VIENNA YOUTH SOCCER – Travel Soccer

What is Travel Soccer?

Travel soccer is a competitive soccer experience for players with a strong drive to develop their soccer abilities and love of the game. Boys and girls that are ready to play competitive soccer, want to learn new skills, are ready to make the necessary commitment to play travel soccer and are ready to be trained by a professional, licensed coaching staff will benefit from playing for Vienna Youth Soccer.

The new U9 Travel teams will participate in one of three established leagues in Northern Virginia, Washington Area Girls Soccer League (WAGS), National Capitol Soccer League (NCSL) or Old Dominion Soccer League (ODSL). Away games are usually within 45 minutes or less from our home field. Seasons are 8 to10 weeks long, with home & away games split equally.

How will my son or daughter be picked for a team?

VYS runs open tryouts in late spring for all age groups (U9 – U19; Boys & Girls) http://www.vys.org/Travel/Tryouts/index_E.html to form teams for the following soccer year (fall and spring). All players are evaluated during these tryouts by the team coaches and additional evaluators. Selected players are placed on appropriate teams by the coaching staff. VYS teams are re‐formed each year through this tryout process.

How do I determine the right age group for my child?

The “magical date” for determining a player’s age group is August 1 (during the year of the tryout). A player that turns 9 before August 1 of this calendar year must try out for U‐10 for the upcoming fall and spring seasons, and must attend the U‐10 tryouts in the spring of this year.

Fall 2012/Spring 2013

Age Group Birth Date is between…

U9 August 1, 2003 – July 31, 2004

U10 August 1, 2002 – July 31, 2003

U11 August 1, 2001 – July 31, 2002

U12 August 1, 2000 – July 31, 2001

U13 August 1, 1999 – July 31, 2000

U14 August 1, 1998 – July 31, 1999

U15 August 1, 1997 – July 31, 1998

U16 August 1, 1996 – July 31, 1997

U17-19 August 1, 1993 – July 31, 1996

Can my child try out in a different age group?

Players cannot tryout or play in an age group for which they are too old. Even if they miss the cutoff by one day, they cannot play ‘down’ in an age group. A player may also try out in an older age group.

How many players are selected for each team?

Different age groups in travel soccer play with different game formats – and have different roster sizes. VYS encourages teams to carry fewer players than the maximum allowed in order to optimize playing time for each player. The following are the roster sizes for the different age groups in VYS.

Under 9 & Under 10 Teams 7 v 7 game format 10-12 players on each team

Under 11 & Under 12 Teams 8 v 8 game format 10-14 players on each team

Under 13 – Under 16 Teams 11 v 11 game format 14-18 players on each team

Under 17 – Under 19 Teams 11 v 11 game format 14-22 players on each team

How many players will be select to play each league for the rising U9 Academy?

Approximately 44 players per gender are selected to the VYS U9 Academy. These players will be rostered on one of the teams, but may have the opportunity to play on other teams during the season. Each of the leagues permits club pass play, through which players on one VYS team are permitted to play on another team.

Boys: The players will play on either an NCSL team or an ODSL team, with the players exhibiting the most advanced development being placed on one of the NCSL teams. NCSL permits only two teams per club at each age group. The NCSL teams will not be tiered, nor will the ODSL teams be tiered.

Girls: The players will play on either a WAGS team or an ODSL team, with the players exhibiting the most advanced development being placed on one of the WAGS teams. WAGS has permitted VYS to petition for a third team in each of the last three seasons; VYS currently has three WAGS teams in age groups U9, U10 and U11. The WAGS teams will not be tiered.

How can I prepare my son/daughter for travel soccer and tryouts?

VYS offers an Academy program year round. This training prepares players for travel soccer, players and parents become familiar with the routine of practice sessions and training routines.  Academy training usually starts at the beginning of the spring season and progresses until travel soccer tryouts for the U-9 teams.  Most importantly, make sure your child is enjoying soccer. Soccer is a game and should be fun.

How do I register for Tryouts?

All players interested in trying out for travel must register at VYS website. There is no cost involved in tryouts.

