The CVSC Recreational Program is for children ages 3-18 as of December 31 of the current year.

All Recreational players shall play in their age group as determined by their age on January 1st of the current year in line with the USSF birth-year registration mandate. Birth dates shall be established by a birth certificate issued by a public agency, a resident alien card, a valid passport, or other means approved by Cal North or U.S. Club Soccer.

No recreational player, U5 through U12 will be allowed to move up to an older age group except by Board action as recommended by the respective Program Directors, and then for only the following reasons:

• Parent is the registered head coach having been so identified before the teaming process (limited to children of at most one coach per team), or

• There is no opportunity or space to play in their age group. The petition to play in an older age group based on parental coaching must be made in writing and delivered to the appropriate Program Director; the Program Director can then make a recommendation to the Board.

• If siblings of the same gender and different age would like to play on the same team the guardian(s) will need to make a request to the board prior to season start.

Recreational U14-19 players may move up to an older age group based on evaluations provided by the previous season’s coaches and as appropriate, evaluations provided by coaches from other seasons. All requests for players playing up will be reviewed and approved by the age group Program Director. Prior to approving such a request, a parent or guardian of the player must submit a written acknowledgement and acceptance to the Program Director (direct email is acceptable).

No CVSC player shall be allowed to move down to a younger age group, except for documented medical reasons and with the approval of the Board.

Requests will be considered for U4 through U19 players for one (1) buddy to be placed in the same recreational team provided the following conditions are met:

• The players shall be in the same age group and gender as one another; exceptions will be reviewed and approved by the board member responsible for the specific program .

• The buddy request must be mutual (Player A requests Player B and Player B requests Player A as his/her buddy).

• The buddy request must be made prior to the date of late registration. Registrants after the deadline or on a wait list cannot request a buddy.

No, however coaches can secure four players. Head coaches can request one assistant coach and up to four player, specified below, using the mutual buddy system if they meet the following conditions:

Both coaches must have all coach paperwork submitted to the CVSC registrar before the coaching application deadline and before the teaming process begins. All requested players must be registered on time, during the regular registration process. Buddies must be mutual and declared during the regular registration process as described above. No exceptions.

Players of all ages may request not to have a coach by filling out the Form on our website under document and forms. Form must be emailed to the registrar before June 1. If you cannot find the form please email registrar@castrovalleysoccer.com before June 1.

For Academy to U19 (born 2005-2017), each team can have three volunteers that get their volunteer fee refunded. That’s usually head coach, assistant coach, and team manager. A team could also have a head coach and two assistant coaches, or a head coach and two managers, or three co-coaches. However, for registration purposes, the players assured for the team can only be four. Meaning, the head coach’s kid (player 1), the head coach’s kid’s mutual buddy (player 2), and assistant coach’s kid (player 3), and the other assistant coach’s kid (player 4). Only one mutual buddy pair will be honored between the coaches.

Team assignment and collection of fee will be on the basis of available space, with no priority placement.

Recreational team assignments will be made by the respective age group Program Director. CVSC will assign players to Recreational teams emphasizing balanced teams in each age group based on available player evaluation forms and registration information. During the teaming process and prior to roster distribution, the following criteria are to be used, including but not limited to:

• Personal residence and school areas.

• Player’s gender, age and experience.

• Player’s ability, based on their previous year’s rating or playing level.

• The age group Program Director shall attempt to make the teams age pure. If age pure teams cannot be formed then, the age group Program Director will place equal numbers of older/younger, new/returning players on each Recreational team in an age group.

• A manageable number of substitute players per team will be considered to keep an even number of teams per age group.

• Coach and/or assistant coach(s) abilities and experiences.

On a game-by-game basis, players shall play at least half of each game, with playing time in both the first and second halves, with the exception of a hurt player, an ill player, or in rare cases where a player is being disciplined or is improperly equipped. Over the course of the season, players shall be given an opportunity to play different positions.

Hour long practices kickoff July 31st. The days, times, and fields are chosen by the coaches. Times are 4:30-5:30, 5:30-6:30, and 6:30-7:30. Starting September 25th, the times are adjusted due to the limited daylight: 4:30-5:20, 5:20-6:10, and 6:10-7:00:

• Bumblebees, born in 2020 do not practice but have sessions on Sunday, starting August 11th.

• Grasshoppers, born in in 2018 and 2019, have one practice directly followed by a game on Sundays starting August 11th.

• Academy to U12 players, born 2012-2017, have two one-hour practices a week.

• Older players, born 2005-2011, have two practices a week, the length is 1 to 1.5 hours depending on the fields we secure.

For players born 2012-2017, teams have one game a weekend starting August 11th and ending October 26th. No games August 31st (Labor Day weekend) and October 12th (CVUSD long weekend). If we need to reschedule a weekend due to weather or smoke, we may reschedule them on October 12th. Earliest games could be at 8:00, the latest could start at 5:00. Game length depends on the division. Players born 2006-2012 play teams outside Castro Valley, so their game schedule is not as predictable. They should start games August 24th and end November 2nd, could go as late as November 16th.

Each player should have their own ball for practice. U5-U8 Size 3, U9-U12 Size 4, U14 and older Size 5.

Every player is required to wear shin guards to every practice and match. Soccer cleats are recommended. Baseball or football cleats are not permitted.

We partner with Soccer Post in Dublin. Please refer to our Recreational Uniforms page for more information.

Please refer to our Air Quality and Weather Policy listed under Cancellation Policies on the resource section of this website.

We encourage you to first reach out via email to askcvsc@castrovalleysoccer.com or via the contact form on our “Contact Us” page of this website.

Yes, reach out to our Registrar, registrar@castrovalleysoccer.com, to remove your registration before May 31, 2024. After your player is placed on a team, we cannot offer refunds.

Castro Valley Soccer Club is a non-profit volunteer-run organization. The club is primarily operated and successful through the efforts of its many volunteer members.

We are currently looking for volunteers to assist with running the soccer programs at CVSC. If you are interested in volunteering, please visit our Coach Volunteer Registration page for more information.