FALL TRAVEL
Fees must be paid by last registration date. Exceptions are made for the following reasons:
- A player applies before last registration date and is approved for a scholarship.
- A player requests before last registration date and Bangor Soccer Club approves a payment schedule. Final payment must be received prior to club kick off in order for player to attend practices or games.
Any family with an outstanding balance will not be allowed to sign up for a Bangor Soccer Club program until their previous balance is paid in full.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Travel Soccer?
Travel Soccer is a competitive program in which Bangor Soccer Club(BSC) sponsors teams both in the fall. BSC teams play other clubs throughout the state. The fall season runs from late August through the first week of November.
How old are the kids that play?
Bangor Soccer Club competes in Soccer Maine’s fall classic league which offers teams divided by gender from ages 8 to ages 14. The teams are further divided by age beginning at U-9(under 9), up to and including U-14. What team a player should play on is determined by his or her age as of July 31st of the tryout year. For example, in 2006, all boys or girls who were 10 as of July 31, 2006, played on their respective U-11 team.
Is travel soccer expensive?
Not really. In 2006, the cost was $135 per player which covered the cost of training, insurance, referees, equipment, and two tournaments. A uniform has to be purchased separately and typically costs between $40-50 and can be worn from year-to-year. In fact, some BSC players have been known to wear the same uniform for 3-4 years!
As for the travel part, the games are on Sundays. From time-to-time there is a Saturday game, but BSC tries to avoid scheduling Saturday games to give families some time to spend together on the weekends in the fall. At the younger ages, i.e. U-9 to U-11, there tend to be enough club teams north of Augusta such that travel, for the most part is limited to Augusta, Waterville, Camden, Hampden, Brewer, Ellsworth, Old Town, Fairfield, Winslow, etc. For some age groups, most often at the older ages, i.e. U12-U14, travel can be as far as Kittery, Windham and Portland as clubs field fewer teams at these ages. In addition, as part of your registration fee, your team will play in two Tournaments; the first, is the Labor Day Tournament held in Cumberland. This is a one day tournament and so, an overnight stay is usually not required. The other is usually Falmouth or Sanford and is held over the Columbus Day weekend in October. Generally, this requires a one or two night stay at a hotel.
How are teams selected?
BSC holds tryouts on two consecutive Saturdays each May for its fall travel teams. At U-9, U-10, and U-11, the players are only required to attend one of the two tryouts; at U-12 and above, players are generally required to attend both sessions.
Each player registers and is given a number. During the course of the tryouts, they are evaluated by current and past BSC coaches who give the player a score based on numerous factors. The scores are turned in to the Coaching Director who tallies the scores and ranks the players based on their tryout scores. The teams are then assembled by the Coaching Director based ONLY on the tryout scores and the anonymous registration number.
Do all players make a team or are there cuts?
Generally, all players who try out at U-9 through U-11 make the team they try-out for. At U-12 and above, there can be cuts if the number of players trying out is too many for one team and not enough for two or if a player presents a danger to himself or others. BSC tries not to cut players if it can avoid doing so and indeed, in recent years, took enormous steps to seek out additional players to fill out a second roster. If cuts cannot be avoided however, the players with the lowest scores at tryouts are the ones cut.
What happens if BSC has enough players for two teams?
At U-9 through U-11, BSC will try to make multiple teams at a particular age level as even as possible. BSC is a developmental club that focuses on improving the soccer skills of its players and feels that evenly divided teams facilitates player development. At U-12 through U-14, multiple teams will be divided into an “A” team and a “B” team, one which will compete in Division I and the other in Division II.
How are coaches selected?
People interested in coaching apply to the Coaching Director to coach a particular team. All coaches are required to have completed the 4 hour U-10 module coaches’ training course put on by Soccer Maine, which is offered multiple times per year throughout the State. At U-11 and above, BSC requires that its coaches complete a 16 hour training course for what is called an “E” coaching license. This is likewise put on by Soccer Maine throughout the year. Soccer Maine also offers a 32 hour “D” course and BSC encourages its coaches to seek this and other extra training as well.
After the teams are selected and the players notified, the BSC Coaching Director makes recommendations for coaching assignments to the Board for approval. Thus, coaches are not selected until after the rosters are put together and announced.
How often do teams practice? How many games do teams play?
In middle to late August, depending on the coach, the teams can practice 3-4 times per week. However, once the season begins, practices drop to 1-2 per week. One of those practices is attended by Gary Walker of All Pro Soccer whom the club has hired to help coaches better train our players. Gary and his staff has been assisting BSC for several years now and our players and coaches are better because of it.
Games begin the last week of August and generally, BSC teams play two games on Sunday, every week for 9 weeks (with the exception of the Columbus and Labor Day weekend tournaments).
Do all BSC teams play in play-offs and for championships?
No. BSC’s fall travel teams play in Soccer Maine’s fall Classic League. Soccer Maine is the governing body of travel soccer in Maine. Please visit their website for more information about them: www.soccermaine.com. The teams at U-9, U-10, and U-11 play in non-playoff leagues. Indeed, neither the scores nor the results of the games are reported to Soccer Maine. At the conclusion of the season, each team participates in a Festival put on by Soccer Maine during which they play 3-4 games on one day in one location to close out their season. Generally, the teams are matched up by ability and tend to be teams that you haven’t played during the season.
At U-12, 13, and 14, the teams do participate in a result-oriented league. The regular season games are used for seeding teams for the playoffs, which occur in late October and into November. Each Division I team is competing for the Challenge Cup; the Division II teams for the Anthem Cup.
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