Welcome to all the teams that will be participating in the Pocono Cup.

SCHEDULE OF GAMES

The schedule of games will be posted on the MAPS / MSSL Tournament website. All schedules are accessible from the Pocono Cup Homepage located at

http://www.socceragency.net/maps/2012/1207_pocono/homepage.htm

Please check and confirm the dates, times and fields of your games as soon as they become available. We will email notices to team contacts to re-check the schedule if there are any subsequent changes. Team Contacts (as provided on your application) are responsible for checking their emails on a regular basis, especially the last week before the event, to ensure that no last minute communications are ignored.

Whenever checking your online information, click REFRESH on your WEB BROWSER. This ensures you are seeing the actual information available online, and not a previously-memorized page being stored in your computer cache. (Failure to do so is the most common reason teams discover they have incorrect information.)

LODGING

A requirement for acceptance for out-of-area teams is that your team utilizes sanctioned tournament lodging. Note that we reserve blocks of rooms at facilities well in advance to ensure that our participating teams’ needs are adequately met, both this weekend and throughout the year. If we do not utilize reserved rooms, the hotels may not make these rooms available at future events. Therefore, your cooperation here is expected. Also, any feedback about your experience at these facilities is appreciated.

If your room situation has still not been squared away, please contact Lodging Coordinator Alan at alan@titanlodging.com as soon as possible. Online information is found at http://www.socceragency.net/maps/Lodging/INFO_Lodging.htm.

REGISTRATION

We will have Registration the first day of the competition at the field HQ at every site where games are scheduled. A Team Representative must arrive to register at least 50 minutes before your first game.

All teams must have:

A copy of the team roster they can leave with Registration officials. Pencil in any Guest players being used.

Player Passes for all participating players, rostered and guest.

Authorizations for Medical Treatment, more commonly referred to as Medical Releases, for all participating players. The ones executed when the player was first registered with the team for the season are usually adequate. Remember, these documents are critical to ensure that a player can be admitted to an ambulance, clinic or hospital for treatment, especially in the absence of a parent or legal guardian in attendance. These documents have to show original signatures. (And preferably be notarized, as we have heard of clinics that questioned how they could confirm the signature was actually a parent’s or legal guardian’s.)

Permissions To Travel for those out-of-state teams using USYS passes from state associations that require a Permission To Travel.

Remember: All players on your team must have player passes from the SAME governing body, whether USYS or US Club or AYSO, etc.

RULES OF PLAY & REGULATIONS

Rules of Play can be accessed from the Tournament Homepage or directly at:

http://www.socceragency.net/maps/2012/1207_pocono/rules.pdf

All team coaches, managers, players and supporters are required to abide by these Rules & Regulations, covering both competition and conduct on premises. Coaches and Managers are responsible for distributing this information to their teams.

In particular, note the summary page at the end that covers procedures on scoring, playoffs, tiebreakers, foul weather, etc.

AWARDS

There will be awards in all brackets for Champions and Finalists. Make sure to come to HQ after your last game if you have earned your awards!

FIELDS & TRAVEL DIRECTIONS

Directions to all venues is posted on the Tournament Homepage on the web. You can also find field layout maps on the Homepage.

WEATHER-RELATED ALERTS

We avoid cancelling games due to adverse weather if at all possible, and choose venues that have a high resistance to adverse conditions. So do not assume games are being cancelled without firm confirmation. Also, do NOT assume that the weather conditions outside your window are the same at the gamesite fields; experience has shown that weather patterns in our area can be highly localized.

In the event of lightning, we will cease play immediately. We may also suspend play in the event of a substantial downpour. Games in the second half will likely be declared as completed. Please have your team get to shelter, and have a system for contacting each team member. Twenty minutes after a stoppage, send ONE team representative to HQ, where we will inform all affected teams of the current status of play, and when we expect to resume.

The first place for off-site information is the Tournament Schedule Homepage, where weather updates will appear as warranted. This is the GotSoccer page you are directed to when you click on the SCHEDULES BY AGE BRACKETS button on the Showcase Homepage. (This is the fastest webpage for us to update quickly.)

When circumstances warrant, we will also leave updates on a Weather Hotline at 732-432-7200. Please do not try to leave messages on this number, it will not be monitored during the weekend.

In the event of precipitation or wet fields, there will be NO WARM-UPS within the four corners of the field, including Keeper warm-ups. The fields will be used strictly for game play.

Finally, if games are halted for lightning activity, then so are warm-ups on the field. Some past teams have exhibited a bizarre notion that lightning can strike during a game, but won't hit teams merely warming up on the same field before the "all clear" signal is given.

REFRESH YOUR WEB BROWSER / CONTACT MOBILE PHONE# / MESSAGING

If you are having difficulties seeing information clearly on the MAPS/MSSL Tournament website, note that the site seems to work best on Internet Explorer. Consider changing your Web Browser when accessing the site.

Please check your team account on www.GotSoccer.com and make sure there is a valid mobile phone number listed for the TEAM CONTACT PERSON INFORMATION. This will be the first number called if there is a scheduling or weather problem at the fields.

Also, make sure you avoided using corporate or government email addresses for your team contacts entered in www.GotSoccer.com. These networked computer systems tend to have strong firewalls and spam filters that invariably prevent group messaging functions such as we rely upon from operating. Please provide email addresses from residential accounts (AOL, Yahoo, Hotmail, Comcast, Verizon, Optonline, etc.)

Finally, do NOT list the same person for coach, manager and team contact. If there is a problem in communicating with that individual, it is useful to have alternatives. That is the whole point for the system allowing multiple contact listings.

ON-SITE CONCERNS

Some simple rules for each facility we use:

· Park only in designated spots. You may be ticketed!

· No pets, on a leash or otherwise.

· No smoking anywhere near the showcase fields or staging areas (basically, once you enter the grounds inside the parking lots).

· Teams must pick up their trash. The pitch is sacred ground, and shouldn’t be buried in discarded water bottles and wrapping tape.

· Cooperate with tournament officials and field marshals. Anyone caught abusing the above items will be evicted from the premises, and it may lead to early termination of an offending team’s participation.

Sorry if it sounds restrictive, but there is no reason to feel constrained if everyone uses common sense.

Looking forward to a great soccer festival,

Bohdan E. Porytko
Director
973-998-9731

bohdan@mssl.org

www.socceragency.net/maps