Youth Soccer Frequently Asked Questions

What age division should my player be in?

• XL uses the same age cut-off as the Virginia Youth Soccer Association. ​

  • ​For WINTER 2023/2024 league, we are using the 2023-2024 column​

• Players may play up in age divisions but may not play down. Players wanting to play up will have to call XL Richmond to register

• Chesterfield County youth sports and XL Sports World Richmond do not require Youth ID for registration. We trust and expect team managers, coaches, and parents to register their team and players in the appropriate age division. However, if questions about a players age arise, we may ask for proof of age. High School Players may be asked for proof of enrollment in school.​

  • Eligible Proof of Age Documents​​

    • ​Birth Certificate​

    • Drivers License/Permit

    • Gov. ID with picture and birthdate clearly shown

  • Eligible Proof of Enrollment Documents (documents without pictures may need to be supported with identification documents from above)​​​

    • ​School issued ID card with picture, name, and current school year​

    • Recent report card/transcript with name & current school year clearly shown

    • Letter from school admin with official school letterhead stating that student is enrolled in current school year

    • Screenshot of student portal (i.e. Student View) that shoes the students name/picture and current school year

Please review the table below to find what age division your player or team should play in. PLEASE NOTE* these age breakdowns are different from what we've used in the past. It is up to the coach and/or parents to register their team/player in the correct division. IF a coach/parent registers for the wrong league and it is caught after schedules have been released or after all age brackets have been filled, XL cannot guarantee you another spot in the correct league. Teams or players in the wrong league are subject for removal from the league all together. These are exact age restrictions, no exceptions for older players. If your younger player would like to play up but falls outside the age restrictions please call XL to register (804-744-4600).

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*ALL HIGH SCHOOL PLAYERS MUST BE CURRENTLY ENROLLED IN HIGH SCHOOL.  Players 19 and older are not eligible for youth league.  

**Players born in 2005 will only be eligible if they are born on or after Sept 30.

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WINTER 2023/2024 LEAGUE STRUCTURE

• All age groups, with the exception of U7/U8 will offer a Boys/Coed League and a Girls Only League

  • Within each league, there is a COMPETITIVE and RECREATION division. 

• Number of teams per league WILL be capped due to field space availability. (more info to come for winter 2023-2024​
• IF leagues reach their capped amount, we will offer a waitlist. Day Smart Recreation will let you know if the league is closed or not. We encourage all teams to register as soon as possible. We've set league caps based on past season registrations.
  • Waitlist teams will be placed into the league if the following occurs:
    • Other leagues don't fill out, therefore opening more space for others​
    • A team drops out
  • If you would like to join the waitlist for a certain league please email our Youth Director at ana@xlsportsworld.com
• Individual registrations may be capped as well, more information to come.
• All teams in all leagues will play 8 games
  • [U7-U14] will play 1 game in December and 7 games throughout January/February
  • [Highschool] will play 2 games in December and 6 games throughout January/February​
• There will be no youth playoffs. Teams who are at the top of their respective divisions are names XL Indoor League Champions.
• Games are scheduled in 50 minute times slots. ALL GAMES WILL BE 42 MINUTES FOR WINTER LEAGUE.  
  • 21 minute halves, 2 minute half time
    • Please be courteous to other teams, do not linger on the field following your game, swiftly exit along the wall where benches are.​
  • Not all games are going to start on the hour. Some games are going to start at the 20, 30, 40, 50 minute mark. Please ensure you are carefully reviewing your schedule and noting the correct game times. 
• ENTERING/EXITING THE FIELDS

  • ENTER the field through glass doors in the middle​

  • EXIT the field along the walls​

COMPETITIVE VS. RECREATIONAL LEAGUES (WINTER ONLY)

• Completive & Recreational leagues will be offered for age division U9-High School during the Winter Youth Soccer Season

  • In special cases, competitive teams and recreational teams will be combined if certain league numbers are low but approval from all coaches will be required.

• Recreational teams may NO LONGER have two (2) travel players on their team. Please register for Competitive league if you have 2 or more travel players.

