Registration Timeline

SF Youth Soccer is one of the largest youth participation programs in the city. Hundreds of teams and thousands of players play with us! Because the City has determined that San Francisco parks resources should go to youth first, organizations like ours which serve youth are required to submit our field needs 3-4 months in advance of the season.

This means that:

Registration for the Fall season begins in mid-April, as the Spring Season comes to a close.
Registration for Spring season begins in November, just as Fall season comes to a close.
Registration for Summer season begins in April, just after Spring play gets underway.

Registration Logistics

The annual soccer year is August 1st - July 31st, Fall through the following Summer and includes coach and player insurance and team registration. A couple of important points for parents to keep in mind:

The soccer year starts fresh with the Fall season. This means that players are free to join any Fall team or club without having to complete transfer paperwork from the previous season's team. No player is obligated to a team based on the previous soccer year commitment.

Once a player has been registered and insured with a Fall team, unless otherwise agreed to in a club or team registration contract, that commitment lasts the full soccer year (August 1st - July 31st).

A Player may NOT transfer to a new team if the old team would fall below roster minimum, thus causing an entire team to fall apart at the whim of one player. So be sure of the team, for there is no guarantee of movement.

REMEMBER :

Players may ONLY register for ONE primary team participating in any SFYS or other regional soccer leagues. Players may guest with other teams as leagues and tournaments allow.

SF Youth Soccer does not place players or coaches on teams. Primary responsibility for finding (or creating) a team rests with the coach/player and their family. In advance of Fall and Spring seasons, SFYS opens an online Intent to Play form each team completes in order to be eligible for registration and to be on the mailing list for seasonal deadlines and scoop on team formation.

- How to build and register an SFYS soccer team

Q. Why is registration for the Fall Season so early, in April and May?

A. We recognize that most teams have barely begun their spring season when they are forced to make roster decisions about the fall. Many players want to see how the spring goes before committing to fall soccer. Please sign up with the kids who can commit, then add others later. We know this is stressful for everyone, but the SFYS timelines are unavoidable, for several reasons. First, we have to follow the SAY Soccer, USYS CalNorth and US Club NorCal guidelines. Also, we have to secure game field permits while teams must secure practice field permits, and the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department can only accommodate youth leagues if we know our exact field needs early. In addition, too many families are unavailable in the summers to complete registration. The best way to deal with this stress is warn parents early and often of what will be needed. After the first year, parents and coaches get used to it and it’s not as frustrating.

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