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Travel Soccer FAQs

What does a year look like in travel soccer?

  • The travel soccer year starts with tryouts that are traditionally held in June.

  • We have summer camps and clinics available to all players, and teams also have the option of a preseason tournament to get ready for the Fall season.

  • The Fall season starts early September and runs through to late November for most teams. This will include practice twice a week and games on weekends (U9-U13 on Saturdays, U14+ on Sundays).

  • All teams traditionally attend a tournament over Columbus Weekend, often in East Islip. 

  • The Winter consists of optional practices, leagues and tournaments for our more committed teams and players. 

  • The Spring season depends on Easter/Passover break but typically runs through mid March to late June and is a regular league season that also includes cup games in a knock-out format (win and you're through to the next round, lose and you're out). During the Spring season teams will also look to take part in tournaments on Memorial Day Weekend.

  • Towards the later stages of the Spring season, tryouts will be conducted and the year will repeat with small changes as we develop our programs to help our players, teams and club grow.

What costs are involved in travel soccer?

There are two primary costs involved in travel soccer:

  • Registration cost: $350 paid annually and payment plans are available: this covers team registration to the league, insurance, field costs, referee costs etc.

  • Training Fees: $335 (for 7v7 or 9v9), or $350 (for 11v11) per season - this pays for your professional coach at all practices and games.

  • Please note: uniforms also need to be purchased and will come in at approximately $130.

How do I get uniforms? And what needs to be purchased?

Uniforms can be purchased online by clicking on our uniform link on our website. It is important that you consult with your team's manager/administrator before doing so. This is to avoid purchasing a jersey with the same number as another player. Where an age group has more than one team the A team will choose numbers followed by the B team. This will make guest playing easier and more manageable for all players, parents and coaches involved.

 

Items that need to be purchased: Our home uniform consists of navy socks, navy shorts and a navy jersey (numbered). Our away uniform consists of the same socks and shorts while our away jersey is white (numbered). This is subject to change as we are changing uniform in the summer but full details will be released in any successful tryout confirmation email.

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Optional items such as a player bag is also available from the same link.

What happens at Tryouts?

  • During tryouts professional SUSA coaches, who oversee our club teams will assess and select players on their soccer abilities and efforts.

  • Where there are sufficient numbers of players, age groups may have more than one team to give as many players as possible the opportunity to play soccer at an appropriate level, but occasionally cuts have to be made.

  • Players can expect to play a series of minigames (2v2,3v3, 4v4), before playing a larger game. Coaches may also set different challenges to get a better assessment of players throughout the tryout such as speed and agility runs. 

What are travel games like?

There are 3 formats of travel soccer. 7v7, 9v9, and 11v11.

  • Our youngest travel teams (U9 & U10) will play 7v7 (with a build-out line; see attached for a basic outline of the rules for this).

  • Teams will then progress to 9v9 (U11 & U12) where punts and headers are gradually introduced (the build-out line rule is removed).

  • 11v11 is played at U13 and above. This is the regular format for soccer and as such regular FIFA rules apply with minimal adaptations. The exceptions being the duration of the game to keep it age-appropriate.

 

Travel games are typically played within Suffolk County initially, although in later years the more competitive teams can expect to travel into Nassau and on occasion into the boroughs.

What is practice like in travel soccer?

Practice is held twice a week through the Fall and Spring seasons. Each session is 1-hour 30-minutes long and is designed with age-appropriate development in mind for the players. Teams have their own sessions and players are expected to attend all of them where possible. 

Why are training fees different at different ages?

The training fees will increase slightly as the players get older because the competitive games get longer, game preparation and debriefs become longer in duration to accommodate the increase in commitment of the players and the teams.

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