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Where can I find out information about registration and the season?
All registration
information is posted in April for the next Fall/Spring Registration and in January
for the Spring Registration on Comcast Cable Channel 7, and appears in: The Almanac newspaper, The Peters Township
Reading Rec and More newsletter, PTSA Soccer Shorts newsletter, and is also
posted on this PTSA website.
How much are the fees to play soccer?
The fees are based on the birth year of the
child. Below is a chart of the fees:
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Age Group
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Spring
Sessions
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Fall and
Spring Sessions
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U-5/U-6
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$40.00
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$70.00
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All Others
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$50.00
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$85.00
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Family Maiximum
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$225.00
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$225.00 Note 2
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Travel Program Fees
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Not yet determined for 2009
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$90 Note 3
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Late Registration
Fee Note 1
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$10.00
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$10.00
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Note 1 – Late
Registration fee will be added onto the family’s registration amount
and can exceed the family maximum after July 28th for the Fall/Spring Registrants and
February 28th for Spring Registrants.
Note 2 – Family maximum continues for in the spring for the families
who registered children in the fall. For example, if a family’s
registration fees for the fall added up to $160.00 and they wanted to
register their twins to play in the grasshopper league in the Spring their
registration fees for the Spring would be $65.00, not $80.00.
Note 3 – The
Travel Program includes weekly training giving by certified instructors from
the MLS Camps.
I never coached soccer before, am I eligible to coach a Grasshopper
team?
Soccer experience may be helpful,
but certainly is not required to coach a Grasshopper team. The focus of a
Grasshopper coach is less on instruction of soccer technique than it is on
instilling in these young players a sense of teamwork. Many, if not most
Grasshopper coaches get their introduction to soccer in general and coaching
in particular through this program. If you are a “first timer,”
you will have plenty of company. Because many Grasshopper coaches are new to
the game or coaching at any level, the PTSA website, under the link
”Coaching,” provides many suggested practice drills and other
tips to assist new coaches. Also,
through our relationship with Sporting Essentials / MLS Camps, all PTSA
coaches have access to the full curriculum of age specific soccer training
modules of “Soccer Made Simple”.
Further, PA West Soccer Association provides various levels of soccer
coaching license courses that PTSA coaches may participate in.
My
child registered in the Fall. Do we need to register again for the Spring?
PTSA’s in-house soccer
season consists of two sessions; a Fall session and the following Spring
session. Therefore, for example, a registration for play in the Fall 2007
session entitles the player to play in the Spring 2008 session, unless the
child is specifically registered as Fall only. There is no need to
re-register for Spring 2008. Registration for the Fall 2008/Spring 2009
season will begin in April 2008.
Will
my child play on the same team in the Spring he/she played with in the Fall?
Yes. As indicated above, rosters
for the Fall session carry over to the following spring.
My
child did not play in the Fall, but would like to play in the spring.
The PTSA will have an additional
registration beginning in January for the Spring session at a reduced
registration fee. There is typically one registration date at the Peters Township Rec
Center. Other ways to
register are to register On-Line at the Registration tab on www.ptsoccer.net
or you can stop by the Peters
Township Rec
Center and pick up a
registration card. Fill the registration card out, sign, mail to the
Registrar (address is on the bottom of the registration card, or you can get
contact info on this website under the Contacts tab), and include a check for
the appropriate fees (the fees are listed on the bottom of the registration
card and are determined by the child’s birth date).
Can
we request a particular team, coach or teammate?
Parents may request that their
child be assigned to a particular team or coach. Although PTSA’s policy
is to attempt to honor such requests within reason, it cannot guarantee that
all requests will be satisfied. PTSA strives for parity by making the teams
as evenly balanced as possible both in terms of player age, player ability
and other factors (although, at the Grasshopper level this is not possible
because Grasshopper players have no meaningful “track record” of
playing ability). To the extent such requests can be accommodated without
creating undue disparities in team parity, however, the age group
commissioners generally attempt to accommodate such requests. Cut off dates
for such requests are February 28 for the Spring session and July 28 for the
Fall/Spring sessions and must be made in writing to the appropriate age group
Commissioner.
My
child is very big (or small) for his/her age. Can he/she play in an older (or
younger) age bracket?
Experience has demonstrated the
value of children playing within their indicated age group. The PTSA
recognizes, however, that there may be special circumstances, on a
case-by-case basis, making deviation from the age groupings appropriate for
some children in limited circumstances. Ability alone is not a rationale for moving a player up an age division. This website includes PTSA’s operating procedures (under
the Rules tab) that spell out the PTSA policy for player requests to move up
or down in age bracket. Please review these operating procedures in order to
determine whether your child meets the eligibility criteria before making a
request to move a player up or down in age bracket. PTSA does not allow players to move-up age
groups for Travel teams, unless there are too few players trying out within a
single age group.
What
equipment and uniform do I need to buy?
All players must wear shin guards.
