Frequently Asked Questions

All children playing in the recreation league will receive a uniform (soccer shirt, shorts and socks) and year end trophy (when appropriate). The fees also cover Hickory equipment needs, field maintenance (sodding, paint, fertilizer, seed, etc.), league fees, referee fees, bathroom maintenance, website and on-line registration fees.  

Parents must provide their children with soccer cleats, soccer shin pads, and a soccer ball. Most local sporting goods stores provide packaged deals for these three items.  

#3 Ball – 4-year-old clinic & 5/6-year-old clinic programs   

#4 Ball – U8, U10, U12 age groups   

#5 Ball – U13 & U16 age groups 

Our goal is to balance all teams, which means we cannot guarantee any requests, although we try our absolute best!  From the U5-U8 age groups all requests will be met.  From U10 and above we do have to limit them to allow for a balance team.

Our priority is to create balanced teams, so while we do our best to accommodate requests for a specific coach, we cannot guarantee them.  From the U5-U8 age groups all requests will be met.  From U10 and above we do have to limit them to allow for a balance league.  We do this to avoid 'Super-Teams'.

Recreation league coaches typically hold one practice per week, lasting about an hour and a half.

Practices are usually held on weeknights after 5PM. Before the season starts, there may also be weekend practices.  

Recreation league games are primarily held on Saturday and Sunday's between 8 AM and 4 PM, with occasional weeknight games. Home field locations are to be determined.

There are no league standings except for U13/U16 which is played through the NRSL.  The year end tournament will be randomly seeded for U10/U12.

Yes, a tournament for U10 and U12 teams inhouse.  U13/U16 will have a tournament as well through the NRSL.  Exact locations for each age group will be determined later. 

For U5-U8 there will be participation trophies.  For U10/U12 there will be trophies provided to the top two teams at the end of the tournament.  U13/U16 will be based on the NRSL

Please reach out.  Last thing we want to do is have a child not want to play because they didn't get along with a coach or their style of coaching.  We have so many good volunteers with different styles.  We will do our best to place them with another coach that can bring the best out of them! 

Please reach out to hickoryrecsoccer@gmail.com.  From there the league chairman will address accordingly.  Each child should get equal playing time.

Please understand that the referees are human.  Sometimes they do make a bad call or even have a bad game.  We do hold them responsible, but we also encourage the referees to make the calls how they see them.  I can assure you they are not trying to alter the outcome of a game towards one coaches favor over the other.  Please be respectful of the referees.  Occasionally they are young kids.  They take training classes to be certified.  They are doing their best to call a fair game.

Notify your coach and age group commissioner immediately!

Contact your Age Group Commissioner to help the coach and parent resolve their differences. The commissioner will provide a neutral and impartial arbitrator. If necessary, the commissioner will interview other parents on the team to get a balanced view of the issue. If the conflict persists, seek higher-level assistance from the chairman of the league.