Charlotte Junior Soccer 

   A recreational soccer league run by volunteers

Since 1974

FALL '26 REGISTRATION:  June 1 - August 1

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Thank you for a great spring season! 

Fields are now closed for summer rehabilitation and will reopen Sept 1.

 Field Updates During the Season: by 4 pm Mon-Fri; by 7:30 am Sat; by 11 am Sun

IF CONDITIONS DETERIORATE AFTER THOSE TIMES:

For Practice after 4 pm/anytime: coach and parent can decide based on current/expected weather conditions. 

For Games: DECISIONS WILL BE MADE AT THE FIELD BY THE REFEREES & COACHES

Check the website before going to the fields. Fields may remain closed for an additional day after heavy rain.

       For U14-U16-U19 Teams: For PRACTICE-use the CJ website; for GAMES-check the MARS website: https://marsoccer.org/home

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CHARLOTTE JUNIOR RULES FOR ALL PRACTICES/GAMES/SCRIMMAGES

 - must be scheduled/rescheduled by and through CJ HQ and the Division Coordinator

 - only on CJ designated fields 

- only for CJ official programming

- CJ referees will be assigned for all games/scrimmages

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RESCHEDULING U7-U12 GAMES:    if your game is cancelled due to weather, contact the opposing coach and agree on a new date for your game. Sundays work the best in terms of field availability. Once both teams have a date and approximate time, email CJ HQ to reserve a field. ALL games and scrimmages must be scheduled through Charlotte Junior HQ. Rain make-up dates are added primarily for the JK and K divisions in case of more than 2 rainouts in a season. All other divisions are encouraged to schedule make-up games during the season.

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Email [email protected] with any questions. 

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PLEASE VOLUNTEER TO COACH!!!!!!  

TEAM ASSIGNMENTS: Charlotte Jr Division Coordinators organize the rosters. Please keep the following in mind when you register:

ROSTER SIZE: note the roster size per division, especially for JK - 6 per team; K - 8 per team; 1st - 10 per team. Small rosters maximize playing time. Coaches can equalize playing time with a goal of half game minimum, i.e. JK-6 on roster play 3v3; K-8 on roster plays 4v4. All teams will have games when they are short players to play (for JK, less than 3; for K, less than 4).  The solution to this problem is to reschedule the game with the opposing coach to another day (Sundays work the best) or even another time that day (contact the Division Coordinator) vs having bigger rosters to account for occasional absences. Oversized or bloated rosters have a negative effect on all aspects of our program. Exceptions become the rule and therefore are not granted. Rosters are capped as shown in the chart below and NON-NEGOTIABLE. Charlotte Junior will, on occasion, and at their complete discretion, add an additional player above the cap as needed. Thank you for understanding our roster size policy.

* Moving Up to the next division is usually done in the fall. Players stay in the same division from Fall '26 to Spring '27, just like school with grades. 

* Some teams are oversubscribed (too many requests) so your child may not get their first or even second choice.  PREPARE BOTH YOURSELF AND YOUR CHILD APPROPRIATELY FOR THIS POSSIBILITY. 

* Grade level determines the Division-not age. Roster size in each division is outlined in the chart below.  

* JK and K Division: these two divisions practice and play in one hour sessions on Saturdays. Once a week practice starts in 1st grade division. JK has an age minimum-born before 8/31/22 for Fall 26 and Spring 27. For Fall 27 & Spring 28, the age cut off will be 8/31/23.

* Late sign ups (after August 1 in fall and February 1 in spring) are placed on a space available basis; practice day requests are the only ones noted for placement. If we cannot find a team that works with your schedule, CJ will issue a full refund. 

* Do not approach the coach to get a spot on a team. This is unfair to the coach and is frowned upon by the Division Coordinators so it might have a negative affect on your chances on getting on a desired team. The best way to communicate your coaching preference is to put a name down in the Coach Request area of your registration and sign up on time.

* Do not show up to a practice or a game unless or until you are contacted by the coach or CJHQ. Players can only be added to a team by going through CJ HQ. 

* Team Sponsership of your child's team is great! Click the Team Sponsor tab after you register your child for a program. A Team Sponsorship does not register your child for a Program as these are two separate transactions.

* NO CLUB/CLASSIC/ACADEMY PLAYERS ALLOWED IN FOR GRADES 1ST THROUGH 8TH. Our program is for recreational level soccer players ONLY in these grades.

* Club/classic players are allowed to play on highschool teams in 9th through 12th grade (U16 and U19) with some restrictions. Players cannot play on either a Varsity HS or a Classic team and a Recreation team in the same season. Teams are allowed only a certain number of either club or HS Varsity players on their rosters.

All CJ registered players/teams are required to wear the jerseys issued by CJ to be eligible to play in a game.  Shin guards are mandatory and must be completely covered by the sock. See Rules of Play for more detailed information/exceptions re goalkeepers, casts, and jewelry. 

