MLS

MLS - Metro League Soccer

MLS Links

To get the straight MLS poop, go to PYSA's new web site and navigate to "Leagues" and then "Metro League Soccer". You will see a menu of web pages, including standings, policies, forms, etc.

What is MLS?

MLS (Metro League Soccer) is a pilot program of PYSA intended to offer a more intense soccer experience, within the bounds of recreational soccer, for players who can use more intensity. This is the second year of the pilot.

MLS is a league, which means it is a creature of clubs and a mechanism for clubs to get together to play soccer. MLS is not a club: it does not register players nor does it form teams.

MLS is strictly recreational. All players are eligible. There are no tryouts, and any form of merit-based selection or invitation is not allowed.

MLS is different from PYSA rec soccer in several ways:

Clubs outside PYSA are invited to enter teams in the league. (This is also true of the PYSA spring season.)
Match results are posted on a web site.
(probably most important) MLS says it is intended to be more competitive.
Matches are late in the afternoon.
Rosters for any given match are limited to 18 players. In PYSA's regular league, clubs determine the maximum roster size. Our club's limit is 22 (for 11 v 11 play) so full MTSC teams entering MLS may have to ask players to sit out a match or two.
MLS allows late arrival of a starting lineup up to 15 minutes after the posted kickoff time. In PYSA the limit is 5 minutes.
MLS still requires 50% playing time for every player who suits up.

Forming MLS Teams

Clubs form teams according to their rules and the rules of OYSA and USYSA. Mount Tabor Soccer Club's team formation rules are available on this web site under Bylaws. Look particularly at Operating Policies, section 8.6.

MTSC allows MLS teams to be formed under either of two schemes. First, a regular MTSC rec team can enter to play in MLS either instead of the regular fall league or in addition to the regular fall league. Second, a team or teams can be formed within a age/gender division by going through a process of notifying all existing players. The club is doing both of these processes this year (2004).

Choices for MLS Participation

If your player gets notified of the formation of an MLS team in his/her division, he/she has three options:

Sign up for regular rec soccer. Pay the regular MTSC fee. Play one match on Saturday (occasionally Sunday) in the morning or early afternoon.
Enter to play only in MLS. Pay the regular MTSC fee and your portion of the MLS team fee. Play one match each Saturday late in the afternoon.
Enter to play MLS and maintain membership in a regular rec team. Pay both fees. Play two matches every Saturday, one in the morning or early afternoon, and one in the late afternoon. Participation in the regular PYSA match (the morning match) is mandatory. If your player does not play in the PYSA match on a given day, he/she is not allowed to play in the MLS match on that day.

MLS teams pay a $400 team fee for MLS. Typically this will be distributed equally among the players, which will come to somewhere in the $18 - $30 range, depending on the roster size. Every MLS player must also pay the regular $40 MTSC fee, which covers club costs, PYSA/OYSA/USYSA administrative costs, insurance, etc.