Programs Soccer Year The soccer year starts on August 1 and runs through the following July 31. The soccer year is comprised of two seasons - Fall and Spring. Fall season runs from August 1 to mid-November. Spring season runs from March 1 to mid-June. Players may play in either Fall or Spring or both. Soccer Age Urbana Soccer is somewhat unique in that your soccer age (for BOTH Fall and Spring seasons) is your age as of August 31. We chose this date to better align with the ages used to determine grades in Frederick County Public Schools. Most other soccer organizations (including our governing bodies - MSYSA and US Youth Soccer) use July 31 as the date that determines your soccer age. For our programs, the "U" means "under". Thus, U10 means "under 10" - i.e., 8 and 9-year-olds. This can be a little misleading since that means players who were 8 or 9-years old as of August 31. Especially for the Spring season, many of our "under 10" players will actually be 10-years-old since they will have turned 10 after August 31. Soccer Age Examples Assume that you turned 10 on March 30 and that you are registering for the following Fall season. Your soccer age is 10 since you will be 10 on August 31. Since you are 10, you are too old to play "under 10" (U10). You must register for "under 12" (U12). You will also register for U12 for the following Spring season. You are 9 and will turn 10 on October 28. When you register for the Fall season, your soccer age is 9 (your age as of August 31) and you will register to play "under 10" (U10). When you register for the following Spring season, you will still register to play U10. Even though you are actually 10, your soccer age is still 9 (your age as of the previous August 31). Players who are born on/between August 1 and August 31 and will turn 6/8/10/12/14 are given two age groups to select from. This is to satisfy the actual July 31 dates used by MSYSA and US Youth Soccer. So, if you turn 10 on August 15, you can register to play either U10 or U12. Playing Up Urbana Soccer, in general, does not allow players to play "up" - i.e., play in an older age group (e.g., play U12 even though by age you are a U10). Over the years, we have seen playing up be more detrimental than beneficial for most players who have done so. There are a few exceptions whereby playing up will be allowed: Players who would be U6s but who are in first grade are allowed to play up to U8. Players who would be U12s but who are in seventh grade are allowed to play up to U14. Players who would be U14s but who are in ninth grade are allowed to play up to U19. Any other players who wish to play up will require a majority vote of the Board of Directors. Kickoff Week Kickoff Week is a program unique to Urbana Soccer. It is a week-long training event used to immerse our players back into soccer as they start their Fall season. A professional coaching staff (the Brian Wall Soccer School) is brought in to do the training to give our players the best possible start to their Fall season. Kickoff Week is a great opportunity for soccer players of all levels and shouldn't be missed! Kickoff Week is held for all U10, U12 and U14 players and is held the week of August 1. Teams Division 1 Teams (U10/12/14) Division 1 teams are formed on the basis of tryouts. We currently have division 1 teams in the following age groups/genders - U10 Coed, U12 Coed, U14 Coed, U12 Girls and U14 Girls. Tryouts are held in late May/early June and apply to the following Fall and Spring seasons. Players who do not attend tryouts (or who attend but are not selected for the division 1 team) are assigned to an appropriate division 2 or 3 teams. Division 2 and 3 Teams (U10/12/14/19) Division 2 and 3 teams are selected using numerous factors. We try to keep teams as entact as possible as they move from season to season. School, grade and neighborhood are also important factors when deciding team composition. Special requests for teams can be made at registration to keep players with their friends, past coach, help with carpooling, etc. U8 Teams Since there are no tryouts for U8 teams, the most important factor in making teams is a player;s age. We try to keep the 7-year-olds with other 7-year-olds and the 6-year-olds with the other 6-year-olds. This allows us to keep teams together as they move up to U10 and beyond. Once again, school, grade, and neighborhood are important factors when deciding team composition. Special requests for teams can be made at registration to keep players with their friends, past coach, help with carpooling, etc. U6 Teams Like U8 teams, the most important factor in making U6 teams is a player's age. We try to keep the 5-year-olds with other 5-year-olds and the 4-year-olds with the other 4-year-olds. This allows us to keep teams together as they move up to U8 and beyond. Neighborhood is also a very important factor when deciding team composition. Special requests for teams can be made at registration to keep players with their friends, past coach, etc. Since all U6s play at the same time, no special requests need to be made for carpooling purposes. U6 Program (4 and 5-year-olds) Our U6 program is an in-house, coed program that has one purpose - fun. All we want to do is introduce the players to the game of soccer and let them play. Players get together on Saturday mornings in a clinic-type atmosphere. All sessions end with a 3v3 game against other Urbana U6 teams. We have a written U6 curriculum that is used as the basis for the training of all of our U6s (regardless of what team they are on). The U6 curriculum and sample U6 training sessions can be found under the Training  link. All sessions are at Urbana Park.  The Fall season starts in September on the Saturday after Labor Day. The Spring season starts the first Saturday in April (the second Saturday in April if Easter is on the first Sunday). Each season consists of eight sessions. In the Spring season, there are no sessions on Easter weekend or Memorial Day weekend. All U6 teams are co-ed. Teams have a maximum of 9 players. All players must be four (4) years old prior to the first session for that season. U8 Program (6 and 7-year-olds) Our U8 program is a coed program that focuses on dribbling, shooting and agility skills. We have a written U8 curriculum that is used as the basis for the training of all of our U8s (regardless of what team they are on). The U8 curriculum and sample U8 training sessions can be found under the Training link. U8 teams practice twice a week and have games on Saturdays. Practices are in the early evening on weekdays and are at various sites in Urbana. Games are played at Urbana Park and at Deer Crossing Elementary School. Games are played against other Urbana U8 and LUYAA U8 teams in the Double Nickel 5v5 League (four field