1. Where do we play?
2. I have registered a while ago but have not heard anything from the MSA?
3. What should my child eat and drink the day of games and practices?
4. Do the MSA Programs qualify for the CFT Tax Credit?
5. What does my child need to bring/buy for soccer?
6. I did not receive a receipt via email!
7. Do we play when it is…?
8. Thunder & Lightening
Outdoor: Recreational programs are mostly delivered at Lions Park (see map on Locations page) and some municipal fields in Milton. Travel teams (ages U10 and up) play their home games on Milton’s fields and the away games in other towns. All practices are typically at Lions’s park. Game schedule on travel teams are organized by the Escarpment Soccer League.
Indoor: Our practices and league games are conducted at the Milton Indoor Turf facility. In addition, competitive teams play in the GTA.
2. I have registered a while ago but haven’t heard anything from the MSA!
After you register, we communicate with you via email using the system you used for registration. Sometimes, however, typographical errors occur and you may have entered your email address incorrectly. In other cases, your spam filter, or that of your company’s, thinks our email is spam. Check in the spam folder and add our address to the “safe sender” list. If you haven’t received a confirmation or wait list notification, give us a call. Coaches will contact you about 7 days prior to league start.
3. What should my child eat and drink the day of games and practices?
In general, proper food intake according to Canada’s Food Guide suffices in most cases. It’s the timing of eating and drinking that can affect your child’s performance. Please check the Sport’s Nutrition Guide from Halton Region for a primer.
4. Do the Milton Soccer Academy Programs qualify for the Children’s Fitness Tax Credit (CFT Credits)?
The federal government announced the Children’s Fitness Tax Credit (CFT) in its budget for 2007. After reviewing published criteria, the MSA is happy to say that ALL our programs qualify you to receive a tax credit. In most cases we exceed requirements two or three-fold.
Parents will be able to retrieve a receipt for income tax purposes from the system they used to register by logging in and going to the next page. There is a Button called “Account Statement”, which will produce such. MSA will make this available early in February for the summer or winter season which their children have attended. Children must have attended a minimum requirement of 8 sessions (for details on this program see www.cra-arc.gc.ca/whatsnew/organi-e.html.
5. What does my child need to bring/buy for soccer?
In outdoor, we provide the correctly sized ball (stays at the field). In indoor, your child needs to bring one. U4-U8s need a size 3 (or size 4 “light”), U10-U12s need a size 4 (or size 5 “light”), and U14+ need a size 5 regular ball.
Outdoor soccer shoes and shin guards are required for U8s and older. U4s and U6s may wear outdoor soccer shoes and shin guards, but also can play in sneakers without shin guards.
Bring water (WATER, nothing else, please) in “re-usable” bottles! Let’s not litter the park with disposable water bottles, which are cut in sharp pieces by the mower and will pose a danger to your child. Your child will most likely leave everything behind, so YOU must pick it up (bottle, ball, jacket, pants, and your own lawn chair).
6.Parking and DOGS and Goal Posts
There is plenty of parking at Lions Park. When you enter or leave the fields, watch out for cars. Stay safe!
Do NOT “drop and park” anywhere along the access road! This is inconsiderate to those behind you. It will cause a line up and dangerous driving situations. If you are late, so be it. It will only take 2 minutes to get to the field.
Do NOT bring your pets (primarily DOGS) to the park – this violates municipal park rules and the town will pass this onto us. Clearly identifiable service dogs excluded, of course.
Lastly, Goal Posts are like magnets for children. They like to climb on them and get entangled in the netting. While our goal posts are safe and weighted down properly, they are moveable and kids climbing on the cross bar can either fall off or tip it. You MUST supervise your siblings and reinforce that goal posts are only for balls, not for people!
7. Do we play when it is…?:
- raining
- too hot\too cold
- muggy
- snowing
- etc
Of course we do! Come out to the fields – it’s the only place where sessions are cancelled, which only happens when fields are water logged [happens in spring] or we have thunder & lightening upon us. The town of Milton may close fields due to excess water to prevent damage; if the town informs us in time, coaches will communicate to you.
8. Thunder & Lightening
The OSA (Ontario Soccer Association) recommends that participants in the sport use the following as a guide: 30-30! If you hear thunder, count to 30. If lighting is visible before you reach 30, leave. If lightening is visible, wait 30 minutes without another lightning strike before re-entering the field. Above all, do what you need to do to be safe. Coaches sometimes do not see lightening and there is no immediate thunder – kindly AND calmly alert their attention to this and they will retreat orderly.