How much time commitment is required?

Travel soccer teams train in two or three sessions per week (Fall and Spring). Practices are from 1.5 to 2 hours per session and take place at least twice a week. The Fall and Spring seasons both last about 12 weeks: Fall from mid-August to early November, and Spring from mid-March to June. Teams typically play 8 to 10 games each season. Most games are played on Sundays, but there will be some Saturday games each season. Teams usually play one or more pre‐season scrimmages and 2 to 4 tournaments per year, depending upon the age group and competitive level of the team. Off season (Summer and Winter), travel teams also have training sessions. Travel players are expected to attend all team practices and games.

When are the soccer seasons and when are tournaments held?

Fall Season: August to November.

Spring Season: March to June.

Teams often play pre‐season, mid‐season or post‐season tournaments consisting of 3 to 4 games on a 2 or 3‐day weekend). There are no league games on the following holiday weekends – Labor Day, Columbus Day and Memorial Day – so these are popular tournament weekends, along with pre‐ and post‐season weekends. Players are expected to be available to play in tournaments. VYS also conducts winter player development programs for players in all age groups. In addition, VYS offers summer clinics and other player development opportunities.

What if my son/daughter is not chosen for a travel team, can they still play somewhere?

Absolutely, if your son or daughter is not selected for a travel team, we encourage them to continue playing soccer.  VYS recreational league is not as competitive as travel, but still allows players to continue to play organized soccer. 

How are the coaches selected for each team?

The travel soccer club employs a licensed, professional coaching staff under the supervision of the club’s Technical Director and VYs Travel Committee. The coaches and trainers are placed on teams to benefit the development of each player. The coaching staff is evaluated each year by the Technical Director, and will be rotated among the teams for maximum player development benefits. A complete list of the club’s coaching staff, and credentials, will be available on the VYS website in September 2012.

How much does travel soccer cost?

Every VYS player, both recreational and travel, pays a ‘player fee’ to play in VYS ($135 per season). This fee covers club salaries, league and referee fees, the club’s administrative expenses, State and National registration fees, player insurance, VYS provided player development programs and many other expenses. For the 2012 – 2013 soccer year, the travel player fee for U9 will be approximately $600-$800 per player, per year, in addition to the registration fee, which covers: all professional Training fees, uniforms, league fees, tournaments, gym rental, and ect. VYS makes a year-long commitment to our professional coaching staff and to our players. We expect VYS players and families to make the same full year commitment. Additional costs can vary, depending on the number of tournaments entered, personal player equipment and team travel.

VYS believes that financial status should not prevent players from participating in soccer. VYS offers financial assistance for families in need. Many VYS teams also do fundraising activities to offset the costs.

Contact Information

To learn more about VYS Travel Soccer please consult our website at www.vys.org If you have any more questions specific to the rising U9 or Academy programs, please contact our rising U9 AGC’s
Girls – Andrew Payze
email: apayze@me.com
Boys – Deborah Gladstone
email: deborah_gladstone@freddiemac.com

Can a Cross Over parent coach train and coach the house team?
YES, we strong recommend parent coaches, train and coach their own house teams.

Can an underage players (U7’s) tryout for the rising U9 Academy?
Yes, an underage player (U7’s) is allowed to tryout for the rising U9 Academy. But ODSL requires that a player be at least 8 years old in order to be registered on an ODSL team.  Therefore, a rising U8 player who turns 8 becomes eligible to play on the ODSL team on the player's 8th birthday.  Thus, any U8 player who turns 8 on or before September 8 would be eligible to play on an ODSL U9 team for the entire Fall 2012 season. There is a maximum limit of 2 underage players per NCSL team. As a reminder, the NCSL teams are our more competitive teams and require a higher level of skill.

Is it OK if my son/daughter can’t make all 3 days of tryouts?
Yes, but in order to get to know the players as well as possible, and to assess them as best as we can, we would prefer that all the players plan on attending all three days of tryouts. However, we understand that families have conflicts. Please specify (either through registration or your AGC) if you plan to miss a tryout date.