Valley United Soccer Club

For Summer 2013 teams for ages U13 and above: Valley United will hold tryouts on Saturday, July 28, 2012.  The rain date will be Sunday, July 29th.  Please mark this date on your family calendar.  (These dates were first posted here and emailed to all players around December 1, 2011.)

For Summer 2013 teams for ages U9-12: Tryouts will be held in October, after the fall season is over.  The date is not yet set, but will not conflict with VAA playoffs or the MEA weekends. 

• Please bring: soccer cleats, shin guards, socks, and water; clothing should be appropriate for the weather and be 'neutral' (ie, not show any club or team affiliation)
• All players must complete the skills tests at any time of their choosing during the open periods
• Parents must stay away from the testing areas
• Only coaches registered for the upcoming season may observe the tryout.  Register using your family's account in the Registration System.
• Under no circumstance is anyone allowed to approach the evaluators, except the VUSC board members who are facilitating the tryouts

You need to request an "excused absence" when you register. Excused absences may be granted for injury, illness, and other situations that would result in a family hardship. Excused players are placed on a team according to the previous season’s coach’s evaluation of their performance. Unexcused players are placed on the bottom team within the age group.

The soccer "year" starts on August 1, and the player's age on August 1st determines his/her normal age group.  If the player is 12 years old on August 1st, he is known as U13 ("under 13") for the whole soccer year.  The soccer year includes two seasons: the fall season and the subsequent summer season.

To determine the right age group for your child, look to the left menu and click on "My soccer age".

Your player will participate in two activities at tryouts: the "Skills Tests" and the "Field Tests".  The Skills Tests measure speed, ball handling, etc.  The Field Tests are small-sided games, and hired evaluators rank the players.  The documents below give you more specifics about the tests.

Players are placed on teams by a panel consisting of at least three Valley United board members, none of whom has a child in the age group. First, the panel takes guidance from the outside evaluators about players who are not ready for traveling soccer. Then the panel takes guidance from the outside evaluators about the skill level of the players, and whether the top players are ready for the upper competitive divisions (depending on the age level, upper is maroon, C2, or C1). Valley United’s preference is to always create upper teams if there are sufficient skilled players.

In the U09 and U10 age levels, when there are enough players to create two teams in either competitive division (gold, maroon), the panel of board members will create rosters that are as equal as possible, both in terms of player skills and coach volunteers. To illustrate, there could be two “equalized” maroon teams and one gold team, or there could be no maroon team and two “equalized” gold teams. This creates the opportunity for the teams to develop using joint practices and scrimmages, and both teams have a fair chance when they face each other in league play and at tournaments.

At U11 age level and above, when there are enough players to create two teams in a competitive division (C3, C2, etc.), the panel of board members will create rosters that are stacked. In other words, there will be an “upper” team and a “lower” team.  

In Valley United, a “play-up” is defined as any player who is assigned for one season to a team in an older age group. 

To be assigned to an older age group, you must request to tryout with that age group.  This can be done during the registration process.

Any player trying out with an older age group is strongly encouraged to also try out with his "normal" age group, to ensure correct placement if he is not placed on an older age team. A player who does not tryout with his "normal" age group runs the risk of being assigned to the lowest team in the normal age group.

Note that giving a player approval to tryout with an older age group does not mean that the player will be assigned to the older age group.  The Club reserves the right to place a player on an older team when it serves the interests of the player and does not have a negative impact on other affected players, or the needs of the teams involved.

In Valley United, we call this a "grade-up”.  It is defined as any player whose grade at school is higher than usual for players of that age.  It happens frequently for girls who have an August birthday.  In this circumstance, the player may wish to play on a team with her classmates.  You can request this type of "play up" when you register your child.  The Club reserves the right to refuse to place your player on an older team if it has a negative impact on another player or the needs of the teams involved.