1) Introduction
 Thursday June 8 and Saturday June 10, 2017 MHAA will be holding soccer tryouts for our Premier (select soccer) program. Players can register and participate in tryouts at no cost and with no obligation. After tryouts MHAA makes decisions about which teams it will create and who makes those teams. Players and families that are offered a spot can then decide if they want to accept. I encourage anyone who is even curious to participate.

2) Tryouts Specific Details
Players need to come to both nights.

NOTE: You can simply show up for tryouts, but it is VERY helpful if you register online ahead of time at www.monfortheightsathletics.com

Thursday June 8th:
5:30-7pm Boys & Girls U10 and below
7-8:30pm Boys & Girls U11 and above

Saturday June 10:9
9:00-10:30pm Boys & Girls U10 and below
 10:30-noon Boys & Girls U11 and above

Location: Blue Rock Park
3010 Blue Rock Rd,Cincinnati,Ohio,45239

Please arrive at least 15 minutes early to check in.
Wear a White Shirt. Socks & shorts can be any color.
Bring a properly inflated soccer ball
Soccer Ball Size: (U8 - size 3, U9/10/11/12 size 4, U13 and up size 5)
Bring a water bottle.
Wear shin guards completely covered by socks and soccer cleats.

If you have any questions, please contact Eric Lorta or [email protected]

After Tryouts are complete, our team will take several days to discuss team planning. All participants will be contacted with details about moving forward by Friday June 16.

If you cannot make tryouts, but want to be considered: Please 1) register for premier tryouts on our website and 2) email [email protected] prior to and let us know you can't make it. Please do this before June 7th.

3) Tryout Process
Our tryout process is handled through our website and all player parents will need to have a website account at www.monfortheightsathletics.com.

A) Register So We Have Your Details
First step is letting us know you might be interested by registering. You can do this up until June 7 on our website (www.monfortheightsathletics.com). Register your player(s) for the "Premier" Program in their age group on that site. You can also do it by walking into tryouts on June 8th, but we would prefer you do it online. If you do walk in and sign up at the tryouts, we will create an account for you on the website later.

B) Tryouts and Assessments
We will have our currently scheduled tryout sessions and we might schedule more if we think we need to. After tryouts, our coaching staff will use those assessments as well as any other information at our disposal (including prior knowledge of players) to make two judgments:
1) Is it appropriate for us to field a team in each particular division? and
2) If so, who makes the team?

C) Notifications to Families
Once decisions have been made EVERYONE who has expressed interest will be emailed (via your website account) and informed of the status of our MHAA Premier team(s) in their respective division. We will let you know our plans going forward and, if we field a team, who made the team (assuming everyone accepts a spot on the team). We will contact everyone by June 16. If we need more time to make decisions, we will let you know that by June 16 and inform you of how we will move forward from there.

D) Families Respond
All Families that have made a particular team will get an "Accept or Decline" notice via the website. You need to respond via the website if you will accept the spot on the team. If you do accept, the website will lead you through the rest of the registration process and you will be charged the appropriate fees for your team. If players decline, there may or may not open spots for players that otherwise may not have made the team. Alternate players will be notified if that opportunity arises. Please respond as quickly as possible (within 2 days is preferred) if you are offered a spot on a team.

E) Season Planning Begins!
Respective coaches will organize their teams and begin planning for Fall season play and possibly participating in tournaments as well.

4) The Lowdown on Premier Soccer in General
SAY Soccers "Premier" Program has been around for a couple years now, but is still very young. the Greater Cincinnati Premier Soccer League (in which our Premier teams play) will hold it's 6th season this Fall (2017). With each successive season, the field of teams grows and the level of play gets higher. In addition to league play, many Premier teams also participate in select soccer tournaments against teams from other select soccer clubs such as Cincinnati West, TFA, Kolping, Star, Cincinnati United, Fairfield Optimist, Ohio Elite and so on.

MHAA has fielded the following Premier teams in that past seasons:
Fall 2014: Boys Passers, Boys Wings, Girls Wings, 
Spring 2015: Girls Wings
Fall 2015: Boys Wings, Girls Wings (2 teams), Boys Strikers
Spring 2016: Girls Wings, Boys Strikers
Fall 2016: Girls Passers, Girls Wings, Boys Strikers
Spring 2017: Girls Passers, Boys Passers, Girls Wings, Boys Wings, Boys Strikers

It is important to understand that even for "select" soccer, there are a diverse range of "levels." Select Leagues will have relative levels of ability and teams can move up and/or down levels with each season, depending on how they perform. The GCPSL is growing and looks strong, but it currently only has one level per division and also features "combined" divisions with two years in age span. As it grows, the GCPSL will move to one year age spans for divisions and possibly eventually have multiple levels in each division. In General (Joel's Opinion), GCPSL teams play at a significantly higher level than our recreational teams and at a comparable level to lower to mid level teams from "non SAY" select clubs, but not at the highest level of select youth soccer that you can find anywhere. MHAA always targets getting kids to play in situations that are best for them and their family. We want them to develop as soccer players and as people and also have fun. I welcome all families in our organization to talk with me about your choices with soccer. In addition to running MHAA soccer, my kids and I participate in many other soccer formats, including other select clubs (we've played for 3 different ones), soccer development programs, summer camps and soccer related sports such as futsal, indoor soccer, and basketball.


5) Costs for Premier Soccer
Here are the costs to anticipate for Premier Soccer at MHAA:
MHAA Annual Family Membership: $25 (once per calendar year per family - covers all MHAA sports)
MHAA Premier Soccer Fee: $40/player
Uniforms (Premier Players are required to buy the entire kit - jersey, shorts and socks): $42
Equipment: plan to buy cleats, shin guards, soccer balls, water bottles, soccer bag, etc as needed
Tournament Fees: Some teams may decide to play in tournaments. costs vary for each tournament, but we would just divide the cost by the number of players. Figure about $40-60 per player per tournament.
Training Fees: MHAA will hire professional trainers. They will split the cost for those among the players equally.

6) MHAA's Recreational Soccer Program
MHAA's older soccer program is playing recreationally in the NW Cincinnati SAY League.  Important notes on Rec:
Deadline to Register is June 30 (You can do it on our website)
The Age groupings are different for Rec and Premier.
Rec Soccer plays in a different formats (generally more kids on the field) than Premier.
Full details for Recreational soccer can be found on our website. CLICK HERE