Travel Soccer (u8-u14)

The Travel Program allows players to deepen their understanding of the game through competition with teams from surrounding towns.

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League

Northampton Soccer participates in the Roots Soccer League which is a member of US Club Soccer.  This is a competitive league with multiple division levels at each age group depending on the skill of the team.  At the U8 age kids play 5v5.  At, U9 & U10 age levels games are 7v7.  At ages U11 & U12 teams play 9v9.  And at U13 and above kids play 11v11 on full size fields. 

Schedules

• Team practices typically run twice a week for 60 to 90 minutes at Florence Fields. 
• Games are generally played on Saturdays, with the possibility of an occasional weekday. 
  
• Fall season begins after Labor Day Weekend in September and continues through the beginning of November.  
• Spring season runs from mid-April (depending on weather) through June.

Coaching

• All of Northampton Soccer's coaches are parent-volunteers.
  
• The club strives to have coaches who are passionate about working with kids to learn and grow as individuals and team members.
  
• NSC's Coaching Director works with our coaches to provide training, guidance, and practice plans.
  
• NSC and Roots require that travel soccer coaches complete two online trainings and a background check.
  
• Volunteer coaches receive registration discounts with the club.

Tryouts & Team Formation

In June each year, NSC holds Tryouts to evaluate and select players for its teams.  

• Age cut off is determined by the age of the child on August 1st for the following Fall and Spring seasons. Note, there are some exceptions for children born before the cutoff if they attend school in the same grade as the age group younger than their traditional cut-off date. This particularly applies to 8th graders born before August 1st.
  
• At the U8, U9, and U10 age groups, if there are enough players for more than one team, Northampton Soccer attempts to create equal teams, though exceptions are sometimes made at the discretion of the Coaching Director.
  
• At the U11 age group and above teams are organized according to ability.  The evaluation is one part of the process for determining team placement. Players will be placed by combining the evaluation assessment with coach input and observations by the Director of Coaching during season training sessions.
  
• It's possible, at all age groups, that some kids may not be selected for a team.  But once on a team all players will get meaningful playing time. 
• For the Spring Season, preference is given to returning players from the fall. 

• Teams for Spring will be same as the Fall unless numbers dictate we need to move players around, in which case the Coaching Director will make decision.

• NSC attempts to place all kids on an age appropriate team but it is possible that there will not be spaces available for every child. 
• Final decisions on team placement are at the discretion of the Coaching Director.

Tryout Schedule

	Mon 6/3	Tue 6/4	Wed 6/5	Thu 6/6	Fri 6/7
5-6pm	u9 Boys	u9 Girls	u11 Boys	u11 Girls	Rain Date
6:15-7:15pm	u10 Boys	u10 Girls	u12 Girls	u12 Boys	Rain Date
7:30-8:30pm	u13 Boys	u13 Girls	u14 Boys	u14 Girls	Rain Date

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FAQs

What if My Child Can’t Attend Tryouts?
Tryouts are mandatory. If your child absolutely cannot attend the tryout dates for your age group, please contact our Coaching Director, Matt Card ([email protected]) and explain the circumstances. The player may be able to be evaluated at a later date, however, players who miss their primary tryout date may be at a disadvantage.

Can my child play at a different grade level?
Maybe.  In certain cases, a player may "play up” with an older team.  The policy is that a child must evaluate with his/her proper age group. A decision about allowing a player to play up will be based on the player’s ability level, the needs of the various teams, and with the consent of coaches from both age level teams. A player that is advanced a grade in school beyond their age and has been playing with their classmates rather than at their age may be eligible  to continue playing with their classmates. 

Exceptions may also be made using waivers for older 8th graders who no longer have a team to play with, or in some cases when players born between Feb 1 - July 31 would benefit from playing with their grade level (if it does not align with their age bracket). Players should still plan on attending the appropriate tryouts and then contacting us if they believe a waiver should be considered. Final team placement will always be made by the Coaching Director, and will need to consider skill development and impacts on other team rosters as well.

Does every player make a team?
The goal of NSC is to create opportunities for competitive play and advanced skill development for the greatest number of players. We will do our best to place all players on teams, however in some cases roster numbers and skill levels may prohibit us from offering a team slot to each player who attends tryouts. An example would be when we have too many players for one team, but not enough for a second team.  If players in 3rd - 6th grade don’t make a travel team, they have the option to play on a Northampton Recreation team in the fall.

Does NSC accept non-Northampton players?
Anyone who lives in Northampton, Florence, Leeds and anyone who goes to school in one of the Northampton area schools (including school choice kids from other towns) is considered a Northampton area player and has priority for team placement. Extra spaces will be made available to children from other towns, based on competitive tryouts. Players whose home town has a town travel soccer program need a waiver from their town in order to play for a Northampton team. The player can attend tryouts, and then if they make a team we will help them obtain the waiver.

There are two exceptions to the above policy.

1. First, once a child from another town begins playing on an NSC travel team, then they will have equal priority with Northampton area players in any future tryouts, as long as they do not leave the program.
2. Second, if there is more than one team at a given level, Northampton area kids will not be favored between the teams. So for example, if there is a U13 Division 1 team and Division 2 team, a child from another town who is “waivered in” and who is good enough to play on the Division 1 team would be placed there.

According to Roots Soccer League  waivers may be granted for the following reasons:

1. Existing club does not have an appropriate team for that player to play on
2. A player involved in divorce or custody circumstances
3. A school choice student playing for a team in the town where he or she attends school
4. A player on a team affiliated with a church, temple or fraternal organization where the player is a member.