Competitive & High School Program

Our competitive and high school age groups are travel soccer programs.  They are designed for children looking for more of a challenge and to further develop their skills as a soccer player.  Travel soccer involves a time commitment from both players and parents throughout the year.  Players in the 10U, 11U, 12U, 13U, and 14U age groups are expected to commit to play in both the spring and fall seasons.  Most teams also participate in some winter sessions and tournaments throughout the year.  Winter play and tournaments are an additional cost.  Teams often engage in fundraising activities that help offset some of the additional costs involved.

The registration fee is $150 for the season. The deadline for the fall season is May 26th. The deadline for the spring season is February 15^th.    Registrations after the deadlines incur late fees.  Uniforms are an additional cost.

Our programs are already offered at a discounted price due to the many generous sponsors in the Enfield area that help subsidize the costs.  Some surrounding town soccer organizations within Connecticut charge upwards of $300 or more for their academy/competitive/high school programs.  We do want to help, though.  If a family has 3 or more children enrolled in our recreational/academy/competitive/high school programs, we will refund $30 back to the family.  We wish we could do more, but it's the best we can do with our current fee structure.  For the $30 refund, a request needs to be made to our Registrar via email at registrar@enfieldosccer.com.  The refund will be applied after the full registration fee has been received. 

A lot of preparation and planning goes into planning a successful season.  We rely on several individuals who work year-round.  We have to submit our teams into leagues well before the season begins.  Our late fees are used to motivate parents to register timely as we cannot create additional teams after the league deadlines.

• Prior to the fall registration deadline of May 26^th or the spring registration deadline of February 15^th – 100% refund allowed
•  After the registration deadline but before the first practice. – 50% refund allowed
• Once practices begin, no refunds will be allowed.
• Players who register late and cannot be placed on teams will receive a 100% refund of the $130 registration fee but will forfeit the late fee as an administrative fee. There is also the option to roll the registration fee over to the next season.

Parents must upload a current color picture of their child during registration.  If your child has never played competitive or high school soccer, you will also have to upload your child's birth certificate. However, our system should know if they have played or not before.  A picture and birth certificate are requirements of the Connecticut Junior Soccer Association (CJSA).

For our 11U, 12U, 13U, and 14U teams:  Tryouts/evaluations occur every year in June for the proceeding fall and spring seasons.  For a player who didn't try out in June and didn't play in the fall, he/she will only be allowed to join a team for the spring if the team has room on the roster and with the head coach's permission.  A spring supplemental tryout/evaluation may be required.

For our high school age groups that only play in the spring, Teams are usually selected by our Coaches and Coaching Directors without a tryout/evaluation process.  For players unfamiliar with ESA, a tryout/evaluation may be required.

Toward the start of the spring season, parents must register their child online via our website enfieldsoccer.com. After registering, you will be notified of the three June tryout/evaluation dates.  Each child must participate in at least two of the tryouts/evaluations. The children are scored based on how they perform within 7 separate categories.   We choose evaluators from our ESA coaching ranks.  We also supplement our own in-house staff with independent high school and college coaches who provide evaluation services.

If a player cannot make the scheduled tryout for his/her age group, the parent must contact our competitive director prior to the tryouts.  Please contact Jeff Rousseau at jeff@enfieldsoccer.com.  Missing a tryout may affect a participant's placement on a given team.

Yes.  All players must tryout annually in June.  Players who make a given team in June are guaranteed placement on that team for the proceeding fall and spring seasons.

ESA offers a recreational program for various age groups during the fall and spring seasons.  Our recreational programs are a great way for players to develop additional skills. ESA also facilitates skills clinics during the course of the year, including an annual summer soccer camp.

Each seasonal year (fall/spring), individuals apply to be head coaches for a one-year term.  The head coaches are then elected by our ESA Coaching Directors with approval from the President.  Most head coaches are volunteers who invest considerable time and effort into their teams.  Head Coaches are expected to attend regular coaches training offered by ESA as well as national licensing courses.  Head Coaches select their assistant coaches and team managers.  The ESA Director of Coaching oversees all coaches.

For the spring, the competitive/high school season begins in early April and concludes in mid-June.  For the fall, the competitive season begins in early September and concludes in mid-November.

Competitive teams practice twice per week in the evenings.  High School teams may practice once or twice a week in the evenings. 

At the competitive and high school age groups, practice days are set by the coaches, taking into account field availability.

Games are typically played on Saturdays and Sundays.  There is also a potential for a couple of weeknight games each season.

Although we expect our coaches to find playing time during the course of the season for all of our players, playing time cannot be guaranteed at the competitive and high school levels.  Every team is different.  The amount of playing time received by a player is based on several factors.  Our coaches have team meetings at the beginning of each season and can address this subject more in-depth before the season begins.

Yes!  If players wish to play other sports in addition to travel soccer, they can.  Many children will play two sports during the same season.  However, players who wish to play at a more competitive soccer level should seriously consider their interest in playing other sports during the soccer season. 

No.  Just because a player is offered more playing time with a recreational team doesn't make it a good thing.  Players can learn bad habits, and the teachings offered to different levels of play often vary significantly.