Intramural Soccer is for children who are starting out, or for kids who enjoy soccer, athletics, and competition but are not able to make the time commitment to a travel program. Our Intramural Program plays small-sided soccer, a structure designed to give each player more touches on the ball and thereby better develop ball handling skills. Our professional coaches emphasize the importance of team building, fair play, and how to have fun with competition. We try to take a lot of the pressure out of youth sports, recognizing that young kids continue in sports only if it’s fun. Although our Intramural Program is a recreational league, we do take soccer seriously, and work hard to teach ball handling skills and team play, while emphasizing the fun and the importance of character. For our U11-U16 players (the Intermediate and Senior Divisions) who play larger games of 8 players per side, every child plays at least half the time in the games.
We do recommend that children play with kids in their own age group, but parents may request a different age group by contacting the intramural commissioner. Your child’s soccer age for the entire 2017-2018 playing year is determined by the year of birth.
Our younger Intramural players, ages U5-U7 will play once a week for approximately one hour on Saturdays at Edgely Fields or at 48th and Woodland rec center. These sessions are led by our Trainer, Steve Jackson and his staff, and consist of a mix of skill training, conditioning, and fun small sided games. Steve emphasizes the fun aspect of the game, and his drills and games maximize player touches on the ball develop creative play.
For our U8 and U9 boys and girls we transition into team play, and we offer two types of activities for this transition. For those kids who enjoy the relaxed atmosphere intramural play we have our regular Saturday programs at both Woodland and Edgely Fields that continue to emphasize skill development and small sided games. For other kids who are looking for a more competitive and intense program, we have our expanded Intramural Academy program with two weeknight practices at Taney Park (TBD in September and October) as well as Saturday hours at Edgely Fields. The Academy is designed for those children who may play travel soccer and is designed to prepare the kids for an advanced level of soccer. There are no tryouts for this, but we do expect the kids to take the sessions seriously, though we do emphasize that training for soccer is fun. We play lots of small sided games in this program as well, as this is the best way for kids to develop the skills that will transfer to the big fields later in their development. This program also includes a few scrimmages against teams from other clubs, and the academy teams will also play in a tournament in Upper Moreland. Click here for more information on our Intramural Academy.
Our older middle school and high school leagues will train once on Thursday nights at Taney Park (optional) and will play their games on Saturdays at Edgely Fields.
Registration: All registration is completed online. You will be given the option of paying online with a credit card or mailing in a check. To register, just click on the link at the end of this section. There are no tryouts for Intramural play. All intramural registrants will be placed in the program appropriate for their age, regardless of ability or experience. The cost of all regular Fall 2017 Intramural Programs is $120. Note: The Academy program [$195] and Toddler program [$90] have different pricing. Full and partial scholarships are available. To request a scholarship, please register online, and mark that you will mail in your payment. Send an email to info@fairmountsoccer.org to request a scholarship. If you request a scholarship, we will ask you if you can pay part of the fee, but no child will be denied a chance a play because of inability to pay!
For All Age Groups:
Equipment: All players will be required to wear soccer cleats and shin guards to all games and practices. Players have to bring their own soccer ball (size #3 for U5-U7, size #4 for U8-U12, and #5 for U13-U16) and a water bottle.
Edgely Fields: Intramural games and Saturday soccer sessions are held at Edgely Field in Fairmount Park. Directions and a map can be found at www.fairmountsoccer.org/wherout These beautiful playing fields are at Reservoir and Randolph Drives and in front of Laurel Hill Mansion. They are easy to find in Fairmount Park near 33 and Diamond Streets behind the Reservoir. Mid-week training sites for Intermediate and Senior players, and the Academy players, will be at Taney Field at Markward Playground at 23rd and Pine Streets in Center City.
48th and Woodland Rec Center: Fairmount Soccer is pleased to have programs in West Philadelphia at 48th and Woodland Rec Center. Directions can be found here. We will have Saturday morning programs for boys and girls born 2007-2012
Registration: To register for Intramural Soccer please register online. To register online see the link at the bottom of this page and follow the instructions. There are no tryouts for Intramural play. All intramural registrants will be placed on a team or in an appropriate age group.
Dates and Schedule: The formal sessions outlined above will begin after Labor Day and will be completed before Thanksgiving. The exact end date depends on the weather. All registered families will receive an email in late August or early September with more details, play begins at both locations the first weekend after Labor day.Early registration is extremely helpful to us in recruiting coaches, ordering uniforms, and establishing schedules. Please register early.
Full and partial scholarships are available. To request a scholarship, please register online, and mark that you will mail in your payment. Send an email to info@fairmountsoccer.org to request a scholarship. If you request a scholarship, we will ask you if you can pay part of the fee, but no child will be denied a chance a play because of inability to pay!
Refunds: If you request a refund before September 20, we will issue a refund minus a $10 processing fee and any credit card charges incurred to cover our expenses. (Contributions cannot be refunded.) You may request a refund by sending an email to info@fairmountsoccer.org
Fair Share Donations: Your Registration Fees cover our administrative costs, league fees, insurance, uniforms, and equipment. Although we pay our professional trainers and refs, all other staff and coaches are volunteers. Every dollar you contribute through Fair Share or Sponsorship goes directly to improving our program.
To register, first read the new Parent’s Code of Conduct, then access the seasonal details by going to our Spring 2018 Intramural Soccer page.