GAME & PRACTICE FIELD ASSIGNMENTS FAQ

Q: How is the field surface determined for games?

Assigning teams to available field space is a balancing act that takes into account several factors: competition level, field size, player age, limited turf and grass field allocations, field costs and the fact that certain fields are lined for certain age groups.

The following general guidelines are used to determine the surface type for game fields, listed in order of priority. Please keep in mind that there is no hard-and-fast rule for what determines who gets turf vs grass; the following is a general 'rule of thumb' starting point for how we assign, but throughout the course of the year (and especially in the fall) there will often be MANY exceptions and no team (no matter what age or experience level) can assume that they are guaranteed or grandfathered into any particular surface:

Select teams of all age levels
Rec teams age U15 and older
Rec teams age U10 to U14
Rec teams age U8 and U9

Q: How is the field surface that teams practice on determined?

Every attempt is made to ensure the practice field surface type is the same as the game field surface type for teams to aid in their game day preparations. The same guidelines used for determining game field surface type (see above) are used for determining practice field surface type. NOTE: Practice field surface type may vary on occasion from game field due to limitations in field availability.

Q: How are practice dates and times determined?

The Issaquah FC field scheduler works to obtain the available dates, times & field locations each month from the City of Issaquah, City of Sammamish, Issaquah School District, and on occasion from our sister club EFC (Eastside Football Club). Typically the demand for turf field and grass field time by the various youth soccer clubs (EYSA) and other local athletic organizations exceeds available supply throughout the year with Tuesday and Thursday nights in the highest demand.

The field scheduler will request day, time and location preference in June from Select coaches and July from all Rec coaches for the fall season. Additional communication/requests may be necessary mid-Fall season as daylight hours shorten and/or field conditions deteriorate.

The following guidelines are used to prioritize requests in situations where requests exceed available field resources for a given time period (eg. Tuesday & Thursday evenings turf & grass):

Clinics: club sponsored clinics (eg. fall MOD clinic, keeper clinics).
Coaching multiple teams: logistical reasons as well acknowledging extra contribution of coaching two teams.
Board membership: acknowledging coach or spouse of a coach for contribution to the broader club made as an Issaquah FC board member.
Age: U14 and younger given priority for early time slots (school, homework, bedtime considerations) and U15 and older teams the later time slots (after school activities, jobs, etc.).
Other volunteer contributions: coaches who aren't board members, but who offer up regular, but infrequent one-off contributions to Issaquah FC.
Coaches who are referees: provides benefit to the club's overall referee in the pool standing within EYSA.
Date/Time Stamp of Field Request: All other things being equal, the "tie-breaker" when the IFC Field Coordinator is unable to work out a good "compromise" for field assignments. "First come, first assigned' will be used if other options can't be worked out.

Q: How many teams are scheduled on a practice field?

In a perfect world, we would like to be able to have no more than two teams sharing a field, and in certain cases we are able to achieve this. However, the norm is either three or four teams on a field due to field resource limitations.

Q: How many days a week and hours per day are assigned for practice field use per team?

Coaches can expect to be assigned two non-consecutive weekdays for practice up to 1.5 hours each. Additional practice time available upon request based on availability after other teams' initial practice requests are satisfied. NOTE: The number of practice days and duration are subject to change based on daylight hours, field conditions and field availability. Mid/late Oct onwards there are severe restrictions on field time due to weather/field conditions and daylight hours.

Q: I keep running into Issaquah FC practice fields with poor conditions; how can this be avoided or mitigated?

Issaquah FC looks to our coaches to let us know if there are issues with any given practice field. Please be as specific as possible when reporting the issue and we will follow up with the appropriate City or School District. This can take days or weeks depending upon who we are working with and the extent of the problem.

Q: It feels like the information regarding practice field changes is not well communicated; how can I keep abreast of when my practice times are?

Issaquah FC will always post current practice scheduling information on our website HERE. We encourage all coaches to check this page frequently as, during the fall, schedules often change more than once due to either changing light or changing field conditions.