Fall Rec Season is underway!  

As we begin the Fall 2021 Rec Season, we will continue to evaluate how to safely conduct our program. We will closely follow any restrictions outlined by State and Local Government and update our program guidelines accordingly. We will do our best to communicate quickly with the WMSC families as changes occur.  

Overview of the WMSC Fall Rec Season

The fall recreational soccer program is for boys and girls Pre-K through 8th Grade. The program runs for 8 weeks, starting September 7, 2021 and ending on October 30, 2021. 

Players in the recreation soccer program will be introduced to the technical, tactical and psychological components of the game that will increase their ability to make positive decisions through fun and engaging activities.

The program is designed for players to practice and play at a recreation level of play:

• PreK players will participate in one week-day session 
  
• Kindergarten - 8 th Grade players participate in one practice session and one game session 

Locations & Parking

For the 2021 season, all Fall Rec practices and games are held across four different locations: 

• Highlands Ridge Park, 100 North Road,  Chester (Across from Black River Middle School)
• Chubb Park, 290 W Main St, Chester (Fields are in the back of the facility, use parking in the back and along the side as you drive towards the back of the facility) 
• Black River, 197 North Road, Chester
• India Brook Field,  97 Ironia Road Mendham Twp (This field has the same entrance as  Randolph Animal Shelter, please do NOT go to India Brook Park, Mountainside Rd). 

Strong turnout for our fall program means busy parking lots. There will be no speeding through any of the parking lots to ensure the safety of our players and families. Please be mindful of leaving promptly upon completion of practices and games to allow enough time for all to transition between sessions.

 Schedule

The schedule for soccer has been finalized. The final registration numbers and improvements underway at Black River informed the final schedule below. With limited fields at Black River and strong registration numbers, we spread the program across four field locations in order to balance crowds, safety and trainers. We appreciate your flexibility as strove to keep days and times as close to the draft schedule as possible. 

Please download and sign the release waiver and bring to your first practice session. We will also have copies on hand at the fields to complete as needed.
wmsc-covid-19-release-of-liability-waiver.pdf


Please find the relevant age groups to you and take note of the:

• field location
• day(s) of the week
• practice / game times. 
  

Special Games Schedule for Friday October 8th

In support of the WMSC Highlands Cup over the holiday weekend in October, we will be moving our Saturday Rec Soccer games to Friday, October 8th at different fields and locations detailed below. This applies only to our older divisions who typically play Saturday games. All other Friday games remain unchanged for the younger divisions.

Ralston Fields are located at 326 Mendham Road, Mendham, NJ 07945 (This is NOT the parking area with the playground). This location is just past the Ralston Firehouse heading towards Chester on the left hand side. The entrance is marked with a red, vertical WMSC flag. 

Teams Formation

Grades K through 1st have been formed and named as Major League Soccer (MLS) teams. Grades 2nd through 8th have been formed and named as teams from the European Cup 2020. For added fun at home, introduce your players to these leagues and share with them what the are, how they came to be and logo of their rec team name!

Age groups are Pre K, K, 1st, 2/3, 4/5, 6/7/8.  

Pre K players should be at least 4 years old at the start of the season. Our program is designed for 4-5 year old players and they will play in mixed groups at this age level.

The recreation level program players are expected to participate in a majority of the games and practices. Team rosters are right-sized to maximize playing time; as a result, non-attendance will have an impact on the whole team.

Safety Measures

We will continue to monitor and update our planning as we get closer to the season. We ask that families read all emails to ensure that new guidelines/practices are understood prior to showing up at the field. Players and spectators not adhering to the posted safety measures will be asked to leave the game/session/field.

Uniforms

For the Fall 2021 Season

Pinnies will be provided at the first session and are expected to be brought to all sessions. 

K-8th grade players will be expected to wear a WMSC Rec uniform at their game sessions.  Please always bring both red and blue jersey's. Blue will be used for "Home" team and red for "Away" team.

UNIFORM SHIPPING DELAYS:
Soccer.com is projecting 3-5 weeks with Covid-19 delays. Many will arrive prior to that window, but some sizes may be on backorder. Anything order after August 1st may not arrive for the start of the season. Please have your player/s bring any RED and BLUE shirts to the games until your uniform arrives. Navy shorts and red socks are available on soccer.com as well, however many local sporting stores like Olympia Sports, or e-commerce vendors like Amazon, will have generic or branded options available. 

We also welcome players to upcycle and use a second hand uniform from siblings, friends, or through the West Morris Sports Equipment Exchange Page on Facebook. If you have jerseys to donate please consider posting them on the group page.

New this year: If your child will play goal keeper (grades 2 through 8), it is mandatory that they bring their own set of gloves to each practice and game. Your player will also be expected to bring a different colored shirt/pinnie to each game and practices as goal keepers jersey will not be shared.

Referees

We are resuming the Youth Referee program this year! We welcome local High School students in grades 9 or higher to participate.  Interested candidates must be familiar with the game.  There will be a mandatory training session the last week of August. We aim to have each referee work at least one game per weekend. Schedules are set each week and we offer flexibility if the refs have a commitment and cannot participate every weekend. 

This is great opportunity for the teens in our community to have leadership responsibilities and be involved with the WMSC program. Most of our refs started their soccer career in the rec program!

Whistles and yellow shirts will be provided.

Fees

PreK

• $ 100 registration + a $5 pinnie fee + a $2.80 transaction fee. 

Kindergarten-8th Grade
The Rec fee is $240 ($ 190 for early bird registrations) + a $5 pinnie fee+ a $2.80 transaction fee.

• Early registration deadline July 31st (midnight);
• Registration deadline August 27th (midnight)
• Late fee charges are $25 per player registered after August 27th 

Refunds:  WMSC will not provide refunds for any players who drop out of the program after the start of the season.

All transactions will be charged $2.80 for registrations and refunds. The fee is only per transaction so if multiple players are registered at one time, there is only one fee applied.

Parent volunteers are needed to support the WMSC Club! We are welcoming volunteers for the rec program including age group coordinators. Parents interested in volunteering to support other WMSC Club programs should contact [email protected]

If you have questions or comments about the Fall Rec program please e-mail Rob at  [email protected]