CARMEL UNITED SOCCER CLUB

Overview

Our Inhouse Recreational Soccer Program is open to players of all skill levels and experience. Whether your child is picking up a soccer ball for the first time or has played before, our program is designed to provide a fun, positive, and developmentally appropriate introduction to the game.

Registration is open and ongoing throughout the season. Players may register even after the season has begun. Simply click the REGISTER tab above and follow the registration instructions.

We generally accept players from approximately ages 3 through 13, but age groups can change from year to year. Please refer to the Age Group Requirements chart below to determine the appropriate age group for the current program year.

With the exception of U4, all age groups practice once per week for one hour, typically on either Tuesday or Wednesday evening. Practices are led by our professional youth development trainers, who focus on teaching age-appropriate soccer skills in a fun and engaging environment.

Games are held on Saturday afternoons at George Fischer Middle School.

Our goal is simple: to provide children with a fun, welcoming environment where they can learn the game, develop their skills, and build a love for soccer.

How do age groups work?
Carmel United follows US Soccer’s age-group guidelines for our young Inhouse program. These are the standard age groups used throughout the United States and are consistent with the age groups used in our Travel program. For more information, see US Soccer Age Group Requirements below.

Within each age group, the number of teams we form depends on the number of players registered and the number of adult volunteers available to coach. We cannot form a team without adult volunteers, so the availability of coaches and assistants directly impacts the number of teams we are able to create.

We generally do not accommodate requests for specific team placement. Team-placement requests will only be considered in cases of special circumstances or needs that can be verified.

Volunteer coaches and assistant coaches will automatically have their own children placed on their team.

Our goal is to create balanced, appropriately sized teams while ensuring that every team has the adult volunteers necessary to provide a positive experience for the players.

My child is 5 years old. Why is he/she in the U7 age group?

Carmel United follows the US Soccer Age Group Requirements. While the system is relatively simple in theory, it can sometimes seem confusing because the soccer year does not follow the calendar year.

The soccer year runs from August 1 through July 31 and spans portions of two calendar years. A player's age group is determined by the year in which the soccer year ends.

This means that when you register for a Fall season, you are registering during the calendar year before the soccer year ends. Your child's age group is based on how old he or she will be during that soccer year—not necessarily how old he or she is when registration takes place.

Because of this, some children—particularly those with birthdays later in the calendar year—may appear to be one or even two years younger than the age group listed at the time they register.

Example:

• You register in June 2026 for the Fall 2026 season. Your child is currently 5 years old and will turn 6 in July 2026.
• The soccer year you are registering for runs from August 1, 2026, through July 31, 2027.
  
• The soccer year ends in 2027. Your child will turn 7 in July 2027, before the soccer year ends.
  
• Therefore, your child is considered a U7 player for the 2026–2027 soccer year, even though he or she was only 5 years old when registration occurred and will still be only 6 when the Spring season ends.
  

What can I expect in each age group?

Our program is designed to introduce and develop players at an age-appropriate pace. As players get older, the activities, field sizes, goals, and number of players gradually increase.

• U4: There are no teams or traditional soccer games at this age. Every player has a ball and is led through a series of fun games and activities designed to teach fundamental soccer skills while keeping the children entertained, engaged, and motivated. Parents should not expect to see a traditional soccer game at the U4 level.
• U5/U6: We typically create 4–8 teams consisting of approximately 5–8 players per team. Players participate in 4v4 games on a 20 x 30-yard field using 5-foot goals. There are no goalkeepers at this age.
  
• U7/U8: The game remains 4v4, but the field increases to approximately 30 x 50 yards. Players use larger 6-foot goals, and there are still no goalkeepers.
  
• U9/U10: Players move to the modified soccer field, where we typically play 7v7 (6 field players plus a goalkeeper) using 12-foot goals. We typically have two or three coaches working with this age group, who divide the players into two teams each week. This allows the teams to change from week to week and gives players the opportunity to play with different teammates. If we have enough players, we will create four static teams for the season who will play each other based on a schedule.
  
• U11 and Older: This age group generally operates similarly to U9/U10 in terms of forming teams each week. Depending on the number of players registered for the season, this group may remain on the modified field or move to the full-size soccer field, with the number of players on the field adjusted accordingly. If we have enough players, we will create four static teams for the season who will play each other based on a schedule.
  

Our Focus Is Player Development: We do not keep score or track wins and losses. At these ages, placing too much emphasis on results can be detrimental to player development. Our primary focus is helping players develop their technical skills, confidence, understanding of the game, and—most importantly—a love for soccer.

Why 4v4?
The 4v4 philosophy promotes technical development by creating a version of soccer that is easier for young children to understand and better suited to their physical and developmental abilities.

Playing 4v4 still provides all the important elements of a real soccer game—dribbling, passing, shooting, attacking, defending, and providing width—but without much of the complexity and confusion that can come with having more players on the field.

By using the 4v4 approach, players get significantly more touches on the ball, which is one of the most important factors in player development. With fewer players on the field, every child has more opportunities to dribble, pass, shoot, make decisions, and become actively involved in the game.

The emphasis on the fundamentals—dribbling and ball control, passing, and shooting—helps players develop the technical building blocks they will need as they progress to larger-sided games.

Perhaps just as importantly, 4v4 is fun. Every player is actively involved in both attacking and defending, rather than spending long periods watching the game happen around them.

What do volunteer coaches do?
We employ professional youth trainers who work with each age group during the week (except U4). The trainers focus on the teaching and development side of the program.

Games provide players with an opportunity to take what they have learned and experiment, make decisions, and learn through playing the game.

The primary responsibility of our volunteer coaches is to organize, encourage, and keep things fun.

