Indoor League Information Winter 2024
Dynamo's philosophy emphasizes development of fundamental soccer skills, knowledge of the rules of soccer, and good sporting behavior with an eye towards creating lifelong lovers of the game of soccer. We seek to minimize outside pressures on our players. We do not pursue success in competition for its own sake, but only as a by-product of our approach.
We expect all spectators to model this behavior, specifically by:
- showing respect for all coaches at all times;
- showing respect for all players regardless of perceived skill level;
- praising positive team behaviors rather than individual efforts;
- minimizing sideline involvement (i.e. NO coaching from the sidelines).
Please keep in mind that Dynamo is an entirely volunteer-run organization. Parents who have the urge to shout out instructions to players, coaches, or referees must restrain themselves or will be asked to find another league.
Jump to a particular topic using the links below, or scroll down for more information.
General Information | Coaches & Other Volunteers | Formats and Rules | Equipment | Game Location and Fields | Game Schedule | Referee Schedule
General Information
The season will begin January 21, 2024. It will be 8 weeks long and end on March 10, 2024. Games will be held on Sundays only, starting at 9 am, 10 am, or 11 am. There are no practices in Winter Indoor -- each 1 hour session will include 5-10 minutes of warmup followed by a game.
Games will be played in the athletic complex of the Neighborhood Academy. The address is 709 N. Aiken Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15206.
Registration will begin Wednesday, November 15 and end Wednesday, December 20.
Space is limited. If your player's division is full, please sign up for the waitlist. We will try to accommodate as many waitlist players as possible.
Important Dates:- Registration Open Wednesday, November 15
- Early Bird Discount Ends Thursday, November 30
- Registration Closes Wednesday, December 20
- Coaching requests and team notifications complete
- Team schedules available complete
- Referee interest deadline Wednesday, December 20
- First game Sunday, January 21
- Last game Sunday, March 10
Coaches & Other Volunteer Opportunities
Dynamo Winter Indoor coaches must obtain the same clearances as coaches participating in the fall and spring seasons, as required by PA law. You ONLY need your Driver's License to sign up, but you may upload clearances if you have them. If you have already gone through the PA West/Affinity process, your clearances should show up as verified when you sign up to coach. If you have not, please work on obtaining your clearances if you don't have them already. We will remind you (and reimburse) any clearances you may need before the season starts. Detailed directions on obtaining clearances are here: Rec Coaches (pghdynamo.org). Please send completed clearances to [email protected].
When you register, you will be prompted to choose a volunteer role. Pittsburgh Dynamo is an entirely volunteer-run organization, and your help is crucial to our ability to provide a good experience for your child. No experience or expenses are necessary for any role. Specifically this year, we need to fill the following roles to make this season happen:
- Coaches! We always need coaches! Coaching comes with a $30 discount to be credited back to your account by mid-season.
- Volunteers to sort and bag t-shirts. This may include picking up the t-shirts from the printer, sorting them into the teams, and getting them to The Neighborhood Academy before the first game. All this work happens pre-season. You may be contacted by the Indoor Coordinator to ask how you can best contribute -- you will not be asked to do it all.
- Volunteers to set up the fields before the games every week. Like last year, we will have three fields running on the turf simultaneously. Each field will need to be lined with cones and have pop up goals set up. There may be a goal type change in between the U10 and U6/U8 games.
- Volunteers to transport the equipment to/from the Neighborhood Academy. Also like last year, we will not be able to keep the equipment there from week to week, so we will need people with larger cars who can bring the pop ups, ball bags, and first aid kit before the 9a games. We will also need people who can collect these items at the end of the 12 pm games and take them home. U13 equipment will be handled separately, and we will need several volunteers for this as well. (We will provide all the equipment.)
Formats and Rules
Please note: If you would like to change your player's division (aka playing "up" or "down") or register an advanced U5 (2019 birth year) player, contact indoor@pittsburghdynamo.org as early as possible for assistance.
| U6 | U7/8 | U9/10 | U11/12/13 |
| Birth Year | 2018 | 2016-2017 | 2014-2015 | 2011-2012-2013 |
| Ball Size | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 |
| Games | 3 v 3 or
4 v 4 | 4 v 4 | 4 v 4 or 5 v 5 | 4 v 4 or 5 v 5 |
Throw-Ins,
Headers
| No | No | No | No |
| Goalies | No | No | No if using pop-ups
Yes if using large goals | No if using pop-ups
Yes if using large goals |
| Goals | Pop-up | Pop-up | Pop-up or large goals | Pop-up or large goals |
Equipment
Regardless of age, each child participating in the Indoor League should bring some basic items for each game:
- Soccer Ball (size 3 up to and including U8, size 4 for U9 and older)
- Shinguards
- Soccer socks to cover shinguards
- Appropriate footwear (soccer cleats, other soccer shoes, or sneakers) -- please note that U13 games will be played on hard court and players will not be able to wear cleats
- Water bottle
Team shirts will be distributed during the first week of the season and should be worn to each game. Game Location and Field
Games will be played in the athletic complex of the Neighborhood Academy. The address is 709 N. Aiken Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15206.
U13 games will be played on the court. U6, U8, and U10 games will be played on the turf field. The turf field is divided into thirds:
Game Schedule
Each team has one game per week on Sunday.
U6, U8, and U10 games (2014-2018 birth years) will be played at the Multi Sport Turf Field in the Field House at The Neighborhood Academy located at 709 North Aiken Avenue in Pittsburgh. Cleats, indoor shoes, or sneakers may be worn.
U13 games (2011-2013 birth years) will be played on the basketball court in the Field House at The Neighborhood Academy located at 709 North Aiken Avenue in Pittsburgh. Indoor shoes or sneakers may be worn, NO cleats. Teams will rotate through start times of 9 am, 10 am, and 11 am in order to help transporting equipment.
Schedules are available on GameChanger.
Click here for a PDF of the entire season: 2024 Winter Indoor Season.
Please note your player's division AND color (i.e. U8-Royal not just Royal) when looking up your schedule on the PDF. Several divisions use the same colors.
Referee Schedule
Click here for a PDF of the entire season: 2024 Winter Indoor Referee Schedule.
Reminders will be sent on Tuesday evening for the upcoming weekend. Please email [email protected] as soon as possible if your plans have changed.
DO NOT FORGET to check-in before your games! Initial the check-in sheet on the clipboard in the Lost & Found / First Aid box near the entrance of the Fieldhouse.
Questions
Please contact [email protected].