The Portage Soccer Club (PSC) was incorporated in February 1991. The mission of the PSC is to promote the development of amateur soccer players. The PSC will accomplish this mission by:
B. Providing competitive opportunities through participation in the West Michigan Youth Soccer Association (WMYSA), the Michigan State Youth Soccer Association (MSYSA) and the United States Youth Soccer Association (USYSA);
C. Promoting and sponsoring MSYSA and USYSA sanctioned tournaments;
D. Supporting recreational and developmental soccer programs in the community;
E. Working cooperatively with other recreational and developmental sports programs; and
F. Supporting the development and maintenance of soccer fields for PSC teams, for tournament play and for community use.
Players
in any school district who meet the age requirements of MSYSA by August 1st of
each year are eligible to attend a tryout. U-9 through U-19 players are eligible.
Annual tryouts for the formation of PSC teams for the fall and/or spring sessions of the seasonal year will be held annually during the third or fourth week of June. Tryouts for high school age boys teams playing only in the spring session may be held at this time or until the start of high school practice or after the high school season ends in the fall. Dates and times for tryouts shall be advertised in a newspaper of general circulation, by posting a notice on the PSC website (www.portagesoccer.com) or by any other means deemed necessary.
Players who can not attend the scheduled tryouts must notify the Director of Coaches and schedule a tryout prior to the scheduled tryout dates.
Tryouts
shall be held at a suitable location approved by the PSC Board or the Director
of Coaches, usually the Portage Soccer Complex at 4422 Bishop.
PSC offers teams at U-9 through U-19 for both boys and girls. There will be no co-ed teams. When there are sufficient travel-caliber players, two or more teams will be formed for these age groups.
Other than the Elite teams, PSC teams will be denoted by the colors Green, Gold, and White, though not always in that order. If there are insufficient players at some ages, age groups may be combined to form a team (i.e. U16 and U17 players combined with U-18 players).
Parents are strongly urged to remember that all players develop at different rates, and being placed on the "B" team is also a great opportunity to grow and develop, especially when attitudes are positive and the focus is on fun and development at a healthy pace. There are many examples of youth who played on "B" teams and became excellent players, including several Portage youth who recently went on to earn All-Division and All-District status on their high school teams. See also the Feb 2006 Newsletter for the compelling story of the PSC alumnus who was cut from his U10 team but when allowed to develop at his own pace, quickly advanced through PSC teams to Premier and ODP, playing key roles in High School and NCAA championships, and now is an MLS player! It's hard to do better than that. On the other hand, to see what happens when there is too much focus on accelerated development too young, go to www.sportsmanship.org and open the "Parent's Guide" and the "National Report Card". We're fortunate in Portage to have so many parents who keep winning in perspective and focus on player development at the younger ages especially. Let's keep a good thing going.
Any appeals to the team formation process must be submitted to the entire PSC board in writing.
The preceding policy was modified and approved at the April 9, 2006 PSC Board of Directors meeting.
The PSC Director of Coaches is responsible for the selection of coaches subject
to approval of the PSC Board of Directors. Coach selections for the PSC will be
based on demonstrated soccer coaching ability, experience, licensing and the ability
to instruct.
Coaches are required to have the appropriate license for the age group and
level that they will be coaching. For the U-10 to U-12 age groups this shall
be a United States Soccer Federation (USSF) class E license, its equivalent
or above. For the U-13 and above age groups this shall be a USSF class D license,
its equivalent or above. Coaches without a license are allowed one year (fall
and spring seasons) to obtain a license.
Tryouts
for PSC teams will be held to identify those players who have the technical soccer
skills, tactical understanding, physical fitness, desire and coachability to play
soccer at a high level. The tryout process will adequately, fairly and objectively
evaluate players.
The PSC Director of Coaches shall be responsible for establishing the criteria
to be evaluated at tryouts. The criteria will include the following items: a
series of skills tests wherein players are evaluated on their soccer skills
(i.e. pass, dribble, shoot, ball control and head plus goalkeeper) and tactical
exercises (small-sided games).
