SFYS Recreational League

2nd - 8th Grade Recreational Play

The SF Youth Soccer Recreational program is underscored by our belief that children learn and enjoy soccer the most when playing against teams of similar ability.

Grade-based Registration, so players can play with their classmates
Local San Francisco play
No travel required
No club membership required
Mercy Rule to prevent match blowouts
Guest Play allowed between SFYS Leagues (Recreational players allowed to guest between SFYS teams and to "guest up" to Upper House)
Affordable

Benefits of Recreational Play

More Relaxed Time Commitment

Recreational teams get 1 game and at least 1 practice a week per season. Also, there is no yearlong commitment to play. A number of recreational teams only play the fall season and then switch to a different sport to play in the spring.

It is All About the Players

SFYS Resources: Seasonal clinics, homework videos, school soccer, team guest coaching, and ever adapting game play to maximize touches on the ball and player development.

Are you a Player Looking for a Team?
There are hundreds of independent recreational teams. We recommend checking with your player's friends and school for a team, and to check out the SFYS Player Connection page.

Balanced Bracketing

SF Youth Soccer believes all kids should learn how to lose as well as win. Ideally, teams will play against teams that roughly equal to their own, resulting in a good mix of wins and losses. Losses? Yes! Losses give players, and teams, a chance to learn valuable lessons: it stimulates players to work harder in practice to get better; they learn to fight back, during a game, playing from behind; they learn it’s not the end of the world to lose.

Flights are built based on previous standings and via self-reported Team Strength Census. In cases where teams have grossly over- or under-estimated their strength, SFYS will help facilitate opponent swaps to make end of season games more competitive.

Coach Support

We recognize the majority of coaches in this program are volunteers and without them the kids do not play. SFYS has numerous resources to support you!