Elite Tryout and Teaming Policy
- All players shall try out with their respective age group.
- The teaming committee, (Director-of-Travel, Director-of-Coaches and President) shall make the final decision regarding the team age groups. This decision shall be made promptly after the try out sign-ups. All players shall try out for the appropriate teams as determined by the teaming committee.
- The teams shall be filled from the lowest age group first. Thus the U9 team shall be filled first, then U10, U11 etc.
- Roster Size (U15-U18) - According to Iowa Soccer Association rules, we may roster upto 22 players. However, we are only allowed to take 18 players to ISL games and tournaments. This means that 22 players will be offered the same training but will be competing for 18 spots on game rosters on a week-by-week basis. There is a chance that up to 4 players maybe not get to play in any game. With that said, this is unlikely due to absences, injuries, etc, leaving roster spots open. For any games missed by a player - due ONLY to not being put on the 18 player roster, they will be reimbursed for each ISL game and tournament.
- All players shall play in their respective age group except with the following exception.
- A player will be allowed to play up an age level if the following criterion is met:
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- The older age group has room available on the roster; a younger player shall not take the roster spot of an older player who is playing in their respective age group no matter the talent level of the players involved.
- The team for the player’s appropriate age group will have at least half of the maximum number of substitutes allowed by the state roster if the player leaves.
- Example: a U10 player may play in the U11 division if the following criteria are met.
- The U11 team has room on its 14 person roster.
- The U10 team will still have at least 8 players on the roster (2 substitutes which is half of the maximum 4 substitutes allowed by the state roster)
- Example: a U10 player may play in the U11 division if the following criteria are met.
- Boys shall not play on a girl’s team. Girls are allowed to play on a boy’s team if there is not a team in her age group or a team a year older for her to move up to. If both of these criteria are met, the girl will be allowed to attend the boy’s try out for her respective age group. The coach will select the team on talent alone; gender shall not be a factor in the team selection.
- A coed team may be formed if there are not enough girls or boys to form their own team. If there are enough girls to form a team, but not enough boys to form a team the boys will have to tryout for an older boy’s team and the girl’s team will be formed.
- The team coaches will make the team selection; the teaming committee will approve all selections before the players are notified of making the team. The teaming committee has the authority to override a selection made by the coach.
- The players on the oldest teams will be notified first. If there is room for a player to move up to the next age level, it is the sole discretion of the older team's coach to offer that opening to a given player, provided that all the criteria above is met. If the player desires to move up and the criteria above are met, then the player will be allowed to move up. If only two roster spots are available on the older team, and three players or more desire to move up, the coach of the older team will select which two players will be allowed to move up. The decision to move up must be made at the time of the notification. Once the decision is made the decision will stand for the rest of the year.
A non-refundable deposit (plus a minimal online processing fee - all deposits shall be made online and will require a PayPal account) will be charged upon acceptance of a bid to play for any Elite team. Payment will be required by the end of the designated acceptance period. 100% of the deposit will go towards the player's fees; the processing charges will not.
Alternate Policy
If cuts are required during tryouts, the players who are cut may be offered the opportunity to be an alternate, at the discretion of the teaming committee. Alternates are allowed to practice with the team. The alternate shall be allowed to attend any league game in the place of a missing player. If a roster player will be missing for a tournament it will be up to the team coach to decide whether to invite the alternate player to the tournament as a guest player. In summary, if a roster spot is available during a league game the coach must invite the alternate to participate in the game. However the coach does not have to invite the alternate to tournament. The alternates will pay the club on a game by game basis. Alternates must purchase a uniform. Alternates will be ranked by ability by the team coach on a continual basis. The alternate with the highest rank will always be asked to guest player first. If the first alternate cannot attend, then the second ranked alternate will be asked next, and so on.
U9 and U10 players shall not have an official tryout. All U9 and U10 players shall be placed on a team. If more players want to participate than allowed on a roster the teaming committee will create a fair policy to equalize the number of games offered to each player. The fees will be adjusted accordingly.
No player can change teams during the year.
