Melrose Youth Soccer Frequently Asked Questions

Registration Questions:

City League Soccer:

Travel Soccer:

MYS Questions:

Registration Questions:

How do I register?
Beginning with the Spring 2006 registration, families can register players in any of the following ways:

• Online: Parents can register online (when paying with a credit card) from our registration link on the Melrose Youth Soccer (MYS) web-site. (http://www.melroseyouthsoccer.net) From the Home page, click the link to access our secure registration server. Online registration should take approximately five minutes; after the online registration is complete, you'll receive immediate confirmation via email that your registration request was received in the database.

  If you are registering in MYS for the first time, you'll need to mail a copy of your child's birth certificate to the address listed below in Option 3.

  Approximately one month before the season's start, MYS will have completed the roster formation process and, after notification, you will be able to access information about your child's team online.

  Please use our online registration - it's fast, convenient, and free! (And it will save you tons of time next season, when all you have to do is to click your mouse three times to re-register!)

• The traditional way: Come to the MYS registration on Tuesday, October 11th 2005 at the Elks' Hall, 75 Myrtle St., Melrose (located behind Shaw's).

  Registration is held between 6:30 and 9:00 PM.

  This option is great if you are new to our program and would like to meet the people who run MYS, or if you need to drop off a birth certificate copy for a new player.

• By Mail: Send an MYS registration form to: Melrose Youth Soccer, P.O. Box 761056 Melrose, MA 02176. Fill out a form for each child, attach a check, and mail in. If you are registering a new player, you can register online and mail a copy of your child's birth certificate to us at this address.

What age bracket should I sign my child up for?
Players fit into age brackets based on their age on August 1st before the Fall season. Players under 6 years old on August 1st can play Munchkins, players under 8 years old on August 1st can play U8, and so forth. The same cutoff date holds for the Fall season and the following Spring season, so that the players can remain in the same age group for the entire year. For a current listing of the birth dates that correspond to U8, U10, U12 etc teams, visit our online registration site and download this season's age brackets.

Fall soccer just started. Why do I have to sign up for spring soccer already?
Melrose Youth Soccer is different from some other sports in town in that we are affiliated with a state organization - Massachusetts Youth Soccer. They provide us with our insurance, and they require that we file player and coach information well in advance of the season. The early registration ensures that players are insured and coaches all undergo a national background check. In addition, it takes time to build teams, recruit coaches and do all the other things that go on behind the scenes in a youth sports league.

My child does lots of other activities besides soccer. We may just want to try it out and see how it fits our schedule. What's your policy there?
It is fine to try out soccer for a season or two. There's no commitment to play beyond the current season that you sign up for. Just keep in mind that Melrose Youth Soccer builds teams to play in its city and travel leagues based on the assumption that every player who signs up will participate fully. Since soccer is a team sport, parents should view their registration as a commitment to the other players on the team and in the community. If you sign up, you must show up to practices and games!

What is your policy on reimbursements?
Because it is such a serious problem in a team sport to have a player sign up and then drop out, Melrose Youth Soccer grants 50% refunds for any registered player who withdraws from the city soccer program until six (6) weeks before the season begins. After this point, new city soccer registrations are closed, teams are created and having players drop out creates an unfair burden to the other players. Therefore, no refunds are granted to players who withdraw after the close of registrations.

Can I sign up late?
If your child plays in the City league, you can sign up late for a limited amount of time. Our Elk's Hall registration night registration this season is on Tuesday, 10/11/05. Late registrations for City Soccer will extend for six weeks after this time with a late fee of $10 attached to all late signups. Signups will absolutely close on 3/1/06. Travel Soccer players must sign up before 10/14/05.

Please use our online registration - it's fast, convenient, and free! (And it will save you tons of time next season, when all you have to do is to click your mouse three times!)

City League Soccer:

What programs do you offer for young players?
Our programs begin with Munchkins, which is available to children in kindergarten (up to age 6 by August 1st). In Munchkins, our adult coaches lead their teams of players through a variety of fun, age-appropriate games. Follow the leader, red-light green-light, and plain old soccer are all part of the program with Munchkins.

