Overview: VISC-Sponsored Fall Soccer by Age
Age four and under
There is no formal VISC program. Players are encouraged to have free-play with a ball - using both their hands and feet. Duration of play should be player-driven. If players are really energetic or curious about soccer - have them come to the fall Sunday soccer games at VES (Harbor school) - and watch the games, and kick on the ‘big goals’ afterwards, or on a spare field. Play-ups into the U6 program are possible, but require parent involvement during practice.
Age five
VISC U6 fall program (sign up before Sept) - September-October. Co-ed weekly practices are focused on time with a ball at the player’s feet. Objectives are player movement, player having fun, learning dribbling principles, and learning kicking principles. Scrimmages and any ‘player versus player’ situations are discouraged -- coaches can play defensively. The fall season is currently six weeks, based on diminishing attendance over the season, and wanting players to remember soccer being fun (versus cold, wet and tiresome). Players are encouraged to play on-age, and not push to participate in U8 and their games.
Ages six-seven
VISC U8 fall program (sign up before Sept) - September-October. Weekly practices are focused on time with a ball at the player’s feet. The club has done both co-ed and divided by gender and has better player-retention with gender-divided programs. Objectives are player movement, player having fun, learning dribbling principles, learning kicking principles, and the rules of the game. Scrimmages and games are added at this age -- usually 4v4 without goalies. The current fall season is eight weeks long, with games on Sundays. Players are encouraged to play on-age, but the club does have a play-up policy for those that want their player to play in the U10 program - any such request should be included in the player’s registration. Play downs are available too, if a player wants to participate in the U6 program. Practice-only participation is available as well, although not currently a specific registration-option.
Ages eight-nine
VISC U10 fall program (sign up before Sept) - September-October. Weekly practices are focused on time with a ball at the player’s feet. Objectives are player movement, player having fun, learning dribbling principles, learning kicking principles, learning positions, and the rules of the game. Scrimmages and games at this age are usually 5v5 or 6v6 with goalies. The current fall season is eight weeks long, with games on Sunday. Players are encouraged to play on-age, but the club does have a play-up policy for those that want their player to play in the U11 program, and any request should be noted in the player’s registration. Depending on the team-size of the U11 group, U10 players might be invited to play-up so that there are enough players to field a U11 team - there is a club policy on how this is done. Play downs into U8 can also be done, on a case-by-case basis.
Ages ten-eleven
VISC U11 and U12 fall program (sign up before July) - September-December. Two weekly practices are focused on time with a ball at the player’s feet. Objectives are dependent upon player experience and team make-up, but are similar to U10 objectives. Games are 9v9 with goalies, with a maximum team-roster for games of 14 (any players beyond 14 are not eligible to play in a given game). The current fall season is ten to twelve weeks long, with games on Saturdays (half on-island, half off-island). The number of registered players and optimal team sizes is the primary driver for play-ups, for which there is a club policy for, and any request should be noted in the player’s registration. If there are two teams for a given age-group, the club has a policy on how those two teams are to be formed (evenly). Teams are generally formed by the end of July. Late registering players are not guaranteed a team. It is important to know that this is an off-island league, with teams from different areas of Pierce county and South Seattle. It is also important to know that these leagues follow the calendar-year limits on team-formations, and play-downs are very rarely approved (play ups are ok, also, girls can play on boys teams, but not the other way around). Players are also restricted to playing on one team - they cannot play for two teams in different leagues.
Starting in U11 and going through U19, there is a Rec Cup tournament that some Vashon teams compete in -- there is an application process the coach has to initiate in September. There are zero to three games played in November to determine which SSUL (our league) team advances to the quarterfinal. There is a quarterfinal game played usually the first weekend after Thanksgiving weekend - can be local or can be elsewhere in the state. The semifinals and finals are usually the second weekend after Thanksgiving weekend - at Starfire in Tukwila - with both games on either Saturday or Sunday. This can make for a busy November and December, as teams will have their usual league-games in addition to these Rec Cup games (almost guaranteed to have two games on the same day, or a Saturday and Sunday game on the same weekend).
Ages twelve-thirteen
VISC U13 and U14 fall program (sign up before July) - September-December. Two weekly practices are focused on time with a ball at the player’s feet. Objectives are dependent upon player experience and team make-up, but are similar to prior season objectives. Games are 11v11 with goalies, with a maximum team-roster for game of 18 (any players beyond 18 are not eligible to play in a given game). The current fall season is ten to twelve weeks long, with games on Saturdays (half on-island, half off-island). The number of registered players and optimal team sizes is the primary driver for play-ups, for which there is a club policy for, and should be noted in the player’s registration. If there are two teams for a given age-group, the club has a policy on how those two teams are to be formed (evenly). Teams are generally formed by the end of July. Late registering players are not guaranteed a team.
Ages fourteen+
VISC U15-U19 fall program (sign up before July) - September-December. Two weekly practices are focused on time with a ball at the player’s feet. Objectives are dependent upon player experience and team make-up, but are similar to prior season objectives. Games are 11v11 with goalies, with a maximum team-roster for game of 18 (any players beyond 18 are not eligible to play in a given game). The current fall season is ten to twelve weeks long, with games on Sunday (half on-island, half off-island). The number of registered players and optimal team sizes is the primary driver for play-ups, for which there is a club policy for, and any request should be noted in the player’s registration. If there are two teams for a given age-group, the club has a policy on how those two teams are to be formed (the possibility of one team being ‘select’). Teams are generally formed by the end of July. Late registering players are not guaranteed a team.
Note, for girls the overlap of Vashon Highschool girls soccer and the fall club season presents some unique challenges. Some club teams dissolve and the players just play for the school during the fall. Some club teams have players do both, with attention to overuse risks, and possibly limit practices during busy weeks for the players. Some club teams participate in the Dec-Mar NPSL competitive winter league. These decisions are player-and-coach driven, but by this time, the group of players have been together for a few years and have a relationship that helps make these choices -- decisions that have to be made by July. The number of teams in the SSUL drops significantly starting at GU15, and the skills of