Introduction

The spirit of games within the 8U division is to let the kids play with very little coaching interference. Although soccer is a simple sport with only 17 Laws of the Game (LOTG), coaches and parents want children to become skilled experts as quickly as possible.

Your goal is to resist this temptation and find ways to work on no more than 1 or 2 aspects of the game at each practice and then to look for it during the game on Saturday.

The Saturday games are there to let kids play. Do what you can to resist coaching while the game is being played. Focus on getting all players involved.

Terms and Definitions

Here are some definitions for terms:

• Field terms. The field is rectangular in shape.
  • Touch line: The two long sides of the field are called "touch lines" because players are allowed to touch the ball with their hands when the ball is out of play when all of the ball is over the line.
  • Goal line: The two short sides of the field are called "goal lines" because there is a goal placed on each one.
  • Center line and center mark: The field is divided into two halves by a line placed in the center of the field. Then a small circle is placed in the middle of the center line to indicate where the kick-off is taken.
  There are no additional markings on the field for the 8U match.

Match Officials

AYSO Region 144 will not require a certified U8 Official or Referee for 8U matches. Yet, problems in the past demonstrate the need to have a registered AYSO volunteer with AYSO Safe Haven and CDC Concussion training - at a minimum - be the official for the match. Only the match official can report coach, spectator, or player misconduct. If the match official is also a certified Basic Referee or higher, then they also have all of the authority prescribed in Law 5 of the Laws of the Game.

• Instructions for getting on the list of volunteers able to sign up as a Match Official can be found under Volunteers>Referees on the website: HERE.
• Registered volunteers can sign up at one of the following two sites:
  G8U Match Official Sign Up Page: HERE
  B8U Match Official Sign Up Page: HERE
• A Match Official must be signed up for the match by 6 PM on Friday before the game or the match will be canceled. We must cancel the night before to give coaches for both teams enough time to notify all of the parents of players that the game has been canceled.

Pre-game

There are a few things to prepare prior to the game:

• Safety:
  • Make sure parents have taken off jewelry -- including removing earrings. Tape over the earrings is not allowed. If they cannot pull the earrings out, then do not let them play.
  • Make sure shin guards are under the socks and not on top of the socks with the sock folded over the shin guard. Please make sure they fix this before allowing a player on the field.
• Field setup:
  • Teams set up on opposite sides of the field. The Home team chooses what side of the field they want and the Away team goes to the other side.
  • Each coach is loaned a goal for use during the season. Each coach sets up their goal on one of the goal lines.
  • There are no corner flags. Coaches can place flat cones on the corners if they want; marking corners with cones is optional.
• Home team decides which side to defend to start the match, will kick-off to start the 2nd half, and provides the game ball(s). The Away team starts the match with the kick-off.
• The teams switch halves to defend to start the 2nd half. The Home team kicks-off the 2nd half.

"LOTG" for the match

There are a few things to know to play the game:

• Time management:
  • The game is played in two (2) 20-minutes halves -- not four (4) quarters.
  • Find a natural stop in play halfway through the half for substitutions. Examples of natural stoppages include: throw-ins, goal kicks, corner kicks, or a kick-off after a goal is scored.
  • Do not stop the timer for substitution breaks -- time is continuous. Substitution breaks should last no more than about two (2) minutes [can be longer if heat warrants a longer break]. It is acceptable - although uncommon - to add time at the end of the half if the substitution was much longer than two minutes. Use discretion when adding time to the end of a half.
  • The half time break should be a minimum of five (5) minutes.
    
    
• Stop and restart of play. There are 5 common times when play is stopped by the match official ("referee"). Note: in the 6U division, all of the restarts for a ball that goes out of play -- the "Throw-in," "Goal Kick," or "Corner Kick" -- will be a kick-in or dribble in. The goal with all restarts is to resume play as quickly as possible -- don't get too picky about the restart. The opponents need to be a minimum of 3-yards (9-feet) away from the ball for the restart.
  • Throw-in: Restart of play when the ball crosses over a touch line. Restart play from a touch line with a throw-in only [revised 2018/09/07 to replace "kick-in or dribble-in" with "throw-in"]. Please note that proper execution of a throw-in should be started right away. If a player does it incorrectly, then the match official should stop play, tell the player why it was wrong, and ask them to throw it in again. Allow play to continue if the second throw-in is also incorrect. Keep repeating this process throughout the season.
  • Goal Kick: Restart of play when the ball crosses over a goal line last played by the attacking team is a Goal Kick for what was the defending team. Restart play from a touch line (not goal line) with a kick-in or dribble in to keep the ball away from the defending team's goal.
  • Corner Kick: Restart of play when the ball crosses over a goal line last played by the defending team is a Corner Kick for what is the attacking team. Restart play from near the corner with a kick-in or dribble in.
  • Kick-off: A Kick-off is used to start the match, start the second half, and after a goal is scored. The Kick-off is a "formal" restart. All of a team's players start in their own half. The ball is placed on the center mark. And, opponents need to be at least 3-yards/9-feet from the ball. A whistle is used to indicate the team with the kick-off can restart the match. The opponents cannot close the space to the ball until the ball has been kicked.
  • Free Kick: When play is stopped by the match official (or "referee") using a whistle, then play is started by a Free Kick for the team with the fouled player. Place the ball approximately where the foul occurred. And, use the whistle to indicate the match can restart with a Free Kick. A few suggestions:
    • A foul near the defending team's goal should be moved away from the goal.
    • All Free Kicks are Indirect Free Kicks (IFKs). An IFK means another player (other than the kicker) must play the ball before a goal can be scored. A goal cannot be scored directly by the kicker of an IFK.
    • There are no Penalty Kicks or other Direct Free Kicks in the 6U division.
• Fouls are rare in the 8U division. The most common ones are deliberately touching the ball with hands and accidental pushing. Call obvious fouls and let trifling fouls go with a word to the player not to do that again.
  
  A note about slide tackles: Technically, a properly executed tackle is acceptable under the LOTG. A tackle is when one player drives the ball through their opponent's legs. The ball cannot cause a foul. You can hear a proper tackle by the "thud" sound when both players are kicking the ball at the same time. Thus, a slide tackle is when a player drives the ball through their opponent's legs without making contact with their opponent's legs with any part of their body. If the slide tackle is from behind and endangers the opponent, then it is also misconduct (resulting in a yellow or red card).
  In conclusion, no slide tackles are allowed in the 8U divisions -- it is a foul each time and a player who executes a second slide tackle should be escorted to the team's coach (and can be temporarily replaced with a substitute) so the coach can explain to the player that slide tackles are not allowed.

Post-game

There are a few things to take care of after the game:

• Make sure the home team gets their game balls back.
• Make sure both teams meet for a friendly hand shake. The hand shake can be formal (2 lines passing each other) or informal (get both teams together and make sure to shake hands with all players of the opposing team).
• The next game will begin soon after your game ends. Be courteous and clear your side of the field quickly and meet somewhere away from the field to allow the teams for the next game to setup.
• Experienced coaches recommend new coaches NOT talk about the game after the game was played. Praise the players, talk about something fun, or dismiss players to enjoy the rest of their weekend. The time to talk about the game and what to work on should be addressed in the practice.