For 1st and 2nd graders, our U8 city program moves to small sided play, with five players vs. five players. The goals for U8 are to learn about passing, team defense and to develop ball skills. Our developmental targets for young players are listed on the MYS web site Coach's Page, as well as resources for coaches to use. They are also great for parents too, so whether you borrow one of our games or borrow ten, take your child to the park and kick it around!

For 3rd and 4th graders, we offer a choice of city league and travel league in the U10 division. Here, the game moves to six a side, and goalkeepers are introduced.

For older players, 5th grade through high school, we offer travel programs in the Middlesex League and the Mass. Premier League (Maple).

How competitive is city soccer vs. travel soccer?
The two leagues are very much alike in their focus on making sure the kids have fun while learning and playing soccer. The main distinctions between the two are the fact that travel players must attend try-outs prior to team placement. (There are no "cuts" from the try-outs - all players are placed on teams except in very rare cases where there are too many or too few players for the available teams.) The level of competition will be reasonable and enjoyable to the players who are placed on any given team. Travel players are placed on a gender specific team based upon skill-level, and attend two practices per week whereas city teams consist of both boys and girls and players usually attend one practice per week. Additionally, the travel league involves slightly more driving (usually less than 30 minutes) to other Middlesex league towns.

Can my child play with his/her friends?
If you register through our on-line system, you can make two "friend" requests if your child plays on a Munchkins or U8 City League team. The key is that your child and her/his friend must both request each other on their registration form. We then will try our best to get the children on the same team, although we cannot guarantee it.

City league coordinators try to develop teams that are at parity so as to ensure that there is not a team that dominates the rest of the league. This requires the coordinators to spend a considerable amount of time reviewing players so they may set up teams that are balanced between gender, skill level, and age.

Starting with the spring 2006 season, Melrose Youth Soccer will be taking extra steps to create parity among the U-10 city league rosters. The methods to be used are still under review, but the goal will be to level the playing field so that all teams are competitive in the city league each season.

My child's practice time is a conflict with another activity - what can I do?
If you have a night that is not good for practice, you need to specify that on the registration form. Once the teams are formed (approximately six weeks before the season's start) no changes will be made.

Travel League Soccer:

How much traveling is involved in travel soccer?
Not a lot, really. In the spring season, travel players play ten games, and five of those are in Melrose. Of the remainder, all are in the Middlesex area, which includes towns like Medford, Revere, Wakefield, Reading. The far-away towns are all within 40 minutes' drive: Lowell, Westford, Waltham. You may have two of these per season, so all in all, the driving commitment is not huge.

How competitive is travel soccer?
Travel teams usually practice twice a week for an hour or an hour and a half each session. The city teams usually practice once a week. The number one team in each age group will more than likely be placed in Division 1 of the Middlesex League. This is very competitive with a high quality of play from all teams, including Melrose. Hence, it is the objective of Melrose Youth Soccer to have dedicated soccer players on the number one team. For example, other sports or activities would not interfere with playing soccer. If this is not for you, then you should consider the second or third team in the age group. These teams will be placed in lower divisions within the league and the competition will hopefully be similar. For these players, it is accepted that other activities may take place during the same season as soccer (i.e. baseball, softball, dance, swimming, skating, etc).

Why do you have tryouts?
Tryouts give us an additional set of data on each player and his/her skills. Together with coaches' evaluations, tryout information gives us the best chance at creating merit-based travel teams that can compete successfully against other cities and towns.

What if my child can't make tryouts?
It is absolutely necessary that all travel players attend tryouts. During the season, coaches see only their own players, so tryouts give them a chance to see a cross section of the players in the entire program. Without tryout information, it is very difficult to assess player skills, and almost impossible to place them fairly. Since we run tryouts for different age groups on different nights, if a player cannot make her assigned night, she should attend the next closest age group instead. This is not ideal, but is better than nothing from a coaching standpoint. Players who miss tryouts may find that they end up on low placed teams due to a lack of information.