players and a goalie). Practices for Fall Season start the week of August 1. Games for Fall Season start the first Saturday after Labor Day. Teams play 8 games and then end their season playing in the MAYAA U8 tournament which is, generally, the first or second weekend in November. Practices for Spring Season start the week of March 1. Games for Spring Season start the first Saturday in April (second Saturday if the first Sunday is Easter). Teams play 8 games and then end their season playing in the MAYAA U8 tournament which is, generally, the first or second weekend in June. There are no games Easter weekend or Memorial Day weekend. All U8 teams are co-ed. Teams have a maximum of 12 players. U10 Program (8 and 9-year-olds) Our U10 program has both all-girls and coed teams. Some co-ed teams are all boys, others are a mix of girls and boys. Girls must decide whether to play on an all-girls team or a co-ed team at registration. All teams play in the Frederick County Youth Soccer League (FCYSL) and play 7v7 (6 field players and a goalie) games. Our U10 program focuses on dribbling, shooting, passing and agility skills. Basic team concepts are also incorporated. We have a written U10 curriculum that is used as the basis for the training of all of our U10s (regardless of what team they are on). The U10 curriculum and sample U10 training sessions can be found under the Training link. U10 teams practice twice (some teams practice three times) a week and have games on Saturdays and/or Sundays. Practices are in the early evening on weekdays and are at various sites in Urbana. Home games are played at Urbana Park while away games are played at various sites mostly in Frederick County. NOTE: FCYSL has teams from West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Washington County and Carroll County - some away games can be over an hour's drive. Practices for Fall Season start the week of August 1 (with Kickoff Week - see above). Games for Fall Season start the first Saturday after Labor Day. Teams play 8 games and then end their season playing in the FCYSL tournament which is, generally, the first or second weekend in November. Practices for Spring Season start the week of March 1. Games for Spring Season start the first Saturday in April (second Saturday if the first Sunday is Easter). Teams play 8 games. An end-of-season tournament is optional for the Spring season. There are no games Easter weekend or Memorial Day weekend. U10 teams have a maximum of 14 players. U12 Program (10 and 11-year-olds) Our U12 program has both all-girls and coed teams. Some co-ed teams are all boys, others are a mix of girls and boys. Girls must decide whether to play on an all-girls team or a co-ed team at registration. All teams play in the Frederick County Youth Soccer League (FCYSL) and play 8v8 (7 field players and a goalie) games (NOTE: 8v8 play starts Fall 2008). U12 teams practice twice (some teams practice three times) a week and have games on Saturdays and/or Sundays. Practices are in the early evening on weekdays and are at various sites in and around Urbana. Home games are played at Urbana Park while away games are played at various sites mostly in Frederick County. NOTE: FCYSL has teams from West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Washington County and Carroll County - some away games can be over an hour's drive. Practices for Fall Season start the week of August 1 (with Kickoff Week - see above). Games for Fall Season start the first Saturday after Labor Day. Teams play 8 games and then end their season playing in the FCYSL tournament which is, generally, the first or second weekend in November. Practices for Spring Season start the week of March 1. Games for Spring Season start the first Saturday in April (second Saturday if the first Sunday is Easter). Teams play 8 games. An end-of-season tournament is optional for the Spring season. There are no games Easter weekend or Memorial Day weekend. U12 teams have a maximum of 14 players. U14 Program (12 and 13-year-olds) Our U14 program has both all-girls and coed teams. Some co-ed teams are all boys, others are a mix of girls and boys. Girls must decide whether to play on an all-girls team or a co-ed team at registration. All teams play in the Frederick County Youth Soccer League (FCYSL) and play 11v11 (10 field players and a goalie) games. U14 teams practice twice (some teams practice three times) a week and have games on Saturdays and/or Sundays. Practices are in the early evening on weekdays and are at various sites in and around Urbana. Home games are played at Urbana Park while away games are played at various sites mostly in Frederick County. NOTE: FCYSL has teams from West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Washington County and Carroll County - some away games can be over an hour's drive. Practices for Fall Season start the week of August 1 (with Kickoff Week - see above). Games for Fall Season start the first Saturday after Labor Day. Teams play 8 games and then end their season playing in the FCYSL tournament which is, generally, the first or second weekend in November. Practices for Spring Season start the week of March 1. Games for Spring Season start the first Saturday in April (second Saturday if the first Sunday is Easter). Teams play 8 games. An end-of-season tournament is optional for the Spring season. There are no games Easter weekend or Memorial Day weekend. U14 teams have a maximum of 21 players. U19 Program (14-18-year-olds) Our U19 program has both all-girls and coed teams. Some co-ed teams are all boys, others are a mix of girls and boys. Girls must decide whether to play on an all-girls team or a co-ed team at registration. All teams play in the Frederick County Youth Soccer League (FCYSL) and play 11v11 (10 field players and a goalie) games. Our U19 program is comprised of both high-school soccer team players and other players who still just love to play soccer. It is recreational, social and fun. U19 teams practice twice a week and have games on Saturdays and/or Sundays. Practices are in the early evening on weekdays and are at Urbana Park. Home games are played at Urbana Park while away games are played at various sites mostly in Frederick County. NOTE: FCYSL has teams from West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Washington County and Carroll County - some away games can be over an hour's drive. Our U19 program is offered in the Spring ONLY!!! Practices for Spring Season start the week of March 1. Games for Spring Season start the first Saturday in April (second Saturday if the first Sunday is Easter). Teams play 8 games. An end-of-season tournament is optional for the Spring season. There are no games Easter weekend or Memorial Day weekend. U19 teams have a maximum of 21 players.