Travel

U9 AND UP

Starting with the Fall 2011 season all age groups U9 and up will be in the Blue/White matched skills format. Meaning each team will be made of players with similar skill levels. Now that we have a set structure we can concentrate on supporting that structure to enhance and improve the player’s experience.

Evaluations and Coach Assessments

All Fall U9 and up players must participate in evaluations in May. These evaluation sessions will be conducted by a team of outside, independent evaluators and are essential in properly determining each player’s current ability and skill level. These results will aid the selection committee in placing players on the appropriate team.

In addition to the May evaluations each head coach at the Travel and Intramural levels will provide the board with player assessments in a variety of skills based on the prior season’s games and practices. These coach evaluations will not only aid us in placing players on the proper team but can also be used as important learning tools and attainable goals for the coach to share with players throughout the season. We are also developing a progression template of key skills and expectations each player should be able to achieve in a given age group or level.

Practices and Games

U9 and up practice 2 or 3 x week at the coach’s discretion and games initially are scheduled for Saturdays but could be during the week if make-ups are required. Home games and are played at Fiala.

Tournaments

Many more of our travel teams played several tournaments in the past two seasons. Our teams fared quite well and earned invaluable experience. U9 & up teams are encouraged to participate in at least one tournament each season to gain experience in a shortened time frame.

We are looking to host an informal round robin one day scrimmage tournament prior to the start of the season with a select group of other CPYSL teams. This will be a good way to help our travel teams get ready for the Fall season in a friendly environment. More information will be emailed over the summer.

Travel Uniforms

As some of you may have heard, Select (our current travel uniform vendor) is no longer in business. We have searched out varying options and are happy to say we have secured a deal with Xara to provide new uniforms for our club. Xara is a manufacturer that limits its focus to soccer only. They provide state of the art fabrics and styles at an affordable price. We will be ordering through Angelo’s Soccer Corner therefore keeping our dealings at a local level. The new uniforms will be mandatory for the Fall U9 teams while older age groups can choose to purchase the new uniforms with the agreement of the entire team. The new uniform kits include two jerseys, shorts, and socks all for $95. We will have sizing samples at our May evaluations. Kits will be ordered and paid for through an online system in May.