FORMS

2007 GIRLS AND BOYS SOCCER GUIDE

I. SEASON

A. Soccer has been classified as a fall sport. The fall season may open on August 13th (second Monday in August) for girls and boys (all divisions), and conclude on November 3rd for all divisions.

B. No school shall schedule more than fourteen contests, exclusive of playoffs sanctioned by the V.P.A.
II. RULES

A. The current issue of the National Federation Soccer Rules shall be the official playing rules for interscholastic soccer among member schools in the State of Vermont, except as varied by the Vermont Soccer Guide. Any game that is stopped before completion of the first half, is to be replayed in its entirety. The rescheduling of games will be conducted between schools. If an agreement to reschedule a game cannot be met, the VPA Executive or Associate Executive Director, and Chair of the Soccer Committee will mediate.

B. Encourage each V.P.A. member school and coach to monitor the number of accumulated cards and respond with an appropriate consequence.
Note – in the 2007-2008 soccer season, any team that acquires more than two ejections (of the 2 game variety) will be required to meet with the Activities Standards Committee before entering or continuing in the tournament. The purpose is to discuss steps being taken to address this situation.

POINT OF EMPHASIS

C. Ejection of Player(s) and Coach(es):
Three situations exist:

1. TWO (2) GAME SUSPENSION:
A player or coach who is ejected from a game for the following infractions which are
harmful in nature shall be suspended from playing or coaching for that game and the
next two contests.
A. Verbally harmful conduct. NO SUBSTITUTE IS ALLOWED FOR THE PLAYER.
B. Malicious physical contact. (including fighting) NO SUBSTITUTE IS ALLOWED FOR
THE PLAYER.
C. Taunting - SUBSTITUTE FOR PLAYER IS NOT GRANTED.

2. ONE (1) GAME SUSPENSION:
Accumulation of two yellow cards, neither harmful in nature. Ejection from that game,
plus the next contest. Substitute for player is granted.

3. CURRENT GAME SUSPENSION:
An intentional hand ball that prevents a goal. Ejection from that game only.

4. MOUTH PIECES:
All players shall wear a mouth guard that must cover all upper molars, as well as upper front teeth. Mouth guards must be worn in all practices and competitions and are
required of all participants at all levels (e.g. freshman, junior varsity, and varsity for boys
and girls).
Administration:
1. Coaches are responsible to make certain that each player is wearing a mouth guard.
2. In the event that the player is participating without a mouth guard, the game official will remove the player from the match. There will be no substitution for the removed player until the next legal substitution opportunity for that team.
3. If a player is found to have cut down a mouth guard, hides the mouth guard in any part of his/her uniform, discards the mouth guard in the field of play, or holds the mouth guard in his/her hand while playing the ball or is in the vicinity of play, for the first offense a
verbal warning will be issued, for the second offense a yellow card will be issued.
The mandatory wearing of mouthguards is a communication issue for officials with coaches and players, and a team warning can be issued by the official(s).

5. Overtime: (Regular Season)
There will be a five-minute mandatory time out after the regulation time.
There will be two 10 minute sudden victory overtime periods. If the teams remain tied after the two overtimes, a tie is declared.

6. In 2007-2008, the top 16 teams in each division will be eligible for the state tournament.
If more than 16 teams apply a tie-breaking process will be used. The process will be
1) head to head competition 2) common opponents 3) best won/loss percentage   4) strength of schedule and 5) coin toss.

7) It is the belief of the VPA that everyone is responsible for maintaining the integrity of
the game. With that in mind, coaches, officials and captains will meet at the
scorerstable for a pre-game conference to discuss all game procedures and
expectations. (NFHS rule 5-2-2 b. and d.)

2007 Soccer Rule Changes

4-1-1 Over the past five years, attempts to clarify the coverage, placement and size of shin guards on players within the text of the rule has fallen short. Beginning with the Fall 2008 soccer season, players will be permitted to wear only shin guards that meet the National Operating Committee for the Safety of Athletic Equipment (NOCSAE) standard. Shin guards that meet the standard will have a permanent seal or mark visible on the front of the equipment. Each manufacturer whose shin guards meets the standard will be required to indicate the height of the player that would be permitted to wear that specific equipment. Coaches should be certain that every player has shin guards with the NOCSAE seal and that the player meets the height requirement posted by the manufacturer on the equipment. During the pre-game inspection, officials need only ask the coaches if their players are legally and properly equipped according to NFHS Soccer Rules.

1-5-3 Exceptions-When teams are placed on opposite sides of the field, each team shall be located as specified in Rule 1-5 and shall be placed diagonally across from each other.

