Note:
Outside Competitions/Tournaments: Teams wishing to compete in external
tournaments should
note the rules of said tournament; the age grouping
above may not be applicable
for non-Roots
competitions/tournaments/leagues.
Section 2: Residency Rule:
All players must register for a team within the city or town where they
reside if an age appropriate team is available in that city or town. If
a team has an out of town player on its roster, the team must notify,
in advance, the specific details so the ED and CC can either approve or
reject or modify the placement of that player. The ED, CC or BoD may
grant a waiver of this rule where the hometown releases the player and
the waiver does not conflict with MYSA rules. Waivers may be
granted for:
1) a player involved in divorce or custody circumstances,
2) a school choice student playing for a team in the town where he or she attends school, or
3) a player on a team affiliated with a church, temple or fraternal organization where the player is a member.
Section 3a: Pass Cards: Valid RSL/Mass Youth Soccer pass cards are required for all players and team officials during all League play.
3b. Availability at Games:
Pass cards will be checked by a game official before each game. If
either team fails to produce rosters and pass cards at the start of the
game, they are to be requested by a game official to produce these by
the end of the game. The referee will allow the game to proceed and to
be completed. If these are not produced by the end of the game, the
referee will submit a supplemental report via US Officials that no
rosters and/or pass cards were produced. The ED and/or CC will determine
the outcome of the game. Under no circumstances should the game be
abandoned by the referee for failure of a team to produce a roster or
pass cards.
Section 4a: Club Player Pass:
A player cannot be permanently listed on more than one roster in the
RSL. However a Club Player Pass may be granted if a Club Team
experiences multiple absences and/or illnesses that - in the opinion of
the ED and CC - is in the spirit of league play and is not done with the
aim of gaining a competitive advantage.
To Club Pass a player teams should write the players NAME, DATE OF BIRTH, JERSEY # and PLAYER ID # on their Team Roster and label the player as "GUEST". Said player must present a valid Player Pass to the referee at the start of the game.
4b: Eligible Players:
Said players must be from the same club and either the same age group
or younger. If a club has multiple teams in the same age group, the player can only move up from a lower division to a higher division team (i.e. a Division 2 player may pass card to a Division 1 team in the same age group, but a Division 1 player may not play down to a Division 2 team in the same age group). If a Division 2 team needs players they cannot pull from the Division 1 team in the same age group as they must pull from
the age group below. E.G.: a 12U Team playing Division 2 has
insufficient players their coach may call up either a 12U player from
the Division 3 Team or call up a 11U player to help. Players within the 9U and 10U Divisions are not bound by these restrictions within those age groups and may pass card between Divisions within the same age group (i.e. a 9U player in the Blue Division may play for the Red Division of the same age group or a 10U White Division player may play on a 10U Blue Division Team). For purposes of pass carding, a female player may pass card to a team in the Boy's Division based on these criteria, but male players may not pass card to a team in the girl's division even if the pass carding was based on these criteria. [Modified 2/28/22]
4c # of Players: Teams
may bring in as many Club Pass Players as they wish as long as it does
not exceed the maximum roster size for that age group (See Article 3, Section 1, Figure 3).
[Added 12/7/16]
4d Play-Off's: Teams are allowed to Club Pass during the play-off's, however, players may only play on one team during those play-offs regardless of age group. [Added 12/7/16] [Removed effective 11/8/23]
Section 5: Co-Ed Teams:
In the event that a team has a mixture of boys and girls on the roster,
it shall be considered a boys team and be assigned in a boys' division.
Section 6: Heading:
The United States Soccer Federation (USSF) and MYSA are
requiring all players across the country follow the new heading rules as
follows:
(1) Players 11U and younger shall not engage in heading, either in practice or in games. (2)
Players 12U-13U are limited to a maximum of 30 min heading training
p/week, with no more than 15-20 headers p/player p/week. Heading in
games is unrestricted.
(3) 14U+ heading is completely unrestricted.
If a 8U-11U player heads the ball deliberately in a game the referee
may award an in-direct free kick to the opposing team. Accidental
headers are not punishable. Whether a header is deliberate or not is, of
course, is the referees discretion