Travel
Fall and Spring
For: Girls teams and Boys teams (ages U9 and up)
Competitive level of play. Teams travel to other towns and compete in league play. Practice twice weekly. Matches are played on weekends, sometimes Saturdays and Sundays.
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Travel FAQ
Can you describe Travel Soccer for me?
Travel is for age-based teams by gender: girls teams and boys teams. It is a competitive level of play. Teams travel to other towns and compete in league play. Practice twice weekly. Matches are played on weekends, sometimes Saturdays and Sundays. Generally roughly half the matches will be home in Portland, and half away. Most away matches are in neighboring towns like Glastonbury or East Hampton. Occasionally you might drive to, say, Granby or Suffield for example. Many teams participate in a tournament, too (coach’s decision).
Options for U9 players: If you feel your player prefers another year of Rec, yes, we do allow players that age to play Rec for another year. In most cases it would be the last year of Rec eligibility before they'd be required to play Travel the following year.
Some of the larger towns offer Rec and Travel at older ages, but our town is too small to offer both options, so we've typically opted for Travel since most parents have preferred it historically.
The goal is to have age-based teams by gender, but it's difficult to know exactly each team's situation until we see who signs up. I'd suggest signing your player up, and recruiting their friends to sign up. Then after team formation the club would assign a coach to the team. Typically it's a volunteer parent (in most cases).
Are evals mandatory?
The evals will be mandatory for Travel players. They are used to understand where the players are, so that we can form teams with the players' skills and development in mind. It is very rare for us not to accept a player to a team, especially when numbers are low and the player works hard
What if there aren’t enough players to field a team?
Refunds are possible if there aren't enough players for a team. Another option is always to combine two age groups, say 2010 with 2009 for example. This is rare for the younger teams, but sometimes happens to some of the older teams.
Summer Drop In
For: Travel Players
Travel players are invited to drop in during the summer and work on skills and stay in shape.
Winter Indoor
For: Travel Players
Travel teams are invited to Oakwood for indoor practices to make sure players aren't getting rusty during the snowy months.