Halves Only
Recommended Coach License	U-6 Certificate	U-8 Certificate	U-8 Certificate	U-10 Certificate	U-10 Certificate	U-12 "E" License

Q.  Will I get better competition in an another club?

A. No.  U-9 and above play against other Columbia Youth Soccer Federation (CYSF) teams:  Battle Ground Youth Soccer Club, Eisenhower Soccer Club, Lewis River Soccer Club, Westside Soccer Club, Salmon Creek Soccer Club, and Vancouver United Soccer Club.  Joining any of these other clubs will give you the same teams to compete against.  See the links page for details about other clubs.  So regardless of which club you join in CYSF, you will have the same opportunities.

For U-6 through U-8, each club plays against its own teams.  PSC recognizes the need for variety and takes steps to ensure a variety of opponents for every team.


Q.  How often and where are practices?  Games?

A.  Practices vary by coach, although most coaches have 2, one-hour practices per week (Fall Season, Spring normally has only 1).  Many coaches drop down to 1 practice per week later in the season.  Practices (and home games) are held at one of our fields:  Hockinson Middle School, Hockinson Intermediate School, Laurin Middle School, and Pleasant Valley Middle School.  See our maps of each of these schools for their address and field locations at each site.

Games are held on Saturdays.  Each team will get up to 10 games during the Fall season.  Approximately 1/2 of the games will be at one of the PSC home fields (UPDATE: Fall 2010, most home games will be held on the new fields at the new Hockinson Meadows park), the rest will be at the opponent's home fields which range from Ridgefield, to Jason Lee Middle School in Vancouver, to Hockinson (see CYSF website for more details).  Note: U-6 through U-8 do not typically play outside the PSC home fields -- in some cases we may consider teaming up with other clubs such as Battle Ground to increase the variety of competition.

In addition there is a Jamboree at the beginning of the season where most teams will play a couple games.  There are usually opportunities for teams to play an optional end-of-season tournament as well.


Q.  How many players are on a team?  The field?

A. For modified soccer (U6 - U11), see the table above.  For U12 and older, 11 players play on the field including the goalie and there can be up to 18 players on the roster.