Empowering Youth, Uniting Communities

Please note that the rules may change. Please confirm the rules for your league in the individual league overviews.

Volo welcomes all players

As with our work and school place practices, we will not tolerate discrimination based on race, color, religion or religious belief, ethnic or national origin, nationality, sex, gender, gender-identity, sexual orientation, disability, age, military or veteran status, or any other basis protected by applicable local, state, or federal laws. We strictly prohibit harassment of any kind.

Basic Rules:

• Rule #1: Don’t be a Jerk!
• Roster minimum: 10
• 7 players on field (5 men max. on the field) 
• Minimum to play: 4
• 25 minutes per half, no overtime 
• Shin guards are mandatory
• No offsides 
• One timeout per half (does not carry over)

Forfeits:

• Teams without the minimum players will forfeit after 10 minutes from their designated start time (the time is yours if you want to scrimmage!).
• Teams with two or more forfeits lose their chance to participate in playoffs
• After you pay for registration, it is nonrefundable

Rosters

• ALL ROSTERS ARE FINAL AFTER THE LAST GAME OF THE REGULAR SEASON. No additions allowed during playoffs.
• Players are subject to ID checks during playoffs, anyone not on the roster will not be allowed to play.
• Players officially added to a team’s roster will be required to pay a prorated season registration.

Playoffs

• See individual league overviews for specific information regarding the number of teams that qualify for the playoffs
• Sudden-death bracket format

Game Play

Substitutions:

• Allowed on dead balls only 
• The referee should be made aware of the substitution, but the game does not need to be stopped

Goalkeepers:

• No player should make contact when the goalkeeper has full possession of the ball in their hands. 
• May not handle a pass or throw in by their team with their own hands unless touched by an opposing player first (results in an indirect kick for the opposing team). 
• If a goalkeeper mishandles the ball in the penalty area, an indirect kick is awarded to the other team.

Throw Ins

• Must be conducted with both feet touching the ground and proper form of both hands coming from behind the head in a forward motion.
• Players will be given one retry to correct a throw in – if it is still a bad throw, the opposing team will get the ball

Free Kicks

• Free kicks are awarded after an offense outside of the penalty area. All free kicks, excluding PKs, are indirect. 
• All players conducting free kicks are allowed a 5-pace distance by the opposing team. 

Penalty Kicks:

• Penalty kicks are awarded against a team that commits an offense inside its own penalty area

Cautionable and Send-Off Offenses:

• Yellow and red cards can be issued at the referees’ discretion to players flagrantly and/or persistently violating the rules of play. 
• A player that receives a yellow card may be dismissed from the field, at the discretion of the referee, for no more than 5 minutes. A player that receives a red card is ejected from the game for the duration but can be replaced by another teammate. 

Captains

• Only captains may approach the refs about a rule call
• Do not bother refs over judgment calls, it slows the game and may result in a penalty

Ties during Playoffs

• Game goes straight into penalty kicks. 
• 3 players from each team will be selected to shoot. If tied at the end of 5 kicks, teams go one for one alternating until one team makes a shot and the other misses.
• All players must shoot once until everyone (including the goalkeeper) on the team with the lower number of players has kicked. After this point, both teams can restart their roster. 

Weather Related Game Cancellation

• Volo will notify players by email ahead of time if there is a cancellation due to weather
• Suspended Games: if, due to weather conditions, safety conditions, or referee discretion, a game is halted prior to halftime, it will be replayed if possible
• A game halted at half time or later will stand as indicated by the score when the game was halted