The Under 12 Division teams are co-ed and are made up of twelve to fourteen players, age 10 and 11 years old. U12 teams typically play matches Tuesday or Thursday at 6 PM and Saturday Mornings beginning about the first week of September through the second week of October. There are more teams in the U12 Division than 6 PM games can accommodate. As a result each team has two 7:30 PM matches during the season.

A typical week consists of one weeknight match and one training session that are held on opposite days, Tuesday or Thursday, and one Saturday morning match.  In years when there is an odd number of teams, each team will have one week during the season with only one match. Training is as important as match play, players should attend both training and games. Training sessions are most often held at St. Anthony Field or McLaughlin Middle School.

There is a player evaluation day held before the start of the season. The purpose of the evaluation is to help compose teams that have a relative balance of skill, ages and gender to provide more opportunity for players and more competitive matches. Click here for more about Evaluation Day. All players are to attend the player evaluation. Families not able to attend player evaluations please contact the division manager so accommodations can be made.

Each Fall season concludes with a number of tournaments. All teams participate in the MSJSL Cup which is held near the end of October.  The winner of this tournament represents South in the Andy Wilson Cup against the top finishing teams from North, West and East Manchester recreational soccer leagues.

Division Rules and Features

•  U12 Division will play two (2) thirty (30) minute halves.
• Games will be an 8 v 8 format.
• All players MUST play ½ game.
• Offside will be called.
• Slide tackling is not allowed and may be considered as dangerous play by the referee.
• High Scoring Player (3 Goal Rule):
  In circumstances where a field player has scored three (3) or more goals in the match and that player's team is ahead by more than 2 goals, he or she is to refrain from scoring additional goals until the deficit is less than two goals. Coaches are expected to encourage this and provide other tasks to further the player's individual development and enjoyment of the game such as setting up other players for scoring opportunities. The purpose of this is to promote more well rounded players. High scoring by individual players at U12 does not translate well to U12 and 11v11 on a much larger field. It is important for all players to develop in all the facets of playing the game for this transition. 
• U12 Roster Players may be temporarily reassigned for one game to a MSJSL U14 roster as a reserve player to bolster the U14 roster depleted due to injury. 
  • The player must be league age 11 and the assignment must be approved by both U12 and U14 division managers and have parental consent.
  • In the case of conflicting matches, the U12 game takes precedence over the U14 game.
  • U12 players may not play Goal Keeper in a U14 match.