Improving Soccer Sportsmanship (ISS) Program

The Mt. Laurel United Soccer Association is committed to the "Pursuit of Excellence". "Excellence" is not limited to the quality of play, but extends to how our teams conduct themselves on the field and are perceived by the opposing teams, referees and league officials. The coaches, players and spectators for each team within the Mt. Laurel United family are ambassadors for the association. As such, each person’s responsibility is to display the type of sportsmanship that reflects well upon all of the members of "our family". We want to be known as association whose teams not only play well, but also play fair.

The South Jersey Boys and Girls Soccer Leagues enthusiastically embrace this philosophy and are taking an exceedingly tougher stance on unsportsmanlike conduct by coaches, players and spectators. Both leagues have adopted a "zero tolerance" for such behavior by coaches and spectators. Mt. Laurel United wholeheartedly endorses this position. Unsportsmanlike conduct has no place on the soccer field.

As our club has grown, we have witnessed an increasing number of incidents of unsportsmanlike behavior. In order to improve this sense of sportsmanship within our club, we have created the ISS Program - Improving Soccer Sportsmanship. The purpose of the program is to improve the sportsmanship of our coaches, players, and fans. The ISS program consists of the following components: education, reporting and documentation, follow-up, discipline and recognition.

I. Organization

A. The MLU board of directors will appoint an ISS Program Director. The director will:

• introduce the ISS program at the mandatory coach's meeting
• record and maintain the names of the ISS team coordinators
• disseminate educational information to team coordinators
• spot check games for adherence to the ISS program
• review all ISS game reports
• submit a monthly review to the Board
• recommend action to be taken in response to poor sportsmanship
• enforce any penalties levied by the Board

B. Each coach shall appoint an ISS team coordinator. The coordinator can not be a coach. That person's responsibility, in conjunction with the coaching staff, is to help create and foster a better sense of soccer sportsmanship by the following:

• educate the team about the meaning of sportsmanship
• enforce good sportsmanship before, during and after games
• report game day activities to the ISS Director
• recommend action against individuals displaying poor sportsmanship create a process of re-education about sportsmanship

II. Education

Education and sharing of information is the most important part of this program. Coaches, players and parents need to understand that everywhere they go, they represent Mt. Laurel United and the impression they leave with referees and opposing teams is a lasting one and "WORD GETS AROUND". The following educational activities will be conducted:

Each coach will hold a mandatory team meeting, at which time the coach will identify the team coordinator. During the meeting, the coordinator will discuss the reason for and purpose of the ISS program and pass out the appropriate information.

As part of the 6-hour professional training curriculum, the trainers will spend 30 minutes (5 minutes per session) discussing sportsmanship, fair play, and other "life skills" that will help our players be model athletes.

Each coaches' meeting will include a status of the ISS program and discussion of one or more principles of sportsmanship.

Each coach will receive a letter that provides the following information:

- Reiterate their responsibilities as a MLU coach (see Coaches' Code)
- MLU requires appropriate behavior at all times
- Description of inappropriate behavior and penalties
- Recommend they routinely discuss sportsmanship with players as part of practice curriculum
- Recommend ways they can improve sportsmanship on their team
- Describe incentive program

Each team parent shall receive a letter that will:

- Explain our program, including why we started it
- Request their full support
- Request they emphasize good sportsmanship and fair play to their children
- Provide a copy of the parent's code and player's code
- Describe inappropriate spectator behavior and possible penalties

Each ISS team coordinator shall receive a letter that will:

- Thank them for their support or our goals and offer our full support to them
- Outline their responsibilities
- Provide them with copies of all correspondence

III. Reporting/Documentation

Each team coordinator will complete a game report for every competitive game played by the team in which an incident (warning/cards/complaints) has occurred. This includes league games, tournaments, State Cup games, etc. We have developed a game report for that purpose. The full-page game report (Addendum A) must be used when a warning/card is issued to a coach, player, or as a result of behavior by a spectator.

In the event that a player or coach receives a yellow card, the ISS team coordinator will submit to the Sportsmanship Director via mail or email the full-page game report (Addendum A), identifying the player or coach and the circumstances of the card.

