Frequently Asked Questions:
Is financial aid available?
No player will be turned away for inability to pay. We offer a family discount where the maximum any family need pay is the fee for two children. Anyone seeking financial assistance with registration fees is asked to complete the registration process online and send along a note in confidence to the Registrar at marbleheadsoccer@gmail.com We also can arrange financial assistance for the uniform if that presents a hardship.
What is MYSA’s Intramural program?
Intramural soccer programs are available as follows:
For Grades 2, 3 and 4, in both the fall and spring seasons
For Grade 5 & 6 – in the fall seasons only
There is no Intramural program for Grade 7 & 8 either Fall or Spring, and there is no Intramural program for Grades 5 & 6 during the Spring. All eligible players are required to be evaluated for a Travel team, with evaluations occurring during the prior season. Please make sure that your child entering Grade 4 and older participates in Travel Evaluations if they want to be placed on a travel team for the next season.
In the Fall, MYSA offers:
- a Grade 2 intramural league (separate Girls and Boys leagues)
- a Grade 3/4 intramural league (separate Girls and Boys leagues)
- a Grade 5/6 town (intramural) league (typically separate Girls and Boys leagues, although the town league may go co-ed on a season-by-season basis if numbers require) All Grade 5/6 Travel players are encouraged to also participate in the Fall town league.
As MYSA’s Travel program (through the Essex County Youth Soccer League) only begins in Grade 4, all Grade 2 and 3 players play Intramurals, while Grade 4 players who decide to opt out of Travel may play Intramurals alongside the 3rd graders as well. Grade 2 intramural teams practice once per week (either Tuesdays or Thursdays) and play a game each Saturday afternoon against another intramural team in Marblehead (for more information on the Grade 2 Fall league, see below). Grade 3/4 Intramural teams practice twice per week and play a game each weekend. Grade 5/6 town league players participate in the other Grade 5/6 clinic training days for their gender, and have the opportunity to participate in any additional training programs (goalie training, etc.) made available as well. Grade 2 (Girls or Boys) and Grade 3/4 Boys games are Saturday afternoons. Grade 5/6 town league games and Grade 3/4 Girls IM games are on Sunday afternoons. The season typically runs eight weeks over a nine week period, as games are typically not scheduled over Columbus Day weekend.
In the spring:
- only Grade 2/3/4 players play Intramurals, as a combined program. Grade 4 players who participate in prior travel evaluations and register can play Travel, and/or can opt to play Intramurals; no Grade 2 or 3 players are eligible for Travel and will play Intramurals only.
- Grades 5/6 and older play Travel only.
In the Spring, Grade 2/3/4 Intramural Boys play on Sunday afternoons and Intramural Girls play on Saturday afternoons. The season typically runs eight weeks over a ten week period, as games are typically not scheduled over Easter or Memorial Day weekends.
How does your Clinic program work?
An instructional soccer clinic is offered to Kindergarten and Grade 1 players in the spring and in the fall. The clinic runs for six weeks with five weeks of instruction and small games and a season ending jamboree in week six, where the players compete in a series of small-sided games and celebrate with ribbons and a treat at the conclusion. Parent volunteers are a key part of this program. No coaching or soccer experience is necessary. Professional soccer instructors lead the practices and also work with the volunteer coaches. Sessions last about 60 minutes each week and are held on Saturday mornings at Tower school.
Details about the approach and goals of the clinic program are included in the MYSA CLINIC PROGRAM OUTLINE.
What is your Travel program like?
Our teams, ranging from Grade 4 to 12, play in the Essex County Youth Soccer Association league. Usually half a team’s games are home games and the other half are played on the road throughout the North Shore.
Selection – Teams are constructed based on multiple factors, including performance during a required evaluation, coaches’ evaluations from the previous season, selection committee observations and attendance during the current season. (Players are not required to have participated the previous season to be eligible for a travel team the next season, but are required to have attended an evaluation)
Players are placed on travel teams with their individual long-term soccer development as the primary consideration. A player’s selection to either a travel or an intramural team is primarily focused on an evaluation of what will be the best next step for that player as they continue to progress within the MYSA program and beyond.
Strong parent volunteer coaches, both for intramural and travel teams, are key to the long-term development of each and every MYSA player — so please get involved if you are interested! In all cases, MYSA’s goals are for all players are to have fun, to continue developing their soccer skills, and to come back the next season. Resources for coaches, whether experienced or new, are available here. US Soccer also offers a wide range of coaching courses and information.
Spring Travel – Players in Grades 4 and up participate in Travel teams in the spring. There are no intramural programs for these age groups, except for Grade 4 players who choose to opt out of Travel and join the Grade 2/3/4 Intramural program instead. Players younger than Grade 4 are ineligible to play Travel in the spring season. Evaluations for spring Travel are held the preceding fall, usually in mid- to late-October.