• XL Sports World reserves the right to relegate or promote teams and or players to leagues other than the requested league to ensure fun and competitive games. XL Sports World will work with teams to give them their requested night. However, we place a higher value on assuring competitive games than teams' preferred game night. 

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BOYS/COED VS GIRLS ONLY LEAGUE

• Leagues labeled GIRLS ONLY are for teams made up of all girls players

• Leagues labeled BOYS/COED are open to coed teams as well as ALL BOYS teams. 

  • *Not every team in Boys/Coed leagues are truly coed*

• In some circumstances, if league registrations are low, XL may have to place ALL GIRLS teams in the BOYS/COED league for their age division. XL will not do so without the approval of the team manager. 

• Girls may play in Boys/Coed leagues, boys may not play in Girls Only Leagues

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INDIVIDUAL REGISTRATION

• Registering as an individual places your player on an XL House Team.

• Look for "[age division] XL INDIVIDUAL REGISTRATION" & CLICK GREEN REGISTER BUTTON. 

• XL House teams are coached by in-house coaches and compete in the Recreational league for all ages. 

• Each team will practice once a week, and play a game once a week (with exception of bye weeks or double headers).

• XL will make every attempt for a Girls Only team and a Boys/Coed team for each age U9+, however this is dependent upon registration numbers. 

  • If we need to combine teams, girls will be moved to Boys/Coed team with approval from player and parent/guardian.

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INDIVIDUAL PAYMENTS

• Those who register as an individual will be responsible for paying individual fee and membership fee in full at the time of registration. 

• All players are required to pay membership fee.​

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TEAM REGISTRATION

• A team manger will need to register the team first. From there they can invite players to join their roster via email.

  • CLICK BLUE "Create Team" BUTTON IN TOP RIGHT CORNER TO ADD TEAM TO LEAGUE. Follow registration steps from there. 

• ALL youth teams must have a coach or supervisor over the age of 21 on the sideline for every game. 

• The team manager is responsible for seeing that all team fees are paid on time and ensuring that his or her team is aware of the rules of the game, as well as all XL’s policies and rules. 

• The team manager is the representative for the team and is responsible for communicating any information that XL needs to pass on to each team. 

• XL Sports World reserves the right to relegate or promote teams and or players to leagues other than the requested league to ensure fun and competitive games. 

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TEAM PAYMENTS

• All outside teams will be assigned $800 team fee to be split among roster players

  • $100 deposit required to register a full team. Deposit will go toward team fee)​

  • $200 due prior to second game (includes initial $100 deposit)

  • Full Team fee due prior to 4th game

• Team manager is responsible for assigning team fee's and communicating them to players. Fee's can be assigned directly to players via the "manage team" feature on Day Smart

• All players will be prompted to and must pay membership fee when being added to a roster. 

• XL Sports World reserves the right to cancel games if team fees are not paid.

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TEAM ROSTERS

• All team rosters have a 20 player maximum. This rule applies to ALL age groups. 

• Players may be added to a roster up to the 4th game. All rosters are frozen after the 4th game is played and all players not paid in full may not play in any future games in that session. No players may be added to the roster in the 5th, 6th, 7th or 8th game.

  • It is recommended to add players to roster if they may be an “alternate” player at any point during the season. These “alternate” players will not be eligible to play after the 4th game if they are not already on the roster.

• Players may play on more than one team in a division provided they are on both rosters. However, the player must designate a home team. The player's home team is the team that the player will play on if his/her two teams play each other. 

  • Players may not switch teams once a game has started even if they are legally listed on each roster. However, once the first game has officially ended, the player may play in another game if he/she is listed on the roster.

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SCHEDULE QUESTIONS

• HOW MANY GAMES WILL MY TEAM PLAY?

  • ​Each team will be scheduled to play 8 regular season games. No playoffs will be held in youth leagues for the forseeable future. Teams who finish in the top of the league will be winter league champions.

• WHEN WILL THE GAME SCHEDULE BE RELEASED?

  • XL will use the time between registration closing and games starting to build game schedules. 

