Overview

The In-House program at MASA is primarily focused on the U6-U10 age groups with occasional teams in the U12 and/or U14 age group.  We provide a fun and comfortable environment for children to learn the game and develop basic soccer skills. The Fall season typically starts around Labor Day and ends late October; the Spring season typically starts early-April and ends early-June.  All coaches are volunteers and are required to have their clearances.

For a breakdown of the age groups noted below, see the MASA Program Roadmap.

U6 Program

MASA is excited to provide an introductory program for U6 boys and U6 girls.  Each Saturday afternoon during the season (approximately 8 sessions, weather permitting), the U6 players will have a brief warm-up and then play a game against other MASA teams.  The teams will typically consist of 7-10 players with the U6 boys playing at 12pm and U6 Girls playing at 1:30pm – both groups are at Murrysville Community Park.  

MASA follows US Soccer standards so this age group plays 4v4 (no goalkeeper) on an age appropriate sized field.  The games are 32 minutes (four 8-minute quarters) plus a brief halftime so, including warm-up, each session lasts approximately 1 hour.  The required equipment is a MASA reversible jersey, shin guards covered by socks (soccer cleats are not required, but recommended), and a size 3 ball.

The U6 division does not have a weekly practice. Instead, U6 players are strongly encouraged to attend Academy sessions (historically held on four Mondays throughout the season) whenever possible, as these sessions are designed to provide players with skill development in a team environment and offer game play opportunities within their age group.

In addition to Academy sessions and Saturday games, MASA may offer a weeknight soccer skills training program for this age group. (Dates and times are TBD, but historically, skills training has been held on Thursdays.)  The focus of the weeknight and Saturday sessions is creating a fun environment to develop individual ball handling skills.  The weeknight session will be run by professional coaches at no additional cost. Academy sessions and Saturday games are run by parent volunteers.

U8 Program

MASA’s U8 program is the first time players will have a team practice during the week, which is in addition to the Saturday games.  During the season (approximately 8-10 weeks, weather permitting), the U8 boys will practice on Mondays at 6pm with games on Saturdays at 9am.  The U8 girls will practice Tuesdays at 6pm with games on Saturdays at 10:30am. All practices and games are held at Murrysville Community Park and the games are against other MASA teams. 

MASA follows US Soccer standards so this age group plays 4v4 (no goalkeeper) on an age appropriate sized field.  The games are 40 minutes (four 10-minute quarters) with a brief halftime. Practices typically last an hour. The required equipment is a MASA reversible jersey, shin guards covered by socks (soccer cleats are not required, but recommended), and a size 3 ball.

In addition to weekly practice and Saturday games, MASA may offer a weeknight soccer skills training program for this age group. (Dates and times are TBD, but historically, skills training has been held on Thursdays.)  The focus of the weeknight and Saturday sessions is creating a fun environment to develop individual ball handling skills.  The weeknight session will be run by professional coaches at no additional cost. Practices and Saturday games are run by parent volunteers.

U10 Program

MASA’s U10 program is the first time MASA players will play against other local communities and the games will have referees.  During the season (approximately 8-10 weeks, weather permitting), the U10 boys will have a team practice on Wednesdays at 6pm and the U10 girls will have a team practice on Thursdays at 6pm.  A foot skills training session will be offered on either Mondays or Tuesdays and all games are played on Saturdays (times TBD).  All practices and home games are held at Murrysville Community Park. 

MASA follows US Soccer standards so this age group plays 7v7 (including a goalkeeper) on an age appropriate sized field.  The games are 50 minutes (two 25-minute halves) with a brief halftime. Practices typically last 60-90 minutes. The required equipment is a MASA reversible jersey, shin guards covered by socks (soccer cleats are required; no football or baseball cleats allowed), and a size 4 ball.

MASA's U10 program participates in the Eagles Soccer League based out of Plum, PA and additional information can be found here: https://eagles.plumsoccer.org/

U12 and U14 Programs

Depending on the interest level from the MASA community, MASA is willing to form U12/U14 in-house teams.  These teams are co-ed and play against other local communities on Saturday’s. The games are played in a 5v5 format (with goalkeeper) on a U10-sized field.  The formation of MASA teams in these age groups is completely dependent on the number of MASA players registering for any given season. Typically these teams will practice one or two times per week.