The United States Youth Soccer Association (USYSA) is broken into 51 state organizations. We are in the California Youth Soccer Association (CYSA) - North. Northern California is, quite sensibly, in a different soccer "state" than Southern California. CYSA is comprised of nine districts. Our district is District V.
The vast majority of kids in the Windsor Soccer Club play on "recreational" or "house" teams. These are technically known as "Class 4" teams and are the lowest rung on the competitive soccer ladder. Recreational teams are open to all children, regardless of experience or ability. The Club places kids on teams based upon parental requests (for a particular coach or teammate) and/or randomly.
The next step up is "Select" or "Class 3" teams. These are typically formed by each club, beginning at the Under-10 age group. Teams are formed by tryouts and represent their club. Generally, the Windsor Soccer Club fields teams in U10 through U16 age groups for boys and girls. If there are a large number of candidates at tryouts additional teams may be formed from the remainder of the players who attend the tryouts but do not make the Select team. These teams are only formed on a case-by-case basis depending on the potential strength of the team, individual talent, coaching availability and impact on other teams in the age group and must be approved by the Club Board. To be eligible for any additional team that may be formed, players must have participated in their age group selection tryouts for that season. Coaches apply to the club’s Coaching Director and are selected by the Club Board.
There is no "Class 2". "Class 1" teams typically play at a higher competitive level than Class 3 or Class 4 teams and may have more rigorous training with more league and tournament travel. Unlike Class 3 and Class 4 teams, which are multi-year, Class 1 teams are "age pure". There are separate teams for Under-11 and Under-12, etc. In the Windsor Soccer Club, the Sonoma County Alliance (SCA) - North is responsible for fielding all Class 1 teams. SCA North tryouts are prior to the clubs' Class 3 tryouts and are held in March and April for the teams which begin play in the summer.
At the Under-15 and older age groups, all players may try out for the District's Olympic Development Plan (ODP) Team. ODP players may be selected to play on the CYSA State Team and the Western Regional Team. National teams exist at older youth levels. These teams represent the US in international competitions.
High School Soccer teams lie entirely outside of the CYSA/USYSA umbrella. The High School soccer season in California is in the winter, after the CYSA fall season ends. Kids tryout for these teams too.
As you can see, there is plenty of opportunity for growth for talented players. Some of these may receive college scholarships based upon their soccer ability. Kids who are pushed into competitive soccer get little joy from it. The kids who will become the next generation of great players are the ones who truly love to play the game. The Windsor Soccer Club tries to offer its competitive and recreational players all the encouragement, support, training and experience we can, and just enjoy the ride.
The Club's view is that kids should be provided with the opportunity to pursue things that they are good at and/or enjoy doing. Kids who love to play soccer and are good at it should be able to play at a higher level. When talented kids play with and against other talented kids and get better coaching, they will improve. They will also learn the value of hard work, the rewards of succeeding as a team, and the self-confidence that comes with doing something well. This is the experience we hope to give each child who plays on a Windsor Soccer Club team.
