Intramural versus Travel Soccer

Travel Soccer is for children who show exceptional talent and are interested in committing considerable time and effort to a single sport. Field and team sizes are generally larger for Travel teams than for Intramural. Home games are played at Edgely Fields and away games are played throughout the Philadelphia Region. Also, while we are proud of our coaches keeping the importance of winning in perspective, playing time on a Travel team is not guaranteed. If you are interested in Travel play, please send an email to info@fairmountsoccer.org and it will be forwarded to the Travel Commissioner.

As a matter of policy, we do not begin Travel play until U10 (Under 10), or nine years old. Travel teams are formed when we have parent volunteers who we can then support with experienced coaches. This season, we will not have a Travel team for every age group.

Intramural Soccer is for children who are starting out, or who enjoy soccer, athletics, and competition, but who are busy with other activities and don't have the time or commitment for the rigors of Travel play. Our Intramural Program plays small-sided, a structure designed to give each player more "touches" on the ball and thereby better develop ball handling skills. We try to take a lot of the pressure out of youth sports, recognizing that young kids continue in sports only if it's fun. Our older Intramural teams are co-ed, and every child plays at least half the game. Our coaches emphasize the importance of team building, fair play, and how to have fun with competition. Although our Intramural Program is a recreational league, we do take soccer seriously, and work hard to teach ball handling skills and understanding team play, while emphasizing the fun and the importance of character.

We will continue contracting with professional trainers this Fall for skill training in both our Travel and Intramural Divisions. Intramural players ages 7 and up will have one midweek training session each week. Travel teams will set their own midweek schedules.

Intramural Age Groups: We begin our Program with a once a week, Saturday morning session. The 5-6 Division is now called the Eyas, which is the term for a young bird of prey, as our organizational mascot is the Falcon. The Eyas is for children who are 5 and 6 years old. Boys and girls will play separately. Boys and girls will also play separately in the Junior Division, which is for children who are 7 and 8. The Intermediate Division will be co-ed, for children who are nine and ten. The Senior Division, is also coed, for children who are 11-13. Please note that the 2009 - 2010 season will be the last year we will have a formal Senior division. Starting next year, the 2010-2011 season, the fall program for Senior age group children will be revamped (read more below).

When you register, our computer will calculate your child's "soccer age" for the entire 2009-10 playing season by looking at the player's age on August 1, 2009. Based on that age, we will assign your child to a Division. If you feel that your child should play in an different age group, register them in the Division you want and send us a note providing support for your request. Once received, we will make a determination and let you know as soon as possible.

Intramural Play: We begin with our Eyas Division, for children born on or after August 1, 2004 and until July 31, 2002. Boys and girls play separately on Saturday mornings at Edgely Fields. The sessions are divided between small group instruction and small-sided games. The games are played with a #3 ball on small fields with small goals, no keepers, and continuous play. There is lots of excitement, running, and enthusiastic soccer. There are loosely set teams, as teams may be adjusted from week to week. Parents are encouraged to be involved as coaches, assistants, and "sideliners" keeping the ball in play. Each child will receive a uniform, soccer socks, and a participation medal.

For children ages 7-13, Intramural Play is divided into three age groups. The Junior Division plays 6v6 with no standings and no playoffs (the season ends with a whirlwind round robin tournament and hot chocolate! Perfect for a fall day!) Each child will be assigned to a set team. Teams will have a mandatory practice once per week at a time and location selected by the coach. Games for this Division will be played on Saturday afternoons. The Intermediate Division and the Senior Division play 8 v 8, and they do have standings and playoffs. Both of these Divisions will play on Sunday afternoons, with midweek practice. Teams will be formed immediately after Labor Day.

All games in these Divisions will be played with a #4 ball, and all players will receive a full uniform and a participation trophy.

Equipment: All players will be required to wear soccer cleats and shin guards. Players have to bring their own soccer ball (size #3 for Eyas, size #4 for all other age groups) and a water bottle.

