FAQ

The fall playing session typically begins the first weekend after Labor Day.  However, some teams will compete in pre-season tournaments in late August or Labor Day weekend.

The spring playing session usually kicks-off the first weekend of April unless Easter weekend falls on that weekend.  

The official dates are set at the district/divisions’ twice yearly meetings.  Once the club Presidents have confirmed the start and end dates they will typically share the info with their club. 

In all our travel divisions (D4-6) the coach must contact the District Director or designee following the completion of the suspension.  The District Director will verify the service of the suspension and authorize the release of the pass back to the team’s coach.

Interested youth clubs must submit an application packet that will be considered by the Youth Board for membership.  The application must include a letter of interest, governing docs, list of Board contacts, and a number of other items.  The governance must provide the applying organization direction that fulfills the requirements of PA West Soccer, US Youth Soccer, and US Soccer.  For complete information and an information packet about affiliating with PA West Soccer please contact Tim McCoy by email or by calling 412-856-8011.

Recent changes to PA Child Protective Services Law requires all coaches, referee, employees, and volunteers who work closely with children are required to fulfill the obligations of the law. There are two categories under which an individual may fall.

Paid personnel or employees:  Any coach, referee, administrator or employee who has contact with children must complete three (3) forms of clearances.  PA State Police Criminal Record Check, PA Child Abuse History Clearance, and Federal (FBI) Criminal History Report.  See the Coaching or Referee Risk Management page for links.  These clearances are required by law beginning on January 1, 2015

Volunteers:  Any coach, referee, administrator, or other unpaid person who has contact with children must complete the PA State Police Criminal Record Check and the PA Child Abuse History Clearance.  Individuals who have not lived in PA for at least ten (10) continuous years must also complete the Federal (FBI) Criminal History Report.  Individuals with continuous PA residency of 10 or more years must complete an affidavit attesting to residency and no prior convictions of the disqualifying crimes identified by state law.  See the Coaching or Referee Risk Management page for link.

These clearances are required by law effective July 1, 2015.

PA’s revised Child Protective Services law requires individuals required to have clearances to renew their clearances every five (5) years.

With the revised state law you must now complete clearances through PA agencies and the FBI. Each of those agencies provide a copy of the result of your requested clearance for your records.

Click here to go to our Risk Management page to find links to the required state and federal agencies.

Coaches must notify the referee of his/her intent to protest the match by the conclusion of the match.  The referee should make note on the Game Day Roster and in his report the game is being protested.  The protesting coach must contact his/her District/Division Director within 24 hours of the intent to protest.  

A formal letter of protest and accompanying $50.00 club or certified check made payable to PA West Soccer must be submitted within 48 hours of the conclusion of the game.  The letter should outline the grounds for the protest.

Complaints come in all shapes and sizes, so to speak.

If it’s a complaint about an opposing coach, parent, or fan.  Talk to your coach or club President and they can address the issue with the opposing club’s President.

If it’s a complaint about a referee or play, talk to your coach who can file a Coaches Complaint if he/she shares your concern.

If it’s a complaint about your child’s coach or something related to your club, you should start by contacting the coach or responsible person directly.  If that dialogue doesn’t resolve the concern then you should contact a club Board member or President for help.  Only after exhausting all options within the club should you bring your concern to PA West Soccer. 

You can’t appeal a call made by the referee during a match.  

He/she is the only person with their unique viewpoint of the action on the field and what he/she sees may be dramatically different from what we see from along the touchline.  Sometimes our vantage point is better but typically they are in a better position to make the call.

You may appeal the administration of a match.  For instance, if a referee allows an ineligible player to enter the match an appeal can be filed.

How do I print a game day roster?

This can be done by the coach once you have set up the user name and password as a coach. 

1. Go to www.pawest-soccer.org , Competition/Leagues dropdown, select the correct district or division (classic division – do not select the tryout page, just click on the classic division box in the 1^st drop down). 
2. Select boys or girls divisions.  This will open another page linked to our on-line registration and scheduling system. 
3. Coach will login.  Once logged in, it will open up to his/her info in the system. 
4. Scroll down the page, it will show the team(s) they are affiliated (rostered) with. 
5. Click ‘view schedules/results’ as a hyperlink to the right of the list.  This will take the coach to that team’s schedule. 
6. Scroll down to the current week’s game, under the date will be a button “print roster”.
7. Clicking on the “print roster” button will open up the game day roster for this game.  Please Note:  this roster is not available until 72 hours before the start of the game and it is mandated for all districts/divisions to use the game day roster in the spring of 2012.

Contact your club registrar.  If your club registrar is unable to help you during the week you can contact Cheryl Mignogna in the State Office or contact the online registration provider’s hotline for assistance.  Also keep in mind, there is a user’s manual for our online registration system available for download on the system’s admin page.

State Cup is typically played in the month of May.  If weather interferes with the schedule games are pushed back into early June.

Specific dates are published as they are confirmed with the match site(s).

State Cup registration can be completed in the PA West Soccer online registration system.

Typically, registration opens in January of each year.  Registration remains open through 4:00 PM the day the Cup Draw is held but teams applying after March 1 are required to pay a late fee of $1,000.00.

The Open is always held in late June.  As a general rule of thumb Father’s Day is during the first weekend of play.

The specific dates, as well as the which age groups are playing which weekends is usually published on the Open Tournament page of this web site no later than January of each year.

Teams can apply for the Open Tournament by completing an application in the PA West Soccer Online Registration system.  Completing an application is not much different than declaring a team for league play.

Players in U10 and U12 D5 and D6 are guaranteed 50% playing, except when injury or discipline preempts play.  In all other age groups and divisions the players must earn their playing time through performance in training and games.

There is a transfer window from December 1 through January 31 for U12-U18 player and by April 30 for true U19 players.  A parent or guardian may request a release and transfer for a player from their Division 1, 2, or 3 team during the transfer window.  The parents/guardian will complete the require release and transfer paperwork and get the required signatures from their current team then provide the paperwork to their new team.  This paperwork will then be completed by the new team and submitted to the state office. Transfers from one classic club to another also requires a $150.00 fee that must be paid by the player’s new club. Once the proper paperwork and transfer fee have been received, the transfer will be processed.  Please note, parents/managers/coaches/teams/clubs talking to or trying out players currently rostered to another classic team for the purpose of changing teams before the player’s parent/guardian has requested a release and transfer are violating the classic division recruiting rule and could face discipline.

District team tryouts are set by each district.  They are published on each playing districts’ page on the web site and each club’s coach is notified of the date, time and locations.

District team tryouts are set by each district.  They are published on each playing districts’ page on the web site and each club’s coach is notified of the date, time and locations.

You can register for a referee course by visiting the Referee Online Registration web site at pawest-referee.org.