  • While we make every effort to release schedules as soon as possible, final schedules may not be available until just prior to the first game. The schedules and standings are available on site and also on XL Sports World's web site: www.xlrichmond.com

  • We make it a priority to keep the web site up-to-date. XL reserves the right to make schedule changes during a session with sufficient notice to all teams involved. We ask that you please check the web site before calling the facility to ask for your game time. However, if you must call, we are happy to give you any information you need.

  • For winter leagues, we will release all 1st games for December prior to releasing remaining 7 games. Once all teams have completed their first game, XL will review league placements, make necessary adjustments, and release the remaining game schedules in the last week of December. 

• WILL MY TEAM HAVE A DOUBLE HEADER OR BYE WEEK DURING THE SEASON?

  • As required to meet scheduling needs, teams may play two games in a day or a week. Teams may also have a bye week for this reason. 

  • Typically, leagues with an odd number of teams will play at least one double header.

• CAN WE ASK FOR A GAME TO BE RESCHEDULED?

  • Teams will be allotted up to 2 conflicts that MUST BE LISTED AT THE TIME OF REGISTRATION. XL will not scheduled your games on those 2 conflicting dates/weekends.

  • Any other conflicts that arise are not guaranteed a make-up.

    • IF XL has the power to schedule a makeup, we will attempt to do so, however the makeup is likely to be on a different day than your league usually plays.

    • Teams with additional conflicts other than the original 2 given MUST give at least a seven day notice. XL will investigate the possibility but cannot guarantee that the game will be rescheduled. In the event the game cannot be rescheduled, the requesting team must accept a forfeit.

  • No refunds will be given for either the forfeiting team or their scheduled opponents. 

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FORFEITS​

• Forfeits will be declared for games involving ineligible players, suspended players, or players with expired or no membership. 
• Forfeits may also be declared when make-up game is unable to rescheduled. The team with the original conflict will be forfeiting team.​

• Teams will be given a forfeit for having less than four eligible players available at game time.

  • If teams know they will not be able to field a minimum of four players for a scheduled game, we ask that the team manager notify XL management no less than 24 hours prior to the game to give management time to contact the opposing team and the referee. 

• A forfeit will be declared if a team is not ready five minutes after the referee has started a game clock.

  • XL places importance in beginning matches at their designated start time. Please help this effort by being ready to start the match promptly at the time scheduled. 

• Any individual posing as another person or using false information when joining XL will be considered an illegal player and all games involving illegal players will constitute a forfeit.

  • The guilty player will also be suspended from further activity at XL pending an XL disciplinary committee ruling. 

• Playing while knowingly suspended will result in a forfeit of the game and the guilty player will be suspended from further activity at XL pending a XL disciplinary committee ruling.

• The score of a forfeit game will be recorded as 5-0.

• The winning team in a forfeited game has the following options: 

  • Use the arena during the regularly scheduled game time for a closed practice where no referee is provided or

  • Agree to scrimmage the forfeiting team by sharing players and/or allowing the forfeiting team to pick up non-roster players.

  • In either case, no referee will be provided. 

  • In some cases, your time slot may be given to accomadate another match. In this event, you may request a field rental on a different day if space allows.

WHAT IF OUR GAME IS CANCELED DUE TO INCLEMENT WEATHER?

• XL cannot guarantee a make-up game in the event of inclement weather without extending the entire season. 

• XL will email entire database (team managers & all player parents) to notify about facility closures due to inclement weather.  

  • XL will ​also post on Facebook about facility closure.

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COMMUNICATION

• The majority of league communication will be through email so it is very important to supply XL management with a valid email address. ​

• Team managers are responsible for communicating directly with their teams.

  • XL staff will communicate with manager who must relay any necessary information.​

• Secondary form of communication will be by phone. Our number is (804)-744-4600.

PLAYER APPAREL

• Teams should wear the same color shirts. ​​

  • If opponents are wearing the same color shirts, the Home team will be asked to change or wear pinnies. Pinnies can be provided by XL.

• XL House Teams will be provided with XL Jersey.

• Shin guards are mandatory. Socks must completely cover the shin guards

• Dangerous Equipment: Players shall not be permitted to wear anything deemed dangerous by the official.

• No metal or hard molded cleats

• No jewelry or watches

• NO CLEATS!!!

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