Prior to tryouts, the Director of Coaches shall hold a mandatory meeting of
coaches to review the criteria to be evaluated at tryouts. Following tryouts,
but before the notification of player results, a second coaches meeting shall
be held to review results, team formation and players trying out up.
Player scores will be tabulated and summarized. Players will then be given
a numerical ranking and selection to a PSC team will be based on this ranking.
Tryout results will be strictly confidential.
Parents are not allowed on the soccer fields during tryouts unless they are
assisting in recording tryout data. However, parents may not record data for
tryouts that their own child participates in.
Players will be notified of the result of his/her tryout no later than two (2) weeks following the conclusion of the tryouts. At that time, those players offered positions will be asked to accept or decline the position by email no later than one (1) week following notification of the tryout result. Players and parents are reminded that the other players on the team are counting on each other's commitment to follow through on whatever they commit to, as are other players who are turned away. Consideration of others who also want to play soccer is expected.
Selected players and their families are expected to attend the PSC Annual Club-Wide Meeting in mid-July (date/time and location will be announced no later than June 15 of each year).
Club fees for each player will be due at this meeting. Families unable to attend will be responsible for completing their PSC registration and pay the player fees with their PSC Team Manager or Coach before the mid-July meeting.
Players who tryout and will be attending high school for the succeeding fall will be notified of the result of his/her tryout following annual tryouts or the conclusion of the high school season. This option will only be available to coaches who intend to evaluate players performing for their high school team and/or conduct a supplemental tryout following the conclusion of the high school season.
In no event shall a player be notified of the results of his/her tryout later than November 30 or a date to be determined by the Board of Directors.
The preceding policy was modified and approved at the April
9, 2006 PSC Board of Directors meeting.
The
Fall Season usually runs from mid- or late-August to the end of October. The Spring
Season usually runs from mid April to mid- or late-June. Teams typically practice
twice a week. Teams typically play an average of eight (8) regular league games
each season on Saturday or Sunday afternoons. Half of the games are played away
and home games are played at the Portage Community Soccer Complex.
Teams also usually play two or three tournaments per year, which may include
Memorial Day & Labor Day. All teams are also required to play in the Portage
Soccer Classic in June - we are the host organization. Some teams play outside
the regular season (indoor soccer), which is voluntary.
By committing to play on a PSC team, the player's family is committing to
pay the required fees and volunteer eight to ten hours per year (i.e. concession
stand, Portage Soccer Classic Tournament, spring and fall clean up at the complex).
The
cost of playing for PSC in the 2006-2007 playing year is $245.00 for full season
play (U14 and younger), $210.00 for high school players (U15 and older), and $200.00
for half season play. These fees do not include tournament fees; coaches travel
expenses or team supplies. This additional fee will vary by team, but should range
from $100-$300 per season.
The total uniform package covered by the PSC fee includes two jerseys, one
short and two pairs of socks. Coats, warm-ups, bags and additional PSC apparel
will be made available at an additional cost.
Players will be allowed to play on an advanced age team if in doing so they will be playing with children of the same school grade level and are selected based on the tryout, or if there are not enough travel-caliber players to form an age-appropriate team without them.
Players who wish to play with teammates one year older and one year ahead in school are encouraged to play with their age-appropriate team, but will be permitted to "try out up" if the following conditions are all met-
1. The player must be ranked in the top 25% of players on their age-appropriate team as having soccer skills substantially superior to their peers as judged by their current PSC coach and impartial evaluator prior to tryouts.
2. The player must be evaluated as in the upper half of players that are currently in the advanced age division.
3. The player (or his/her parents) interested in trying out for an advanced age division team must present written certification by their current coach that they're in the top quartile of their current team when they register to tryout for the advanced age team.
Players are advised to attend tryouts both for the advanced age they're trying out for, and their age-appropriate team in case they aren't selected for the advanced age team.
The PSC Tryout Selection Committee shall be the arbitrator of any disputes regarding the eligibility of a player to play up, and placement of a player on a PSC team.
If, due to a superior record in their appropriate age division, a team wishes to play in an advanced age division to find a more competitive environment, the team may petition the PSC board to do so.
The preceding policy was modified and approved at the April 9, 2006 PSC Board of Directors meeting.
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