Before the game, volunteer coaches make sure the field and goals are set up, if necessary. During the game, they help keep things organized, make sure all players have an opportunity to play fairly, and substitute players in and out while giving them opportunities to experience different positions on the field.

Most importantly, volunteer coaches cheer for the players and provide positive encouragement and reinforcement.

Soccer experience is NOT required to be an Inhouse coach! In fact, some of the best youth coaches have little or no soccer experience at all. Being patient, organized, positive, and encouraging is often far more important than knowing everything about the game.

​Why can I only register for Fall and Spring combined or Spring only? Why can't I register for Fall only?
Our soccer program operates on a full program year that runs from Fall through the following Spring.

When you register for the program in the Fall, your registration is for the entire program year and automatically includes both the Fall season and the following Spring season. While you may choose not to participate in the Spring, the registration fee is not reduced, as the Fall registration is for the full year.

If you register in the Spring, the fee is slightly lower because you are joining the program after the Fall season has already taken place and will only participate in the Spring portion of that program year.

Spring registration does not include the following Fall season, as the Fall begins a new program year and requires a new registration.

This structure allows us to plan the program, staffing, teams, and resources for the full Fall-to-Spring soccer year rather than operating Fall and Spring as two separate programs.

Why isn't the Spring season that much cheaper than playing Fall and Spring combined?

It may seem like the Spring registration fee should be significantly lower since you are only participating in one season. However, many of the costs associated with your registration are fixed costs that are the same regardless of when you register.

Your registration fee covers things such as player registration, insurance, and a uniform. Those costs do not become less expensive simply because you are registering in the Spring. It costs us essentially the same amount to register and insure a player and provide a uniform whether that player joins in the Fall or the Spring.

Another significant expense is our professional trainers. We utilize professional trainers for practices in both the Fall and Spring, but the cost of training is actually higher in the Spring. In the Fall, we are limited by daylight and typically have training sessions for approximately six weeks. In the Spring, we are able to utilize our trainers for the full ten weeks of the season—approximately 60% more training sessions than in the Fall.

In other words, Spring does not cost us 50% less than a full Fall/Spring registration. In some respects, it actually costs us more to operate the program in the Spring.

We set our registration fees as reasonably as possible while still allowing us to provide the level of programming, professional training, equipment, insurance, and resources that we believe our players deserve. Our goal is to keep the program as affordable as we possibly can without compromising the quality of the experience we provide.

What if I can't make practices or games?

Our Inhouse program is intentionally very informal and flexible. Attendance is not taken, and there are no consequences for missing practices or games.

We understand that family schedules can be busy and that not everyone can attend every event. If you cannot make the weekday practices, that's perfectly fine. If you can only attend the Saturday games, that's fine too. Likewise, if you prefer to attend practices during the week but not participate in the games, that is also completely acceptable.

If you plan to attend practices but not games, we simply ask that you let us know ahead of time so we can form the teams appropriately.

There is no adjustment to the registration fee based on what you do or do not attend. Registration fees are also not prorated for players who register after the season has already begun.

​Inhouse Fees

• U-4 age group: $95 includes both Fall and Spring season when registering for the Fall; includes Spring season only when registering for the Spring
  
• U-5/6 age group: $150 includes both Fall and Spring season when registering for the Fall; $125 for Spring season only
  
• U-7+ age group:  $185 includes both Fall and Spring season when registering for the Fall; $145 for Spring season only
  
• $15 per player late fee will be imposed if registering after August 15th for the Fall season and after March 15th for the Spring season
  
• You will receive $50 in raffle tickets. If you opt to sell those tickets, you keep the money which lowers your overall cost by $50.
  
• Fees are not prorated for registering after the season starts.
  
• Refunds will only be considered if requested at least 3 weeks prior to the start of the season

​​​US Soccer Age Group Requirements
Beginning with the Fall 2026/Spring 2027 year, Carmel United will form teams using the new US Soccer team formation requirements, below, which follows an 8/1/YYYY - 7/31/YYYY calendar year.

​​Age Group Schedule

GFMS Field Layout Map - Fall

GFMS Field Layout Map - Spring

All games are played on Saturdays at George Fischer Middle School beginning:

• FALL Season: the first weekend after Labor Day (FOR 2026, FIRST GAME IS 9/12)
• SPRING Season: the first or second weekend of April, TBD (FOR 2027, FIRST GAME IS 4/3)

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There are 9-10 scheduled games each season. Canceled games will not be rescheduled. There are no games Columbus Day weekend or Memorial Day weekend.

The times listed for games are game start times... every age group starts at the same time each week. Please arrive at least 15 minutes prior to the scheduled start time. 

Practices are held at Patterson Veterans Memorial Town Park (aka Patterson Park) and will be led by professional soccer trainers. Practices begin:

• FALL Season: the Tuesday after Labor Day at 5:00 PM and 6:00 PM, depending on age group (see above)
• SPRING Season: the Tuesday after the first game, at 5:30 PM and 6:30 PM, depending on age group (see above)

Please abide by the parking rules at Patterson Park. Only Patterson town residents with the appropriate parking permit affixed to their car window are allowed to park in the main lot (gravel). Everybody else must park in the parking lot just past the basketball courts (grass). Please see the parking map for specifics.

Emails will be sent out in the event of any cancellations or changes.

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Equipment Needed for All Practices and Games

• Soccer ball
  • ​Size 3 for U-4 through U-8 age groups
  • Size 4 for U-9 and above
  • U-13 players can use a size 5 at practice if they like
• Shin guards are required in order to participate -- should be worn UNDER socks
• Cleats are not required but are highly recommended
• Water​

RECREATIONAL SOCCER PROGRAM (INHOUSE)