Recreational Programs

Recreational Program

  • U5-U6 Program

    • Each team coached by a volunteer coach
    • Practices and games are back-to-back on Saturday mornings throughout the season (U5 - 9:30am; U6 - 10:45am)
    • Teams formed by birth year and school/pre-school the player attends
    • All games are played at the VSA Timberline Complex

  • U7-U8 Program

    • Each team coached by a volunteer coach
    • Practices once a week at a local park or school field (chosen by the coach)
    • One game per week on Saturdays (11:30am - 3:30pm) with some Thursday evening overflow
    • Teams formed by birth year and school the player attends
    • Games are played at the VSA Timberline Complex, with some games played at Van Meter Fields. 

  • U9-U19 Program

    • Each team coached by a volunteer coach
    • Practices once or twice a week at a local park or school field (chosen by the coach)
    • One game per week on Saturday or Sunday 
    • Teams formed by birth year and school the player attends
    • Plays games against other CDL clubs (WDM, JUSC, and Van Meter)
    • Home games are played at the VSA Timberline Complex, while away games are played at the opposing teams' facility

  • Volunteer to Coach

    All of our U5-U19 Recreational teams are coached by volunteer coaches. If you are interested in coaching a team, please email Afton the Director of Recreational Soccer at afton.clemens@visionsocceracademy.com

  • What Age Group is My Player In?

    VSA's Recreational Program forms teams by player birth year. To find out which division your player will be in, please look at the US Club Age Division and Birth Year Matrix.

  • Who is the Recreational Program for?

    VSA's Recreational Soccer Programs are for anyone ages 4 years old through 19 years old looking to learn the skills and nuances of the sport in a fun and socially stimulating environment whereby players who participate regularly, gain from the physical and psychological benefits of playing soccer.


  • 2024-2025 Season Dates

    Fall 2024

    Sept. 7th - 1st weekend

    Sept. 14th - 2nd weekend

    Sept. 21st - 3rd weekend

    Sept. 28th - 4th weekend

    Oct. 5th - 5th weekend

    Oct. 12th - 6th weekend

    Oct. 19th - final weekend


    Spring 2025 (tentative as of 10/1/24)

    April 5th - 1st weekend

    April 12th - 2nd weekend

    April 19th - 3rd weekend

    April 26th - 4th weekend

    May 3rd - 5th weekend

    May 10th - 6th weekend

    May 17th - final weekend


  • Uniforms

    All Recreational uniforms are purchased through Soccer Master in Urbandale. The uniform includes two jerseys (home and away), black shorts, and black soccer socks. 


    Uniforms can be purchased HERE.

  • Rules

    U7-U8 VSA Recreational Playing Rules can be found HERE. 


    U9-U19 CDL Recreational Rules can be found HERE.

  • Recreational FAQ

    Q: Are there tryouts?

    There are no tryouts for these teams, all ability levels are welcome!


    Q: Are there co-ed teams?

    All of our teams are generally all girl or all boy (coed) teams, girls are welcome to play on boy/coed teams.


    Q: When are recreational games?

    • U5 games are at 9:30 a.m. on Saturdays at the Vision Soccer Academy Complex in Waukee. They have seven games during the soccer season. 
    • U6 games are at 10:45 a.m. on Saturdays at the Vision Soccer Academy Complex in Waukee. They have seven games during the soccer season. 
    • U7/U8 games are generally between 12:15 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. on Saturdays and occasionally on Thursday nights depending upon the number of teams participating each season. Our U7/U8 Division will also play some games against Van Meter teams where they will be expected to travel to their clubs fields for away games. 
    • U9/U10 girls' teams generally play on Saturday mornings with some Sunday overflow.  They play teams in the Des Moines area and surrounding communities for away games. 
    • U9/U10 boys' teams generally play on Sunday afternoons with some Saturday overflow. They play teams in the Des Moines area and surrounding communities for away games. 
    • U11-U12 players generally play on Sunday afternoons starting at 1:00pm with some Saturday overflow.  
    • U13-U14 players generally play on Saturday afternoons with Sunday overflow. 
    • U15 and above players generally play on Sunday afternoons starting at 1:00pm with some Saturday overflow.

    Q: Could you tell me the week or approximate time when practices will start?

    Practices generally begin the week before the season starts


    Q: When are the team practices, is there a schedule?

    There is not a practice schedule. Teams are coached by volunteers. Actual days and times that the practices will be held are subject to the time and availability of your volunteer coach. Generally, 7U/8U teams practice once a week and the older teams will practice once to twice a week. 5U/6U teams do not have weekday practices-they meet on Saturdays at 8:45am and 10am. 7U and up teams will be scheduled an additional training session during the season with VSA Staff. 


    Q: What does U6, U8, U10, etc stand for?

    It is used for defining divisions within the club.  Divisions are now determined by the year your child was born in. You can determine what age group your child is by clicking HERE.


    Q: What color are home jerseys? 

    Jerseys are solar yellow for home games and black for away games.


    Q: My player just got their ears pierced, can she leave her earrings in?

    NO JEWERLY may be worn during games. This includes earrings. They can NOT be taped or bandaged and must be removed, even if newly pierced. Referees will not allow players to participate if jewelry is not removed


    Q: What other equipment do we need?

    All players are required to wear shin guards and have water to drink at all games and practices. Cleated shoes are optional, there absolutely CANNOT be a toe cleat on them.  Each player also needs to bring his or her own properly inflated soccer ball to all games and practices.

    Ball sizes:

    U5-U8 - Size 3

    U9-U12 - Size 4

    U13 and above - Size 5


    Q: I am interested in additional training for my child, what is available?

    For players seeking professional coaching, Vision Soccer Academy of Waukee provides Grasskickers clinics for 5U/6U players and the VSA PRE-Academy Program for 7U through 10U players. These programs are for recreational players who are interested in receiving additional coaching and direction concurrent with recreational practices. 


    Q: How are teams formed?

    All U5-U6 teams are formed at random each season with coaching assignments and school consideration. 


    For our U7 and above teams, the teams are formed by coaching assignments and schools, and birth year. For U7 and U8 we try our best to do half birth year team organization (Jan. - June and July - Dec.). After that our policy on teams is that we will TRY to keep the teams together from fall season to spring season, but this is NOT a guarantee. This condition only applies to the children that play season to season, we do not go back and look at past seasons if they miss one (for example, if a child plays baseball every Spring, he/she will almost always be placed on a new team for Fall). 


    This policy also does not apply to anyone who registers late. Once we have formed teams we cannot guarantee a spot on a previous team if someone registers. Therefore, it is very important to register early. Every season we have to turn away a number of players because we filled all our teams.


    We do NOT take requests to be on a particular team or with a particular player. You may, however, request to NOT have your child play on the team they played on the previous season, but you may not request what team they get placed on, they will be assigned at random to a new team.  


  • Contact

    For any questions please email the Director of Recreational Soccer, Afton Clemens at afton.clemens@visionsocceracademy.com

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