Middle School Frequently Asked Questions

The Middle School Soccer Association (MSSA) is a group of Central Ohio area leagues that organize joint 'friendlies'. There are 2 groups for the MS program, girls and co-rec. Girls are eligible to play in the co-rec group, but very few girls take this option. WASA generally sponsors 2 or 3 teams in each group. Depending upon the coach volunteers and the number of players registered, we may have a 7th grade team and an 8th grade team or one of each grade plus a mixed team or just mixed teams.

Within each group (Girls & Co-rec), coordinators place the teams in divisions so that each team (hopefully) has competitive games. An all 8th grade team should be placed in a different division than an all 7th grade team, and they should not play each other. If a team is not competitive in the regular season(either winning nearly all of their games easily, or losing most of their games by a lopsided score), that team will be reseeded for the post season tournament. Hopefully, this lets the players have a good opportunity during the tournament.

Yes, WASA Middle School teams will play other Central Ohio Middle School teams.

Because other Central Ohio area leagues are involved, there is some travel. Generally weeknight league games start at 6:00 pm. Saturday games are generally scheduled in the morning. Depending upon field and referee availability, most girls games will be Wednesday evenings and Saturdays and most co-rec games will be Thursday evenings and Saturdays.

Away games can be as near as fields at Worthington, Big Walnut or CESA (Easton) or as far as Marysville, Newark, or Grove City. WASA sponsored teams home games are at a Westerville city park or the Cleveland Avenue Sports Complex.

The season is 10 games over 5 weeks, so parents can expect 2 or 3 home games on weeknights and 2 or 3 away games on weeknights.

Some people find the MS play the most exciting and the most fun of any age group. The level of competition is definitely ratcheted up in MS play. That can create its challenges. Everyone involved (players, coaches, and spectators) on both sides need to maintain an appropriate level of sportsmanship and remember that the most important aspect of these games is for them to be FUN for the players.

Generally the answer is no. The only exception for this is if there is a sibling involved AND if the U12 player is a 2nd year U12 player(usually an 11 year old 6th grader).

We have allowed this in the past, and have ended up turning away players that could ONLY play in the MS division. This is not fair to those players, as they have no choice, and obviously a 10 or 11 year old player HAS alternatives.

Yes. Each SEASON there is a tournament. The tournaments are generally scheduled over 2 weekends each season. The tournaments are done by 'division' with a first round game one weekend, 2 games the next weekend, and potentially a championship game on Sunday.