Recreational Soccer

CiTY 2025 Fall REC Registration is Open

Recreational soccer is a large component of the Ellicott City Soccer Club. The primary objective of the CiTY Rec program is to provide a positive, low-pressure soccer experience for the youth of our community.

Recreational soccer is the CiTY team option for traditional soccer with the lowest commitment level, both in terms of time and cost.

Tryout: No Tryout for Recreational soccer. All players are placed on teams of 6-8 players for 1st and 2nd grade, 10-12 players for 3rd grade, and 12-16 player teams for 4th-5th grades. Players in TOTS and Middle School divisions will be divided into teams on match days and practice together. All teams are co-ed.

Why They Play: For fun, for exercise, to enjoy soccer in a less competitive environment.

Coaches: Volunteers and CiTY Staff Coaches. All CiTY coaches are background checked and trained.

Season Length: Fall season begins early September through late October with 6 games scheduled with a make up dates as needed.

Practice Frequency: Once a week per team.

Practice Length: One hour.

Game Frequency 1 Game per week on Saturdays

CiTY Fall 2025 REC

Practice Locations: Chapelgate and HCPSS grass fields

*Most teams practice on Tuesday evenings at Chapelgate, though some teams may practice at an alternate location in Howard County or on a different day of the week. In such cases, practice details will be determined by the coach of that team based on the coach's availability and the availability of fields convenient to the coach and players on that team.

Practice Dates: Practices Begin the week of September 2^nd and conclude by October 20th

Practice Times: 5:30-6:30 or 6:00-7:00pm

Practice Locations: Chapelgate Academy, Howard County Public School Fields or Howard County park fields.

Game Dates: Sept 6, 13, 20, 27, Oct 4, 18, Make up Oct. 25

Game Locations: Chapelgate Academy

Game Times: 9:00am - 2:00pm (exact times TBD)

Coaches: CiTY staff coaches and Volunteer coaches

Uniforms: All registered players for the 2025 Fall and Spring seasons will receive a link to order new soccer jerseys from soccer.com Cost is around $22 plus shipping. Game jerseys will be white and black this year for the Fall 2025 and Spring 2026 seasons. You only need to order once to get your home and away jerseys for the program.

Volunteer CiTY REC Coaches

Ellicott City Soccer Club will provide FREE registration to any player whose parent is the head coach of the team. We will also offer several coaches training opportunities online and in person, as well as training sessions to use with your team. Additionally, all head coaches will be provided with a CiTY sweatshirt and CiTY coaching shirt along with equipment to include cones, small goals, training vests and soccer balls to use at each team's practice.

Divisions

Tots Division
Pre-k and Kindergarten | Games are 4v4
Rec League
1st grade | Games are 4v4
Rec League
2nd - 3rd Grade | Games are 7v7
Rec League
4th - 5th grade | Games are 9v9
REC LEAGUE
6th - 8th grade | Games are 9v9

Playing Time Policy

All Recreational players are entitled to play at least 50% of the game. Coaches will manage substitutions accordingly to ensure minimum playing time for each player is met

Sideline, Game and Training Policies

During games and practices, spectators may sit on the side of the field or in the bleachers.
Spectators may not sit or stand behind the goals or on the end lines, or in the area between fields designated for coaches and players.
Positive cheering is encouraged. Please refrain from coaching from the sidelines. “Good job!” is positive cheering. “Stay back on defense!” is coaching from the sidelines.
Criticism of players, coaches, or referees is prohibited.
Dogs are prohibited from practices and games. Any person bringing a dog to the field will be asked to take the pet home or to stay at least 50 yards away from the field. This is for the safety of the pet as well as the players and other spectators at the field.

Please visit the CiTY Policies page for more info!