Frequently Asked Questions:

Let us know if there are questions you don't see covered here. Thanks, and have a great soccer season.

Q. What is SWYSC?
A. SWYSC is South Whidbey's place for youth soccer, for ages 4 1/2 - 19. The Club has been in existence for over 20 years and has grown to 300+ players each season in that time. Many of the coaches have many years of experience; some coach high school and/or middle school teams, and many play themselves. However, most of our coaches are just parents introduced to the sport each year after signing up a young player, and find they enjoy the experience well enough to continue in their role for many years.

SWYSC is a volunteer-run, not-for-profit organization with no business affiliation with South Whidbey Parks and Recreation or other organization.

Q. How is the Club run?
A. The Club is administered by a 7-member Board of Directors, who meet once monthly. Meetings are open to all Club members and community members. Check the Calendar for specific times and locations.

Q. When does the Club play, and what kind of soccer do you play?
A. We have two rec seasons: fall and spring.

In the fall, the Club teams are divided into three basic groups:

1.) Players aged 7 and under (U6/U8). This first group plays locally at the SW Sports Complex with other SWYSC Club teams in reduced-size teams on small fields, a game called "Mod Soccer." The number of players on the field starts as low as 3v3 for U6 ("under 6") teams all the way to 9v9 for some U10 teams.

2.) Players aged 8-9 (U10). This second group plays "mod soccer" in the Whidbey Island Soccer League (WISL) with home games here at the SW Sports Complex and away games in Coupeville and Oak Harbor.

3.) Players aged 10 and older (U11+). This third group plays full-sided, full-field soccer against other teams in our District, travelling to the mainland for half their games.

In the spring, all U10 and older teams play in the WISL league.

Q. Where does the Club play?

A. Most teams practice and play games at the South Whidbey Sports Complex on Langley Rd. Occasionally, practices and games may be at the South Whidbey Community Park Upper Field. Some of our older teams may also organize practices at a local school facility. Check out the Fields page for directions.

Q. Where can I find more information about soccer?
A. Parents of new players are often new to the sport themselves. For those interested, there's a useful pamphlet entitled "So This Is Soccer;" click HERE to view or print it. The focus for our players is predominantly on having a fun time, while developing some individual skill in the sport and learning how to work in a team.

Q. Does my child need to have played soccer before to join?
A. No. We encourage beginners of all ages to join. Our coaching is oriented towards new players at all levels, not just the youngest.

Q. What does my child need in order to play?
A. The only equipment required is a set of shinguards. These are inserted inside the socks and protect players' shins from injury when kicked. Boots (cleats) are optional, but on our fields, it's hard to stay on your feet unless you have them. A ball (size 3 for U6, size 4 for U8 and U10, size 5 for older kids) is useful, although the Club provides these for practices and games. Players generally wear shorts and long socks.
Both boots and shinguards are available at Webb's department store on the South End, and large chain sporting goods stores on the North End and off the island. Good Cheer often has used boots available for not much money. As a last resort, ask the Club: we often have a supply of used equipment available for reuse.

Q. What are the uniform requirements?

A. For spring, players will be provided with a team t-shirt which they can keep.

For fall, U6-U10 players will be provided with a team t-shirt which they can keep. U11 and older players will be provided with one uniform set (one blue jersey, one white jersey, one blue shorts) which are the property of the Club and must be returned at the end of the season. See the Uniform policy for more details.

Q. How do I sign up my child?
A. Registration for the coming season generally starts during the previous season. We announce registration in the local paper, on this website (of course) and through the schools, so stay tuned. For more information on registration for the current or upcoming season, check out the Registration page.

Q. Why do I need to sign up so early?

A. There are several reasons for this. We are a volunteer-run organization, so registering early helps us get organized for a season.

For our U10 and older players, it's also critical to register early because the Club has deadlines to submit our teams to the leagues. For example, for the fall season, we need U11 and older players to register by late June because the Club needs to submit our fall teams by July 3. If only a few players register for an age group by the deadline, we will probably not reserve a team in that group because we incur a substantial penalty for withdrawing a team later.

Q. What is the Skills Assessment?

A. In order to create evenly-balanced teams in our U8 and U10 age groups, we host a preseason Skills Assessment to give our coaches an opportunity to evaluate the level of the players that are registered. Players will be run through simple drills such as ball handling, kicking, etc.

Q. How can I help?
A. For young teams, we often ask parents to coach who feel they may not have enough knowledge to assume that responsibility. You should know, though, that (especially for U6 teams) the requirements aren't particularly onerous: sessions consist mostly of having kids run around with a ball with their parents, having a good time. We post useful information for coaches on the Coaches page.

If you'd rather not coach, there are lots of volunteer jobs involved in running the Club. See the Volunteer page for jobs that need filling.

Your child's team probably needs a Team Manager, a Transport Coordinator (if they're travelling for away games), a team photo person, someone to make sure there's water at the games...talk to the coach to see what help he/she needs.