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FAQs
Welcome
to SYSA! As a member of the SYSA community you are sure to have
questions. As this is often your child’s first athletic experience
and that youth soccer has many moving parts, it can be confusing. To
that end we list the following Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs). In most cases, the answers represent
guidelines, rather than hard and fast rules, and are subject to
change. SYSA’s guiding principle is for the
children involved to have fun and enjoy the SYSA program. Should you have a
question you do not see listed below, please send to the Safety &
Risk Management Director Seth
Caplan.
What
are the differences between SYSA’s “intramural”
and “travel” soccer programs?
All SYSA
programs are guided by the same fundamental principles, but travel and intramural
soccer are by necessity organized differently. SYSA fields teams in
both the fall and spring seasons. Both fall and spring programs
generally have an 8-week season commencing after Labor Day in the fall and
in early April in the spring.
Intramural
soccer commences with the U-5 (under 5) age group and continues through
U-9. The program generally consists of 1 to 1½ hour of soccer
on Saturdays, with some portion dedicated to drills and skills training and
the other portion dedicated to games against other teams. We may also
hold clinics and other activities on Sundays and other days of the
week. We generally do not field
intramural teams older than U-9 as most kids desire to play travel soccer
when eligible and we do not have sufficient numbers to field intramural
teams at older ages. Nahant Youth Soccer operates their own training
sessions for their intramural players. All IM games are against other
Swampscott teams and the Nahant teams, so intramural soccer is an “in-town”
program.
Travel
soccer competes in the Essex County Youth Soccer Association (ECYSA) league
and is subject to ECYSA’s rules. In the
fall, we field teams in the U-10, U-12 and U-14 age groups, and we also
field older teams in the spring when numbers allow. Teams older than
U-14 are not fielded in the fall as many of the older players will be
playing high school soccer.
The U-12
and older age group teams will have players within a two-year age group who
are eligible to play for those teams (i.e., 1st year players and 2nd year
players). This is different from our U-10 teams, where typically only
“2nd year” players play travel soccer, as our U-9s continue to play
intramural soccer.
How
are players selected for the teams?
Players
play in their own age group as determined by birthdate
(i.e., there is generally no “playing up”).
See “Does SYSA allow playing up or playing down?” for more
information.
For the
intramural teams, the teams are chosen at random, and not by school or some
other pre-determined criteria. In the older age groups, the
Intramural Director may work with the age group directors and others to
attempt to balance the teams.
For the
travel teams, teams are chosen based principally upon results from try-outs
held every spring for the following year, and evaluations prepared by the
coaches from the prior season. Teams are picked on the basis of
ability rather than age (i.e., a team may be composed of a mixture of
“1st year” and “2nd year” players, rather than fielding teams composed only
of 1st or 2nd year players).
It is
important to understand that the purpose of the try-outs is to determine
which team each player will play on, not which players will make the teams
and which players will be cut. A fundamental goal of SYSA is to place
each player who wants to play on a travel team. However, the ECYSA
league rules place limits on the maximum size of team rosters, and due to
those limitations, SYSA is sometimes unable to accommodate every player on
a travel team.
It is
also important to understand that the teams are chosen without regard to
who the potential coaches might be. The players on a team are chosen
first, and after that is accomplished, SYSA looks at the list of parents of
those players to see who has volunteered to coach the team. In other
words, the perception that a particular parent may be a “good coach” does
not affect which team his or her child is placed on.
Does
SYSA allow “Playing Up” or “Playing Down”?
For
travel soccer “playing down” (to play with players younger than the
specified birth date) is not allowed by league rules. In general SYSA does not allow players to
“play up” (to play with players older than the specified birth date). An exception may be made for players who
want to play up in order to play with school classmates. Once a player has chosen to “play up”
that player must continue to “play up” at that level for each future season
through to the second year of U14.
Will
the players and the coaches stay together from one season to the
next?
A soccer
year consists of 2 seasons (Fall and Spring). Teams are selected for
the Fall season each year. IM teams change from Fall to Spring. Travel teams generally stay together from
the Fall to Spring seasons. Some changes will occur, however, as
players may decide only to play one of the two seasons, and coaches may
sometimes change. Sometimes the change in the number of players from
Fall to Spring is such that the teams must be combined or more fully
reconstituted in order to field teams of appropriate size.
