Travel
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About our travel program
North Reading Youth Soccer's travel program provides older players with the opportunity to play against teams from other towns in northeast Massachusetts. We are a member of the Essex County Youth Soccer Association, which has 30 clubs representing 34 cities and towns. There are two seasons each year, fall and spring.
The fall season is mainly developmental; we enter teams in the U12 and U14 age groups. The season usually begins the weekend after Labor Day and ends around the beginning of November. The schedule includes 8 league games (no league games over Columbus Day weekend).
The spring season is competitive for teams in the U12, U14, U16, and U18 age groups. There are league playoffs at the end of the season, and playoff winners can go on to compete against other league champions to determine state champions. We also have our U10 teams travel in the spring; however, these games are not results-oriented, and U10 teams do not participate in playoffs or the state tournament. The spring season begins in April and goes to the beginning of June (no league games over Memorial Day weekend). Note that games are normally scheduled on both weekends of April school vacation week. There are 8 league games for the U10-U14 age groups and 6 league games for the U16 and U18 age groups in the spring.
Note that there are no in-town teams for the U12 or higher age groups. There are also no in-town U10 teams in the spring. Players in the U9 and lower age groups do not play in the travel program.
All U10 games are 6 v 6, U12 games are 8 v 8, and all U14 and higher games are full-sided 11 v 11.
How do we determine travel team rosters?
We evaluate players in an age group relative to each other, and group players of roughly comparable abilities together on a team. We believe that by grouping players of comparable skill on the same team and then having that team play against other teams of comparable skill, we provide the best opportunity for those players to improve their game and maximize their enjoyment.
To assist us in this evaluation process, we require all players who will be traveling on U12 and U14 teams in the fall and U10 teams in the spring to attend tryouts. U12/U14 tryouts are normally held around the end of league play in the spring season (i.e. the beginning of June). U10 tryouts are held around the end of in-town play in early November, We also have our coaches provide feedback as to how each of the players on his or her team performed during the previous spring and fall seasons. And finally, we ask our coaches, age directors, and board members to observe games and provide their feedback.
It sometimes happens that our overall evaluation of a player's level of play is different than that of the player's parents. Should this situation arise, we would be willing to have a discussion about it, but parents' opinion will not change team placement. However, we do adjust rosters from season to season, and if it becomes apparent that a player is on the wrong team, we will have an opportunity to correct it in the next season.
How do we determine travel team coaches?
Usually, travel team coaches are parents of children on the team. Our policy is to select the teams first, and then select coaches for those teams from the pool of players' parents that have volunteered to coach. If the pool of such parents is large, then we will have some decisions to make. If the pool is small (or non-existent), we will come looking for volunteers.
If you are interested in coaching one of our travel teams, get in contact with the Travel director.
Why do we have to register so far in advance?
The Essex league organizes games for more than 500 teams each season. This requires a tremendous amount of hard work and time in order for things to proceed smoothly. As a result, the league requires us to submit registration packets to them at the beginning of January for the spring season, and July for the fall season. As part of this registration packet, we must tell the league how many teams in each age group we intend to field, and to provide documentation to verify that we have enough players and coaches to field those teams. We need some time ourselves to assemble this information, and so we ask that you register by early June for the fall season, and late November for the spring season.
Once the registration packet is submitted, we normally cannot add teams. As a result, if a large number of players register late, it is very possible that we will not be able to place those players on a team. Waitlisted players are assigned to teams on a first come, first served basis. Register early to ensure that your child will be able to play.
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