High school players engage in indoor soccer on fields that are rectangular or oblong in shape with an artificial turf surface, notes former pro player Mirsad Hasic on his Soccer Training Guide site. The goals usually are recessed into the walls. Plexiglass barriers and sometimes nets as well keep the ball from hitting spectators. The high schoolers enter and exit the field via latched half-doors. Facilities can adopt the rules of the United States Indoor Soccer Association, which apply to any amateurs, or impose their own for high school players, so check before taking the pitch.
Players
Teams consist of four to six players, one of whom is the goalkeeper, note the official rules of the United States Indoor Soccer Association. An individual facility can set rules on the ratio of males to female for coed high school soccer. Substitutions are allowed freely.
Play
The FIFA outdoor offside rule doesn't exist, so you can "cherry pick" at the opponent's goal area. Don't slide tackle; you'll burn your skin and possibly hurt yourself on the walls. You will not be permitted to "board" an opponent, which occurs when you hold on to the wall with one or both hands and chip at the ball or try to muscle your opponent off it. Boarding and serious fouls may result in a two-minute penalty for the offending player, and the team plays short-handed.
Boundaries
You can use the walls to legally pass the ball via a deflection to a teammate or back to yourself. One caveat: Indoor pitches occasionally don't have walls topped by Plexiglass and instead have marked out-of-bounds lines; on these fields, you will have to keep the ball inbounds as in outdoor soccer, and thrown-ins will be permitted.
Duration
A regulation high-school indoor game consists of two halves. The facility can set the duration; often it will require 25-minute halves, but 12-minute quarters are also found in non-regulation leagues. In a tournament or playoff, a five-minute sudden death overtime determines the winner. The game clock runs continuously under United States Indoor Soccer Association rules; individual facilities may substitute rules permitting timeouts.
Kicks
You will receive a free kick if the ball hits the roof, girders or top netting; this is called a superstructure violation. You will receive a corner kick when the ball hits the netting above your opponent's goal, taken from a small white dot marked in the corner of the field.
Equipment
High school players must use a size 5 ball. Wear uniform tops with numbers, shin guards and indoor shoes. As in outdoor soccer, the goalkeeper must wear a colored jersey that doesn't match either team's colors or that worm by the referees. Check if cleats are forbidden; often they are to protect the artificial turf. Jewelry typically is not allowed.
Member Comments