All players joining MFC must tryout within their appropriate age group and gender.

Where there are multiple coaches/teams within an age group, both coaches shall evaluate each player and agree on appropriate placement.  If the coaches do not agree, the Director of Coaching shall determine appropriate placement.  If one of the coaches is the Director of Coaching, due to conflict of interest, the Director of Coaching shall forward the request to the Club Adminstrator, who shall appoint a temporary 3 person Player Development Committee to complete the determination.  The appointed Player Development Committee shall not include any coach, manager or parent related to the player or the teams that are candidates for placement.

The Director of Coaching should be notified by email whenever a player quits, or expresses an intent to quit.  The Director of Coaching will then notify the board of directors, so that any registration or finance matters can be addressed as needed.

Also, approval from the Director of Coaching is required before you release a player.  The Director of Coaching may pursue other arrangements and/or placement as an alternative.

A request for a player to change primary team, age group, or team gender ... may be initiated at any time by the parent, the head coach of either the current of proposed team, or any MFC staff member.

Requests should be addressed to the Director of Coaching by email for evaluation.  

Due to conflict of interest, if the request involves a board member, then the Director of Coaching shall forward the request to the Club Adminstrator, who shall appoint a temporary 3 person Player Development Committee to complete the evaluation.  The appointed Player Development Committee shall not include any coach, manager or parent involved with the request.

The circumstances of each request are unique, and each request is considered separate from all others.  Factors considered during evaluation include:

• Age of the player
• Skill level of the player
• Skill level of the current and proposed teams
• Roster size of the current and proposed teams
• Competition commitments made by current and proposed teams 
• Parent's wishes

It is common for evaluation of requests to take several days or even weeks, in order to gather the necessary information to make a good decision.  The primary concern of MFC is the player's soccer development, which includes technical, tactical, physical and emotional components.  This concern generally leads to the player's placement on the most appropriate team that matches the players current development level.  In most cases this means placement on a team in the player's proper age group and gender.  Any exceptions made are considered temporary, and may be re-evaluated prior to each new  league season.

It is not acceptable to train players, invite players to train, or express to players or parents an interest in inviting them to train, if the players are rostered with another MFC team, without written permission from their coach AND from the Director of Coaching.  Permission should not be assumed just because the player is being borrowed for a competition.

Due to conflict of interest, if the coach requesting permission is the Director of Coaching, then approval from the Board of Directors for approval, even if the Director of Coaching is also the current coach of the player.

Within the Norcal Tryout Window, it is acceptable for a player to attend your training session for the purpose of trying out.  Such players must first complete MFC's online tryout registration.  Also the coach must notify the Director of Coaching.  If the player expresses a decision to move to MFC, they should be informed of the requirement that they be released from their current club, and be directed to the Norcal Code of Ethics regarding their rights with regard to their release.  They should also be reminded of current competition restrictions with respect to the tryout window.

Outside the Norcal Tryout Window, it is not acceptable to train players from other clubs without written Director of Coaching approval from the other club.  If a new player arrives at your training session without this written permission, their current club must be identified, they must be alerted to this requirement, they must be dismissed from the session, and our Direct of Coaching must be notified of the player's name and club.  Our Direct of Coaching will then contact their Director of Coaching and request permission.  If the player expresses a decision to move to MFC, they should be informed of the requirement that they be released from their current club, and be directed to the Norcal Code of Ethics regarding their rights with regard to their release.  They should also be encouraged to complete any and all commitments they have made to their current team and club before requesting their release.  Under no circumstances should an MFC coach suggest or encourage the player to leave their current club (see Poaching).  Due to conflict of interest, if the coach in question is the Director of Coaching, then the Board of Directors must be copied on the permission request made to the player's Director of Coaching.

It is common for teams to borrow eligible players from other teams within the club for games, and is a guiding principle of club soccer.

Requests to borrow players from another team should be addressed by email to the coach of the loaning team, with the Director of Coaching copied.  The loaning coach may then delegate administrative responsibility to the Team Manager.  The borrowing team should have a copy of the borrowed player's US Club Registration Form (which includes medical release) and the player pass ... at all times during the event in question.  No Player Loan form is required when borrowing players within the same club.

Due to conflict of interest, if the request is from a board member, then the Director of Coaching shall forward the request to the Board of Directors.

Borrowing players helps strengthen the relationships among club teams and players.  It is also a good starting point when considering requests for players to change teams, as it provides valuable experience to aid in the decision.

Guest players are players from another club, who are invited to guest play in tournaments.  Players in the same club are not considered guest players (see Borrowing Players).

MFC coaches are epected to first pursue borrowing eligible players within the club before pursuing guest players from other clubs.

Requests for guest players from another club require approval of the MFC Director of Coaching. 

Due to conflict of interest, if the request involves the Director of Coaching shall forward the request to the Club Adminstrator for approval.

Once approved, requests should then be addressed by email to the coach of the loaning team, with the MFC Director of Coaching copied.  The loaning coach may then delegate administrative responsibility to the Team Manager or another club official.  The receiving team should have a copy of the guest player's US Club Registration Form (which includes medical release), the player pass, and a Player Loan Form completed by the loaning club ... at all times during the event in question.

Care must be taken to avoid intentional or unintentional poaching when using guest players.  That is, the guest player should not be invited to switch to MFC or informed of any benefits of doing so, or invited to attend an MFC training session before or after the event in question.

Soliciting of players from other clubs to tryout, attend training sessions, or otherwise consider playing for MFC (or vica versa) is considering poaching and is forbidden by Norcal.  Care must be taken to avoid intentional or unintentional poaching.  That is ... no player from another Norcal club should be invited to switch to MFC or informed of any benefits of doing so, or invited to attend an MFC training session by any member of MFC (coach, trainer, manager, parent or player).

MFC members found to be poaching a player in another Norcal club are subject to possible suspension or removal from the club.

Concerns of another Norcal club poaching an MFC player should be addressed to the Director of Coaching for further action, not to the other club.  The Director of Coaching shall then forward the request to the Board of Directors for review and resolution.

Contact the Director of Coaching