Changes in the Senior Division: The 2009 - 2010 soccer year will be the last year for Fall play for the Senior Division in which we organize set teams. When a child becomes eligible for the Senior age group starting with the 2010-2011 season, they will have a choice to remain an intramural player and play small sided scrimmages under supervision of coaches on Sunday afternoons, or join a travel team. For each Travel team formed, we will need a parent to volunteer to be the coach or manager (we wiill assist with providing experienced coaching) and get a group of 16 players together to form a Fairmount Falcons Travel team. Our Commissioner of Travel will provide guidance in the process.

Edgely Fields: All Intramural games are held at Edgely Field in Fairmount Park. Directions and a map can be found at www.fairmountsoccer.org/wherout These beautiful playing fields are at Reservoir and Edgely Drives and in front of Laurel Hill Mansion. They are easy to find in the Park near 33 and Diamond Streets behind the Reservoir.

Registration: To register for Intramural Soccer, we now offer the option of online registration and fee payment for those who have Windows based operating systems. To register online, go to our website www.fairmountsoccer.org and follow the simple instructions. If you want to mail in registration, download the registration form from our Website, and mail it in with your payment.

Admission to a Travel team is by tryout only (plus we will not have Travel teams for every age category.) If you are interested in Travel play, and you are nine years of age or older, Register for Intramurals, (and send us an email to info@fairmountsoccer.org) requesting a tryout. If you are admitted to a Travel team, we will transfer your registration. There are no tryouts for Intramural play. All intramural registrants will be placed on a team.

Early registration is extremely helpful to us in recruiting coaches, ordering uniforms, and establishing schedules. It is very frustrating that every year, families are registering later and later. It is difficult to describe how much work this adds to our already busy summer and fall. Please register early. All Intramural registrations received before August 1 are guaranteed a roster spot. Children who register after August 15 will be charged a $10 late fee and will be added to a team only as space permits. Occasionally we have to turn some children away who registered late. Registrations will not be accepted after teams are formed.

Please take a minute to make sure your Registration Form is filled in completely, legibly, and accurately. Each year, errors in completing the Form result in hours of additional work for our volunteers.

Fees for Fall 2009

We have kept our fees at the same level as last year, though we have increased the Late Fee, which we will enforce.

Fall Intramural Fee: $100

Fall Travel Fee: $115

Fall Late Fee: $10 for registrations completed orpostmarked after August 15

Full and partial scholarships are available. Please note this request on your registration form. You may register online, then send us a note requesting a scholarship. No child will be denied a chance a play because of inability to pay!

Our Refund Policy is to grant refunds to children who withdraw before the Draft or team assignments (early in September). No refunds are given to children who withdraw after teams are formed.

Fair Share $45 tax-deductible contribution: Fair Share is our way of asking families who can afford it to help us sustain and improve our soccer programs. Last year, 30% of our families supported us through Fair Share. We cannot stress enough how important these funds are to our Program. In addition to helping us fund scholarships, the money we raise through Fair Share helps us expand our use of paid trainers, fund more field maintenance, purchase more goals, continue rental of the storage container, and develop our Website to handle online registration and payment.

Your Registration Fees cover our administrative costs, league fees, insurance, uniforms, and equipment. Although we pay our professional trainers and refs, all other staff and coaches are volunteers. Every dollar you contribute through Fair Share or Sponsorship goes directly to improving our program.

Email: It is very important that you provide us with the parent's email address during registration. Nearly all of our communication, such as news, updates, and rain cancellations are communicated through email. If you do not have email, we will use the U.S. mail when possible.

Dates and Schedule: Within several weeks of registering, you will receive an email confirmation. You will receive an email by mid-August with more detailed information on times and dates for the beginning of the season. If you do not have email, we will send you a notice via regular mail. At this time, we plan to begin the first weekend after Labor Day with preseason training program and player ranking sessions. We plan to form teams that next week, and begin practices the following weekend. Weather permitting, the season will be over before Thanksgiving.

We always receive many inquiries about practice days and locations. Practice times and locations are set by each coach after the teams are formed. We attempt to honor specific needs by noting the requests during the Draft. We do our best to honor these requests.

Thanks and we look forward to seeing you in the Fall! If you have any questions, please send an email to: info@fairmountsoccer.org