Travel Team Selection Process

Travel Team Selection - Fall 2024 - Spring 2025 - It is important to be placed in the right environment!

This section is meant to provide all WSA members with more information on the travel team selection process. 

There are 2 key objectives that keep us on track throughout the process. 
 

1. We want to make sure that all players are given the opportunity to play and train in a safe and challenging environment.
 

2. We want to accurately assess and evaluate all players to be able to place them accordingly. We seek to place all players in an environment that suits their needs.
 

It is not always easy as a parent, but it is very important to be realistic and realize that playing on the first team is not the #1 priority. We would hate to see a player lose confidence in his or her skills because the player was misplaced on a team that didn’t fit his or her needs. The placement of players is the key to ensure players enjoy the experience and are given the opportunity to develop.

We continue to monitor the development of all players in the travel program throughout the year. We aim to develop all of the players within the program and will move players from team to team if it will benefit the player or players in question. In the end, we ask that both players and parents worry less about being placed on a particular team and to focus on enjoying the privilege and reward of being placed on a travel team.
 

Several factors are considered in the evaluation process.

  1. Attitude
  2. Effort
  3. Perserverance
  4. Coach ability
  5. Commitment
  6. Discipline
  7. Playing ability
     

We all know that ability is important, but as in life, not the only factor that determines where you end up. We gather information from a variety of sources to ensure we have the data needed to place players on the right team. As part of the process we will run programs in the Spring that will provide us with information on all interested players and help us with the team selection.
 

Travel Commitment – general outline

We ask our travel players to commit to soccer four days a week (three 90-minute training sessions and one game) and their effort, attendance, and participation is critical to the success of the program and their development.

The Fall Season starts shortly after Labor Day Weekend, with teams often starting their team practice sessions late August. The Fall Season runs through November, typically finishing the weekend before Thanksgiving.

The Spring Season starts early March and wraps up right around Memorial Day Weekend. Depending on the age and the level a team competes at this may be extended into June.

Please note that almost all travel teams do participate in winter training as well. On top of that the WSA does also offer all travel players the opportunity to take part in an in-house futsal league every winter. This in-house futsal league is set up for those players interested in additional practice-play time over the winter.

It is important to remember that the team selection is not solely based on the participation of our members in the programs we provide. We gather information through mid-year and end of spring evaluations from professional and head coaches as part of the process.

Anyone who is interested to play travel during the upcoming season needs to take part in the program they are eligible for based on their year of birth. Participation, however, doesn’t guarantee placement in the travel program.

 

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