South Dundas Soccer is modifying the outdoor soccer program for the Tim Hortons Tim Bits U5, U7, and U9 Leagues. These changes were developed to help speed up games and offer more playing opportunities for all players on the field.
Players on the field – All soccer games for the three Tim Bits leagues will adopt the following number of players on the field:
- U5 – 5v5 (four players plus goalkeeper)
- U7 – 6v6 (five players plus goalkeeper)
- U9 – 7v7 (six players plus goalkeeper)
Substitutions – All soccer games for the three Tim Bit leagues will adopt an on-the-fly substitution, similar to that of Futsal or Indoor Soccer. A stoppage in play is not required. Players may be substituted as needed by the team official without signalling to the match officials that a substitution is being made. Teams have 30 seconds to complete a substitution and return to the proper number of players on the field. In the event that a substitution takes too long, play will be stopped. The team opposite the team with too many players on the field will be awarded an indirect free kick to resume play.
Resuming play – Throw-ins are eliminated from the U5, and U7 leagues. Instead, when the ball completely crosses the touch line, a kick-in will be awarded. The ball is to be placed on the touch line where it went out. The team awarded the kick-in will treat the resumption of play like that of an in-direct kick. The ball must touch one additional player before a scoring opportunity can occur. Any goals scored directly from a kick-in will be disallowed. Throw-ins remain for U9 this season.