How are kids placed, what criteria...for placing them on team 1,2 or 3 ?
As described in the above questions, players are assigned to teams on a merit basis, using a combination of coach's evaluations and tryout information. The tryout games we use are posted to our coach's page, and we encourage both parents and coaches to know these games, and to use them throughout the season, since they're a great way of improving skills, as well as measuring skills. Most of the games involve speed, ball-handling skills and shooting on the goal.

If my child is placed on a team in the fall, will he be on the same team in the spring?
Not necessarily. The fall is considered to be the developmental season while the spring is considered to be the competitive season. Players will be evaluated after the fall and adjustments will be made to the teams. Players may move up or down but the majority of the players will remain on the same team. Also, please keep in mind that some players only play in the fall or the spring, but not both.

Can my child play with her friends?
Maybe. In the travel program, our first priority is to place each player on a team which matches their ability. If you have 5 years experience and your friend is in the first year, the chances would not be good. If you have been playing on the same team for the last few years, your chances are much better. Please be aware that there are no guarantees.

My child can only practice on Mondays and Wednesdays, will this be okay?
The coach of the team, not the organization, sets practice days and times. If you are busy with other activities, then you should consider the second or third team rather than the first.

My child is terrific. Can she play in a higher age group?
In general, MYS discourages "playing up" in order to gain challenge. In the higher divisions of travel soccer, you will find many talented, fast and determined players to compete against. In addition, losing high quality players to upper age divisions weakens the quality of our top team in that player's age group, which weakens our program overall. In addition, players "playing up" are often not ready for the physical play that they encounter at the higher age bracket, and may be at greater risk of injury.

MYS Questions:

Where does my registration money go?
About half, or around $30-35 per player goes to uniforms. Mass. Youth Soccer charges us $8 per player for insurance, and $11 per registered adult (for insurance and nationwide CORI check). The remainder is spent on referees, fields maintenance, league fees, coaching and referee education, and other projects. This year, MYS worked in partnership with the City of Melrose, investing $40k in the main Knoll field. This renovation will provide players in the city with a high quality surface that is adapted to the reality that the entire high school complex is part of a flood plain.

What are you doing about the fields?
Read the above answer, for one. Under the leadership of Mayor Dolan, MYS is part of a round table commission of all youth sports leagues in town. Since many of the fields in town are used by more than one sport, we have made efforts to invest money in fields that will create lasting improvement in those facilities. Other sports around town (Churchill American's renovation of Monk Field, for example) are doing the same thing.

What equipment should my player have when she comes to practice and games?

• At least 20 ounces of water or a sports drink is strongly encouraged.
• Players should be dressed to play soccer: Shorts, Shin guards covered by socks, molded Soccer Cleats (Sneakers are OK but slippery).
• Munchkins are given an entire uniform as part of their tuition, and it is definitely not necessary to buy cleats for them.
• Wear the team uniform for games including mandatory shin guards.
• Long Hair should be contained with a soft headband or rubber band.
• Jewelry is not allowed in games, including earrings, bracelets, necklaces, etc.
• Exceptions are medical alert and religious jewelry but these must be covered with soft tape or band aids.
• Eyeglasses are not forbidden but should be safety lenses and non-metallic for player safety.
• Mouth guards are not required but may be worn.
• Medications such as Asthma inhaler may be brought to practice as needed.
• The referee holds final authority in deciding whether a player may wear any particular item during a game.

Do you need any help?
Melrose Youth Soccer is a 100% volunteer organization, and one of the biggest sports programs in Melrose. We always need help, including people who would like to join us at our board meetings.

Join the MYS Board: the board meets the 4th Monday of each month in the 2nd floor trustee's room in the Melrose Public Library.

Registration: twice a year, we run off around 1800 photocopies (MYS pays, of course). We need people to distribute them to elementary schools in class sized packets. Takes about 30 minutes.

Fields and Equipment: Do you have a pickup truck? At the beginning and end of a season, we need to move goals around between fields. Bring a buddy and your truck! An easier but also important job is picking up and delivering big boxes of uniforms. Not too heavy, but again, a truck would be handy.
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