In the event that a player or coach receives a red card or there is some other incident that may reflect negatively on the team or the club, the ISS team coordinator must call the Director within 24 hours of the game. The call will be followed up by a written account of the infraction.

It is important that the Director receives this information within 24 hours so that an investigation can be completed and appropriate actions taken in a timely manner. Failure to report infractions within the time frames will result in a $25 fine from the team account for each incident.

IV. Investigation and Follow-Up

Upon receiving a report of an incident of unsportsmanlike behavior, the ISS Director will contact the appropriate persons (coaches, spectators, etc.) to discuss the incident and determine appropriate action to be taken. This proposed action will be relayed to the club president and the appropriate league coordinator. Upon approval, the actions will be presented to the affected individuals in writing. The Director will also follow up to ensure that the imposed discipline was fulfilled. All violations and resolutions will be reported to the appropriate league officials.

The ISS Director will submit a monthly report to the Executive Board, summarizing the violations of the ISS Program, actions taken to resolve them, and any issues to come before the board.

V. Discipline and Recognition

An integral part of this program is discipline of coaches, players and spectators for acts that are considered unsportsmanlike. In addition, it is equally important to recognize teams and/or individuals who exemplify the concept of good sportsmanship.

A. Recognition

Each year, the Board will identify a contest or other event to promote the concept of sportsmanship. Also, the Board will recognize teams and individuals who it feels best exemplifies this concept.

B. Discipline With aggressive play comes a certain number of warnings/cards awarded to players. The penalties outlined below for players take this fact into consideration. Continued carding of one player for aggressive play or other unsportsmanlike conduct cannot continue and has to be dealt with by the coach and parents. However, there is no tolerance for unsportsmanlike behavior by coaches, parents or other spectators. The penalties discussed below reflect this philosophy.

For coaches - MLU has a zero tolerance for inappropriate behavior. Any card resulting from unsportsmanlike behavior is unacceptable, will result in an automatic $25 fine from the team account, and may result in one or more of the following penalties:

• Yellow card for unsportsmanlike behavior or poor referee rating:
• -one-game suspension and
• -probation for the remainder of the season
• 2 yellow cards in a season or any red card:
• -two-game suspension and
• -loss of 1 hour of professional training time
• Penalty may be more depending on severity of infraction and other factors.
• All other club rules regarding suspensions/expulsions still apply.

For players - We understand that warnings/cards do occur as a result of aggressive play. But, continued carding of one player for aggressive play or other unsportsmanlike conduct cannot continue and must be dealt with by the coach and parents. Players will be subject to the following penalties:

• A warning for rough play or 1st yellow card:
• - requires a meeting with coach and parent before the next game. Coach will reemphasize fair play, sportsmanship, and penalty if it happens again.
• 2nd yellow card in a season:
• - one-game suspension and
• - letter of apology to opposing coach and referee before suspension is lifted
• Subsequent yellow cards in a season or any red card:
• - $25 fine from team account - two-game suspension and 
• - loss of 1 hour of professional training time for the team
• Penalty may be more depending on severity of infraction and other factors
• All other club rules regarding suspensions/expulsions still apply.

For parents/spectators - MLU has a zero tolerance for inappropriate behavior. Behavior that causes a coach to receive a card is unacceptable, will result in an automatic $25 fine from the team account, and may result in one or more of the following penalties:

• Warning
• Meeting with coach and ISS team coordinator to re-emphasize appropriate behavior
• Yellow card or poor referee rating:
• one-game suspension for the parent or coach
• 2 yellow cards in a season or any red card is:
• - two-game suspension and
• - loss of 1 hour of professional training time for the team
• Penalty may be more depending on severity of infraction and other factors
• All other club rules regarding suspensions/expulsions still apply.

NOTE - While the penalties outlined above reference official warnings and cards from referees, any un-carded incident that is considered to be inappropriate will be handled with equal harshness. These are program guidelines...the ISS Director and the Board reserve the right to adjust the penalties as appropriate.

All suspensions may be appealed to the MLU Grievance Committee.