There are opportunities for players, as well as parent coaches and other parent volunteers, to continue their MYSA participation beyond the Grade 7/8 age group. Parents, players and coaches interested in taking a lead role and helping to form and support Grade 9/10 and Grade 11/12 spring travel teams are encouraged to contact the MYSA VP of Boys or VP of Girls by early October. The October timeline is important in order to allow team organizers enough time for team planning and organizing efforts, as well as for player registrations to be completed by early December.
Fall Travel – All Grade 7/8 players participate in Travel (no Intramural). Grade 5/6 will have both Travel and town (intramural) programs, with Travel team placement determination made via a Travel evaluation in the previous Spring season. Players who play Fall Grade 5/6 Travel are encouraged to also play Fall town (intramural) to further develop their skills, though it is not required. Any Grade 4 players who participate in a Travel evaluation in the Spring season will be placed to an appropriate skill-level team (Travel or Intramural) in the following Fall as they become 5th graders. All Grade 3 players and older are therefore required to participate in the Spring season Travel evaluations if they want to be participate on a travel team in the fall. Evaluations are held in the end of the Spring season (typically in mid- to late-May). High school aged Travel is not offered in the Fall season as it would conflict with the MHS season.
Once the evaluations are scheduled, you will find Spring 2023 Travel Evaluation dates on the Travel page.
If you have additional questions about our travel program, please contact us at marbleheadsoccer
Note that in the Fall season (not the Spring), previous Grade 4 players will “age up” to G5/6, and previous Grade 6 players will “age up” to G7/8.
What are the age deadlines? Are there any exceptions?
Marblehead Youth Soccer has adopted a grade-based league structure in alignment with the recent changes implemented by Essex County Youth Soccer, which is taking guidance from Massachusetts Youth Soccer. Players will now play in teams organized by grade level rather than the previous August 1 to July 31 age range. Players must be born “on or after January 1st” to qualify for a specific grade level, or an exception request must be approved.
In some cases players may PLAY UP if requested, though MYSA does not recommend this approach. It is typically utilized when a player is in the appropriate age range but a lower grade (e.g. player started school later, or repeated a grade).
We cannot allow players to PLAY DOWN to a lower age group for any reason, with the exception being the Clinic program for Kindergarten and 1st Grade children.
If you have any questions about this policy, please email marbleheadsoccer@gmail.com.
Are uniforms or equipment required?
Our K & Grade 1 Clinic programs provide t-shirts for all players. Players should wear shin guards inside their socks, sneakers or soccer cleats, black socks and black shorts. We provide the balls and all instructional equipment.
Our Grade 2/3/4 Intramural programs use colored shirts assigned by team. The Grade 5/6 “Town League” doesn’t require any uniform at all.
All Travel programs (with HS age teams sometimes an exception) wear our official town uniform.
All players also need to wear shin guards inside their socks, and soccer cleats. Jewelry, watches, necklaces, bracelets, etc are not allowed as a safety hazard.
More information can be found on the Uniforms page.
Do you play on rainy days?
Rain by itself is not a determinant of whether practices or games take place. Decisions about the schedule for any given day of the season are made in concert with town officials and field officials. If the town of Marblehead closes our grass fields, we cannot use them. We frequently are forced to make a decision early in the day before the complete weather or field picture is known. Or at other times, rapid changes in weather may force a last-minute cancellation. MYSA coaches are instructed to clear the field whenever lightning or thunder are in evidence. To see the most up-to-date town grass field status updates follow the link in the right hand panel: “Marblehead – Field Status”.
When it comes to Clinic or practice cancellations we frequently are able to send an email to the groups involved announcing a cancellation. We do generally play in light rain. When games are cancelled it is typically due to standing water on the fields, poor field conditions or lightning.
Player safety is always our top priority.
Who is in charge?
MYSA is run by a volunteer Board of Directors and officers elected by the Members of the Corporation each year. There are more than 40 Members comprised of coaches and other volunteers past and present. The organization generally meets two to four times per year at the Marblehead Community Center.
Teams are coordinated by gender. There is a gender Vice President who manages age coordinators for each age group. The Girls VP, for instance, oversees a Girls Grade 7/8 coordinator, a Girls Grade 5/6 coordinator, and a Girls Grade 2/3/4 coordinator. The Boys side mirrors this. There is also a Director of Clinic overseeing that program for both girls and boys. Any questions about your child’s program should be directed to the coordinators and escalated to the VPs if necessary. The age coordinators are responsible for recommending coaches to the Coach Selection Committee, organizing intramural teams and the data used by the Travel Selection Committees (who are responsible for Travel team placements), managing the schedule, and managing the evaluation process for the travel program.
In addition to the gender VP’s we also have a VP of Technical Development who coordinates training for our volunteer coaches and our referees, oversees the technical training program for all players, and arranges for the scheduling of our professional coaching resources. We also have a VP of Travel who coordinates our communication with the ECYSA, and a Treasurer who coordinates the administrative (registration, purchasing, etc.) functions. Our Secretary/Clerk keeps track of communicating with all of the above and maintaining the public records of the MYSA, and our President oversees all of the above.