4-3 Each Head Coach shall be responsible for ensuring that each of his/her players is properly equipped. Penalty: An improperly equipped player shall be instructed to leave the field of play when the ball ceases to be in play. The Head Coach shall be cautioned (yellow card) for improperly equipped players.

III. TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
A. To qualify for tournament consideration, a team must have completed at least an eight game schedule with three different schools by the time of the picks and submit an application.

B. FINAL, COMPLETED APPLICATIONS MUST ELECTRONICALLY FILED TO THE VPA OFFICE NO LATER THAN 10 A. M. THE DAY BEFORE THE PAIRINGS- NO PHONE SCORES WILL BE ACCEPTED.
LAST DATE TO PLAY GAMES:
Boys: Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Girls: Wednesday, October 17, 2007

APPLICATIONS DUE:
Boys: Thursday, October 18, 2007, 10:00 AM
Girls: Thursday, October 18, 2007, 10:00 AM

TOURNAMENT PAIRINGS:
Girls: Friday, October 19, 2007, 10:00 AM
Boys: Friday, October 19, 2007, 10:00 AM

PLAYDOWNS:
Boys: Div. 1, 2 & 3 - Monday, October 22, 2007
Girls: Div. 1 & 2, Boys Div. 4 - Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Girls - Div. 3 & 4 - Wednesday, October 24, 2007

QUARTER FINALS:
Boys - Div. 1, 2 & 3 - Thursday, October 25, 2007
Girls - Div. 1 & 2, Boys Div. 4 - Friday, October 26, 2007
Girls - Div. 3 & 4 - Saturday, October 27, 2007

SEMI-FINALS:
Boys- Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Girls - Wednesday, October 31, 2007

FINALS:
Boys & Girls - Saturday, November 3, 2007
8 Finals all the same day

*PLEASE NOTE: SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 3RD IS AN SAT DATE.
*For the finals, the tournament director shall be responsible for determining, in case of inclement weather, whether or not the game will be played, or continued if play has started.

IV. TOURNAMENT PROCEDURE

A. For playoff consideration, the minimum size of the field will be 100 yards x 60 yards, and meet regulations as set by the Federation Rule Book. At present these fields have been deemed unsuitable for tournament play by the VPA Soccer Committee and will not be used for playdowns, quarters or semi-finals in 2007, unless corrections are made and reported to the VPA Soccer Committee for action by September 30, 2007.

Unsuitable Fields:

CONCORD

For tournament play, a school with an unsuitable field (safety), shall provide a back-up field, with the approval of the committee.

B. In the playoff games through the semi-final level, the ball will meet National Federation specifications and supplied by the higher seeded team. The balls for the finals will be provided by the Vermont Principals' Association and will be the Rawlings ball.

C. In sanctioned tournaments hosted by a school, or in playoff games, quarter-finals and semi-finals where a winner must evolve, the following procedure will be used for breaking ties:
a. There will be a five-minute mandatory time out after the regulation time.
b.There will be a maximum of two ten-minute sudden victory overtime periods, eleven-on-eleven. Teams will switch ends at the conclusion of the first eleven-on-eleven sudden victory overtime.
c.Team captains will reflip the coin toss after the eleven-on-eleven sudden victory periods if the score remains tied and prepare for eight-on-eight sudden victory over time. There will be a five minute rest period between the eleven-on-eleven and eight-on-eight sudden victory overtime sessions..
d. Each team will remove three players from the number they had after the two regular sudden victory overtime sessions, and there will be a maximum of two more sudden victory overtimes. Teams will switch ends at the conclusion of the first eight-on-eight sudden victory overtime. If the score is tied after all four sudden victory overtimes, each team will select any five players to take penalty kicks in an alternating fashion. Order of kicks will be determined by a coin toss. The same players or different players may be selected for each round. Additional kicks will be conducted in rounds of five. The team scoring the greatest number of these kicks will be declared the winner.
e. No team in sudden victory will play with less than seven players; the other team will maintain the numerical advantage, if applicable. A player or players shall be added to maintain the numerical advantage in sudden victory (i.e. - an 11-9 advantage before sudden victory becomes a 9-7 advantage during sudden victory).
f. A game interrupted before the completion of the 1st half will be replayed in its entirety. A game interrupted during the 2nd half will be replayed from the point of suspension unless both teams agree not to complete the contest, in which case the score will become final.

D. In championship play the tie breaker procedure will be implemented through the two 15 minute sudden victory overtimes, eleven-on-eleven. If still tied teams will play two 10 minute sudden victory overtimes 8 on 8. If teams are still tied; penalty kicks (as mentioned in item C part d) will be used until a champion is declared. VPA representatives will present team awards and 25 team participant awards.

E. In the State Finals each school will provide two ball persons to run the sidelines. The ball persons will receive free admittance and a $5.00 honorarium from the Tournament Director.