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. Our youth leagues that play in the winter and summer use the same age cutoff that the outdoor soccer leagues use in the previous fall. For consistency purposes, we ask all teams to register for the leagues that they played the previous outdoor fall session​

• Players may play up in age divisions but may not play down.

• 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. 

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**Players born in 2004 will only be eligible if they are born on or after June 1. Players 19 and older are not eligible for youth league.  ALL HIGH SCHOOL PLAYERS MUST BE CURRENTLY ENROLLED IN HIGH SCHOOL.  

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 contact Ana, Youth Director (ana@xlsportsworld.com).

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COMPETITIVE VS. RECREATIONAL LEAGUES (WINTER ONLY)

• Completive & Recreational leagues will be offered for age division U10-High School during the Winter Youth Soccer Season

• In special cases, competitive teams and recreational teams will be combined due to league numbers 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 these leagues will be 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 a Girls Only team and a Boys/Coed team for each age U10+, 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 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. This rule applies to High School and under. 

• 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. 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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TEAM PAYMENTS

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

• 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. 

• Minimum of $200 payment is due prior to 2nd game of the season. 

• Remaining team fee is due prior to 4th game of the season. 

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

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TEAM ROSTERS

• All XL 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 heald in 2022-2023 Winter Season. Teams who finish in the top of the league will be winter league champions.

• WHEN WILL THE GAME SCHEDULE BE RELEASED?

  • 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. 

• 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 may request that games be rescheduled provided at least a seven day notice is given. 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.

• **If your team is listed first on game schedule, you are the home team. Visitor team is listed second on schedules. Please sit on appropriate sideline bench. If your team is on the wrong bench, your score may be recorded wrong.

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FORFEITS​

• Forfeits will be declared for games involving ineligible players, suspended players, or players with expired or no membership. 

• 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. 

• 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 that player 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.

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 ​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 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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