June 3 - August 1: Fall Online Registration. Registrations received after August 1st are placed on team on a space available basis or if a division is full, on the waitlist.  We place players off the waitlist in the order received as space becomes available. Late registrants can email CJSF to check on their wait list status.

August 2 - September 1: Teams organized; coaches recruited and confirmed; practice and game schedules created. This process takes time so please be patient.  Once rosters are complete within a division, the Division Coordinator emails rosters to coaches who then begin contacting their players, usually the last week of August.

PLEASE DOUBLE CHECK YOUR CHILD'S REGISTRATION! Look over your receipt to check that each child is listed and in the correct division per grade and gender. You can also go  to your CJ account. If there is an error (wrong division, wrong gender, player is missing, payment did not go through), please email [email protected] immediately and put "Registration Error" in the subject line. You can also check your credit card statement for Oasys to make sure the payment went through. Charlotte Jr is not responsible for registration mistakes that may impact your child's abiity to play this season. We will do our best to get your child on a team if at all possible.

For players registered after the August 1st deadline: Please be patient and understand our focus is on organizing teams and divisions for the players that signed up on time. We will place  late signups if space is available. Please email CJSF to check your if your child is on the wait list.

Saturday, August 29: Coaching Clinic for U7/1st Grade and U8/2nd Grade at 4 PM at TBD. 

Sunday, August 30:  Coaching Clinic for JK/Moppets and Kindergarten from 4 PM at TBD.

August 24 - September 4: Equipment and uniform handout: Time and location TBD for Coaches/official team representatives. 

September 1:  CJ fields officially open by Mecklenburg Parks and Rec and practice can begin. No practices allowed before September 1st.

September 12-13:  Game # 1 for most divisions  

September 25-26-27:  Festival in the Park at Freedom-no games at Freedom Park; most games moved to other fields and on Sunday Sept 27

November 14 -15: Fall season ends

January 1 - Feb 1: Spring '27 Registration

March 1-May 16: Spring '27 Season

June 1 - August 1: Fall '27 Registration

Sept 1 - Nov 14: Fall '27 Season

January 1 - Feb 1: Spring '28 Registration

JK Boys - Alexander St Park              JK Girls - Independence Park

Kindergarten Boys and Kindergarten Girls -  Veterans Park

Boys and Girls Div 1/U7: TBD

Boys and Girls Div 1/U8:  Midwood Park, Independence Park, Pearl St Park, Dilworth

Boys and Girls Div 2/U10: Freedom 1-2-3-4, Bryant Park

Girls Div 3/U12: Pearl St, EB Moore       Boys Div 3/U12: EB Moore, Pearl St

Div 4/U14 through Div 5/U19: Home Game Fields: Nevin 1 & 2, Clanton 1 & 2, Revolution, Tuckaseegee, Alexander, Randolph, Dilworth

Note: field and goal size differ between age groups and that dictates where each division plays their games. Some fields are set up to handle games for multiple age groups (Alexander, Independence, Randolph, Dilworth) but most are set up for a single age group. Practices can usually take place on any field, regardless of division.

2. Club OR Recreation-you cannot play both; some exceptions in the High School (U16-U19) division. Email CJ HQ with any questions.

3. 24 hour "cool down" period.  Do not approach a coach, player, official, or parent at the field immediately after a game. Give yourself 24 hours.

Thank you!

More information re: CJ Registration and Team Formation

Coaches: Please volunteer to coach your child's team!

* We can succeed only if we have both fields AND lead coaches for our players.

* Team creation and placement are totally dependent on Parent Volunteers to coach. 

* CJ provides the team equipment (balls. cones, pinnies), practice field, and game schedule for all coaches and teams.

* Pre-season coaching clinics, coaching manuals, and side-by-side coaching support at practices are provided free to all teams by our Director of Coaching, Bryan Mogford. 

Caps on Divisions:

* Divisions will be capped when they exceed field and volunteer capabilities; priority on wait list given to parents who sign up to lead a team as coach.

* Those players registered after the Fall August 1/Spring February 1 deadline or after the division cap is reached are automatically put on the Waitlist. We will make all attempts to place every child that signs up to play.

* If we are unable to secure a parent or parents to coach a team, that team will unfortunately be disbanded and families will receive a full refund. 

Roster Sizes: 

* Roster sizes will be based on age/grade as outlined in the chart below. Any exceptions will be extremely limited and at the sole discretion of each Division Coordinator. No one benefits from oversized rosters. 

Team Assignments:

* Team rosters and coach assignments are done by the Charlotte Jr Division Coordinator (DC). Coaches do not put teams together. The Charlotte Jr Division Coordinator manages the entire division as fairly as possible.

* Please do not approach the coach directly to get a spot on a team. This puts him/her in a very awkward position since he/she has little if no control over team formation. 

* Some teams are over-subscribed (too many requests) so your child may not get their first or even second choice.  Please keep this in mind during registration and prepare your child appropriately. 

Division/Roster Size/Players on Field

Questions? Email [email protected]