Adding players during the traveling year:
Players may be added to a current Elite team during the traveling year if one of the following conditions is met:
- The player is new to the Elite Program. This player will be required to attend 2-4 practices that will serve as a tryout. Acceptance to the team is not guaranteed; the Coach and Coaching Director will determine if the player is qualified to join the team. Players will only be accepted if they are qualifed (see above statement) and if there is an open roster spot.
2. If a team has less than half of the maximum number of substitutes allowed by the state after the teams are officially formed on August 1st additional players may be added until the half of the maximum number of substitutes is met. These spots will be filled on a first come first serve basis. Once this level (minimum roster) is met no additional players may be added to the team for the duration of the year.
3. If a team loses a player during the course of the year, this player will not be replaced unless the number of substitutes on the roster falls below half of the maximum number of substitutes allowed. The roster spot will be filled on a first come first serve basis. If more than one player is interested, a try-out will be held to fill the spot. Only the roster spot vacated shall be filled.
Elite Fees and Payments
Once a player has accepted a roster spot on an Elite team, he/she has committed to and is responsible for the full year's fees. Even if the player quits before the end of the season, he/she is still responsible for the full year's fees.
U9-U10: $42/month for 12 months, with intial $90 deposit (non-refundable)*
U11-U14: $55/month for 12 months, with initial $90 deposit (non-refundable)*
U15-U18: $63/month for 5 months, with initial $75 deposit (non-refundable)*
*After try-outs have been completed, if your child is invited to a team and accepts a roster spot the non-refundable deposit will go directly towards your player's fees.
Optional/Small-Sided Tournament Team Selection Policy
For any optional tournaments, or small sided tournament, which requires a state approved roster, ISA player passes, or where the Elite team name will be used or the team uniform worn the following teaming policy shall be followed. For tournaments where the roster sizes would require a team to be split into more than one team (i.e. 6v6 tournaments, and optional winter tournaments), players will be assigned to teams based on skill level, with the highest skilled players being grouped together. If only one team can be formed, the sole team will be selected by skill level. The head coach will have the responsibility to select the team/s.
The coach must send out a request to all rostered players at least one week in advance of selecting the teams (this must be done before registering for the tournament) asking which players would like to participate. The coach shall take as many teams as possible. The coach cannot leave players home in order to form one super team in lieu of taking two teams. The minimum roster size shall be based on the tournament minimum roster size. The number of players on each team shall be split evenly. If there are an odd number of players who want to attend, the head coach will decide which team gets the extra player.
ELITE Competitive Play Policy for U11 and Older
It is Elite Board policy that all tournaments are to be played at a competitive (vs. league) level.
This means that at tournaments, coaches are directed by the board to “Play to Win.”
What this entails is that the U11 coaches and older, at their discretion and honest asessment, will play the players in the positions where they are currently excelling or where they are needed by the team. Coaches will also decide playing time per player given where that player is at in their current development and need for the team. This means that playing time will not be equal among all players, especially during Championship games.
If this becomes a concern for you as a parent, please discuss with your coach what skills your child should be working on to improve and to possibly earn more playing time. (U9 and U10 teams play for “Participation” and not in the Competitive brackets. For all U10 teams and younger, all attempts will be made to even out playing time over the course of the games.)
It is also Elite Board policy that all IPSL and Academy league games are to be used as player development for our tournament teams. This is where coaches will try to even out play time, sometimes over the course of a few games. This may be affected by a player’s practice attendance record and other factors such as effort, attitude, injuries, etc.
During League games, coaches will practice players in their tournament positions, but will also choose and encourage players to play in newer positions. It is important for every player to understand the full range of the field and all of its positions.
***Remember that EVERY position on a soccer field is as important as the next. It takes an entire team, acting correctly in their positions, to move a ball up the field to score goals. AND it takes an entire team to protect and possess the ball to defend their own goal from being scored against.***
ELITE School Policy
It will be Elite and Coach policy to put school functions first.
If a player has a school sport or function (band, orchestra, vocal, academic competitions, etc) they are allowed to miss practices if necessary.
If players have other activities outside of school, such as dance, travel sports teams, Little Leage, etc, it is up to the discretion of the coach regarding the missing of practices.
* Players are expected, however, to make all games; IPSL, Academy, and tournaments.*