Fall 25 / Spring 26 - U8/U9 Travel Presentation

What is Travel Soccer?

• Goal to develop players and form teams to compete at the highest level of the CJSA, in the Southwest District.
• Organized by age group starting with U-9 (under 9 years old) through U-15.  Teams are grouped by birth year.
•  Age groups for the 2025-2026 seasons are:
  

• Divisions are organized separately for girls and boys.
• There are two seasons, Fall which begins play in August and Spring which begins play in March.  
  

What commitment is involved? 

• Practice twice a week during the season
• Optional Technical Clinic on Friday afternoons
• Optional House League games on Saturday afternoons/evenings
• League games are typically on Sunday afternoons, with away games against other clubs from towns throughout Fairfield County
• Season is generally 8-10 weeks
• Seasonal Tournament play
• Fall CT Cup games for U11's and above
  
• Being a member of a team invokes a commitment on the part of all players to regularly attend practices and games
• Commitment from players for practices, tournaments, and CT Cup competitions, all of which will be mandatory

How are players selected for travel teams?

Players are evaluated and placed on teams according to the following process:

• Coaching staff evaluates players throughout season
  
• Players are evaluated during spring tryout sessions (see tryout process below)
  
• All decisions are made by coaching staff and coaching director
  

How is playing time for each child determined?
The coach’s objective is to play players in the positions that will give the team the highest probability of winning, in the context that every player will play in every game. Players are not guaranteed equal playing time in either individual games or over the course of the season. The amount of time a player will play will be dependent on the coach’s judgment and the game situation.  

Coaches should give all players the opportunity to experience different playing positions (offense, defense, and goalie) to allow players the chance to develop the knowledge and confidence in various positions and to allow the coach to assess a player’s natural instincts and competence in these positions. There should be a conscious effort to provide ample playing time in all positions for all players, particularly in the U9-U11 age groups. As players move into the U12-U14 age groups, the New Canaan FC would expect coaches to begin to have players’ positions become more specialized in practice.  A player’s skill level, effort, and attitude in practice will directly affect the level of playing time in games.

Coaches will be given wide latitude on game days to manage the games as they see fit in the context of the New Canaan FC guidelines. 
Travel teams will be placed within the highest Southwest District division that the New Canaan FC believes will result in attaining a minimum .500 season for the team.  As per SWD policy, teams that win their division will automatically move up to the next highest division.  Any team that either wins the highest SWD division or is highly competitive therein will be considered to move into the Premier league.

I am new to New Canaan, how do I get my child involved?
Registration for the upcoming season is typically the prior June, with tryouts occurring in May. If you move to town in the off-season, please contact the Coaching Director for options. Your child may be able to be involved in an off-season activity or if you move to town during the season there may be an opportunity to play that season.

How do I get involved as a parent?
While the teams are professionally coached, we need parent/guardian volunteers to manage the team, pay referees, assist on the sidelines, and coordinate team-bonding/social events.  A list of these roles and what they entail can be found here.  Email our Coaching Director if you are interested in helping.