Background On Silent Saturday:

At the league’s Annual Meeting in January 2001, the coaches voted to have “silence” on one Saturday per season: a “Silent Saturday”. The coaches recognized that the vast majority of parents just cheer for the kids and the kids love that cheering. However, the coaches felt that the loss of the cheering for ONE game was worth it to meet the following objectives:

1. To reemphasize that the game is about letting children play and have fun
2. Many coaches wanted to give their players a chance to play totally on their own but were unwilling to do it when the coach standing next to them was providing constant direction
3. To help the few parents and coaches, who feel that they must provide direction to the players constantly, to understand that the kids can play very well on their own with limited instruction.

Many have asked why we have to impose silent Saturday on everyone - why doesn’t the league just deal with the coaches and parents who are the problem? The answer is, we do not have the resources - every Saturday, we conduct over 120 games involving over 240 different teams at 10 different venues. Also many coaches are very uncomfortable talking directly to parents about not yelling instruction to kids. Since we invoked Silent Saturday beginning in 2001 the vast majority of feedback we have received has been positive so we have continued its practice on one Saturday per season.

Rules For Silent Saturday:

For spectators, please let them know that while they are free to chat on the sideline, they may not make any comments on the game or direct any comments to players on the field. They may only cheer by clapping.

For coaches of U10 and above, you may not provide any direction to players who are on the field. The only thing you may yell out is "Substitution" at the time when it is permitted (your own throw in or either teams goal kick). At this time you may also direct a player to change position. You may speak quietly to any players who are on the bench.

For coaches of U9 and below, you may provide direction to players only in the case of clear and major errors. Examples are a defensive player who have forgotten and moved up to play offense - comment would be "Tommy - remember you are a defender". Another example would be left vs. right wings. For a player with the ball, direction should be limited to telling the player that they are heading toward the wrong goal. In addition, you may yell out "Substitution" at the time when it is permitted (your own throw in or either teams goal kick). At this time you may also direct a player to change position. You may speak quietly to any players who are on the bench.

For players: Please prepare your players that this will be a much quieter game. Also please encourage them to speak to each other when they are on the field. Coaches may want to consider having an offensive and defensive player on the field who is coordinating their efforts on the field. Players on the field are free to support each other and provide direction to each other. Players on the bench may cheer freely but may not provide instruction to those on the field.

Referees have been instructed that if spectators and coaches are not following the rules, the referees are to stop the game at the next whistle and speak to the coaches and have them speak to the spectators.

Thank you for your support. We are interested to hear your thoughts about the day.