Soccer cleats are required for everyone except the Grasshoppers, but we
highly recommend them for the Grasshoppers also. For safety, PTSA rules do not allow any
sport shoes that have a center toe cleat (as is often found on baseball or
football spikes). When purchasing
cleated shoes for soccer, make sure they are labeled as soccer shoes on their
box. Soccer referees enforce our rules
for safety and will disallow a player who is not wearing soccer cleats. PTSA requires its in-house players to wear
the PTSA reversible red/white shirt, red or black shorts and soccer socks
that completely cover shin guards. The
PTSA sanctioned in-house reversible shirt, shorts, socks, and other equipment
can be ordered online at www.sportingessentials.com. For more information and a link to Sporting
Essentials, click here. Every player is required to have the age
appropriate size ball.
How
often will my child’s team practice?
Grasshoppers typically practice once a week. Other in-house and travel teams
typically practice twice a week.
When
and where will the games be played?
Grasshoppers
Weather permitting, all grasshopper games are scheduled for Saturdays during
the playing Fall/Spring sessions, excluding holiday weekends, on the hour,
with the first games beginning at 9:00 a.m. All games are played at the
“Old Grasshopper Field” located in Peterswood Park across
Meredith Drive from the playground near the intersection of Meredith Drive
and Froebe Road and the Peterswood Soccer Complex (Field #5), also located in
Peterswood Park. See the Directions
tab on this website for more detailed directions.
U-8 Boys and Girls
The U-8 children play at
the Peterswood Soccer Complex (Field #5), located in Peterswood
Park and the Venetia Fields located
behind the old Venetia school off of Venetia Road. See
the Directions tab on this website for more detailed directions.
U-10 Boys and Girls
The U-10 children play at Rees
Park. These fields are
located off McCombs Road
near the intersection of Venetia
Road. See the Directions tab on this website for
more detailed directions.
U-12-14-15 Boys and
Girls
The U-12-14-15 children play either at Elm Grove
Park, at the Peterswood
Soccer Complex (Field #5), or at the High School. See the Directions
tab on this website for detailed directions.
Will or when will the coach contact me regarding team assignments?
Yes, all coaches in all age
brackets are responsible for making the initial contact to their players and
are encouraged to do so as soon as rosters are provided to the coach. They
will be contacting their players for the Fall Session towards the middle of
August and for the Spring Session they will contact their players towards the
middle of March.
How will I know if a practice or game is called
off because of rain or any other reason?
It is the responsibility
of coaches to contact the players on their roster regarding any schedule
change or cancellation. Most coaches
communicate via email or phone chains.
How can I get
involved as a volunteer for PTSA?
As a non-profit
organization, PTSA is fully funded by player registration fees and modest
fundraising. PTSA has been able to
keep its fees low and attracts about 1,250 registered players annually. Unlike other soccer associations that
employ or retain coaches who are paid, the PTSA is a 100% volunteer
organization. Consequently, the PTSA
is always in need of volunteers to serve on its twenty-six member Board of
Directors, as Coaches and Assistant Coaches, Team Administrators,
Adopt-a-Field workers, Referee Assignors.
Most of the PTSA volunteers have had no prior experience in these
capacities and have found their work on behalf of the PTSA to be a very rewarding
community service. So, to volunteer,
contact the PTSA President, or any other member of the PTSA Board of
Directors (contact information on this website under the Contacts tab.
How many
soccer fields does the PTSA own?
The PTSA owns none of the
fields it uses. Every year, the PTSA
must obtain permits for field usage from the Peters Township Parks &
Recreation Department. All of the
fields we have access to are designated as multipurpose fields by the Peters
Township Parks & Recreation Department.
Consequently, the same fields the PTSA uses for soccer, may also be
used by other sports associations such as Lacrosse or Football, and may be
used by any resident at times when our permits are not in effect. Although the PTSA Adopt-a-Field volunteers periodically
condition the fields with sod, soil, aeration, and irrigation, Peters
Township has the responsibility to maintain the overall condition of the
fields and disallows the PTSA from cutting or fertilizing them (under terms
of its maintenance workers’ union contract). Due to year-round usage of the fields we
use for soccer and the very high number of players using the fields for
training sessions and matches (virtually every day of the week during the Fall
and Spring soccer seasons), the fields receive a high degree of wear and
tear. The PTSA does its level best to
encourage Peters
Township to provide
year round maintenance of the fields and on a cooperative basis we are always
looking for ways to improve them. The
bottom line is the fields get a lot of use, soccer play is extremely hard on
the turf, and the climate in Western Pennsylvania
is not optimal for turf growth and season to season reconditioning.
Where do
player registration fees go?
The PTSA operates on an
annual budget and reports to its Members on revenue and major categories of
expenses in its Winter edition of the Soccer Shorts newsletter. Our major expenses are for referee fees (a
high majority of which are paid to Peters Township residents, predominantly
youth, who are certified soccer referees), water for field irrigation, goals
and nets, registration fees paid to PA West Soccer Association, fees paid to
independent evaluators utilized for Travel program tryouts, and fees incurred
by our Coaches for obtaining Act 33/34 criminal background and child abuse
clearances. The additional Travel
Program fees go directly to pay for the certified instructors from the MLS Academy
who will tailor age-specific training for each Travel team. Also, certain capital improvements are paid
for by the PTSA, such as sprinkler irrigation systems that have been
installed at the fields of Rees Park, Venetia
Park and Elm Grove
Park. No compensation is paid to anyone in their
capacity as a PTSA Board Member or Coach.
If you still have a
question, you can contact the registrar at mtnrfn@comcast.net
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