Each Fall, new teams
are chosen as players move to appropriate age groups. As described
above, the Travel teams within an age group are chosen based upon ability
and not age. Unlike some other towns, SYSA does not seek to field “first-year teams” and “second-year teams.”
So as a general matter, the teams will not remain together from year to
year, and keeping teams together is not a criteria used by SYSA in the team
selection process.
Does
the Essex County Youth Soccer Association
(ECYSA) have different divisions, and how are teams placed in those
divisions?
ECYSA has Divisions 1 , 2 and 3, with Division 1 being the most competitive,
and there are various groups within each division which are ranked based
upon ability. Teams are placed by ECYSA based upon their record from
the prior season and input from the travel director from each town.
How
can I become a SYSA coach?
SYSA is
always looking for volunteers to coach and provide other assistance.
The first step is to volunteer- indicate your desire to help in connection
with the on-line registration process for the players each season.
SYSA can also use volunteers in a number of other areas beyond just
coaching.
If you
are interested in coaching, you should also contact either the IM Director or the Travel Director depending
on the age group. Parties interested in coaching should also review SYSA’s Coaches Code of Conduct, which all SYSA coaches
are required to sign, to understand some of the expectations in connection
with serving as a coach.
SYSA
also has coaching license requirements. SYSA requires that its IM
coaches obtain a “G” license, and that its travel coaches obtain an “F”
license. SYSA will pay the relevant license fees and will assist
interested parties in learning how to obtain their G and F licenses.
Why
does SYSA make people sign up so early for travel soccer?
The
timetable for sign-ups each season are
driven buy ECYSA’s deadlines to get teams
registered. Teams for the fall need to be registered with ECYSA
by early July, and teams for the spring need to be registered by early
January. So SYSA needs to get the players signed up early and then
divided into teams in order to get the teams registered to play in the
travel league by ECYSA’s deadlines.
Does SYSA have futsal and/or indoor soccer
teams?
SYSA
does not organize futsal and/or indoor soccer
teams, although it encourages its coaches to do so. Whether or not to
organize a team is entirely within the discretion of coaches or other
interested persons, although it would be helpful to inform the appropriate
SYSA Age Group Director of the intention to do so.
Historically,
the most popular venues for Swampscott teams have been in Beverly
and Revere for indoor soccer and in Danvers and Topsfield
for futsal (futbolito, calcetto).
What
level of commitment is expected of the children?
IM
player participation usually consists of games on Saturday in Swampscott
(or Nahant for U9) and up to one practice per week.
Travel
participation consists of one weekly game (in Swampscott or anywhere in Essex County) and up to two practices per
week. Being present for Travel practices is very important for the
development of the players and the team.
Does
SYSA enter teams into tournaments?
SYSA
does not enter teams into tournaments, although it encourages its coaches
to do so. Whether or not to enter a team into a tournament is
entirely within the discretion of coaches or other interested persons,
although it would be helpful to inform the appropriate SYSA Age Group
Director of the intention to do so. Among other things, most
tournaments require that the players exchange town “patches” after each
game, and these patches will need to be obtained from SYSA.
Many of SYSA’s travel teams will play in out-of-town
tournaments, particularly over holiday weekends. Historically, the
most popular tournaments for SYSA teams have been over Labor Day weekend
(in Salem), Columbus Day weekend (in Peabody), and Memorial Day weekend (in Danvers and Lynn).
Many
tournaments have brackets for teams starting at the U-8 age group.
Teams of Swampscott/Nahant intramural players could be entered into these
tournaments at the discretion of coaches or other interested persons.
Most tournaments
will allow players of the appropriate age within Swampscott or Nahant to
play on any other team fielded by SYSA in that age group.
Accordingly, a SYSA team which is short players for a tournament will
sometimes borrow players from another SYSA team for purposes of the
tournament. Some tournaments also allow teams to field a limited
number of “guest players” from other towns, and the tournament rules should
be consulted for these and other applicable tournament rules.
©® 2011
Swampscott Youth Soccer Association
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