There are a number of questions that parents ask before they make the decision to have their child come out for Competitive soccer. Hopefully most of these questions are answered below. If we missed a question that is not listed here, please feel free to contact Roseburg Soccer Association at 541.672.5089 and we will be happy to address any other question you may have.

What is Competitive soccer?
Teams are formed and compete against other competitive level teams from around the state. Typically the players that come out for Competitive soccer are more skillful players or are players who want not only learn to more, but be challenged in the game of soccer.

What age can my child get into competitive soccer?

Generally the age to begin is 11, though we now have some development teams for U10 and U11 players. Please check with us if you have a 9 or 10 year old child wanting to come out for competitive soccer.

What is the goal of Competitive soccer?
You can think of Competitive soccer as the training ground or feeder program for players who may be playing soccer in high school, college and beyond. Soccer can be a lifelong sport that one can participate in and it starts in the Competitive program. The goal is to build and hone the skills of young players in order to make them competitive in the game of soccer for life.

Why should my child play Competitive soccer?

If your child enjoys the game of soccer and wants to play it for years to come, if your child wants to develop his/her skills, if your child wants to play in a more competitive environment, then your child should play Competitive soccer.

What is all this about tryouts?

Tryouts are simply the mechanism used to form teams. It is one of the things the separates competitive from recreational soccer. RSA makes every effort to keep every kid who comes to tryout. However, there are times when we either have too many players for one team and not enough for two and we may have to cut players. You should know that we will make every effort to make sure no one is cut.

What is the committment involved?

Most teams practice 3 times a week. The fall season is comprised of a qualifying tournament, a 14 game season, and a tournament at the conclusion of the season. The spring season is comprised of a 10 game season and a tournament at the conclusion of the season. You should expect 1 to 2 games per weekend during the season.

Some parents may also be asked to help out with various aspects of the program such as field lining or bring water to games. And like anything else you want to get better at, you should encourge your child to practice on his/her own at home.

How much travel is involved?

50% of the games are in town and 50% are out of town. Some of the travels will be condensed over a weekend where a team may play a Saturday game, stay overnight somewhere, and then play a Sunday game in the same area. On average you can expect 3 to 6 individual trips out of town during the course of a season.

Do you provide transportation?

No, we do not. Some teams will make an attempt to assemble before going to an away game and carpool together. However, if you happen to have a 15 passenger Ford van that you would be willing to donate to Roseburg Soccer Association for travel, we would be happy to accept the donation.

Why does it cost so much?

When comparing our program costs with every other Competitive program around the state of Oregon, RSA has by far one of the cheapest, if not the cheapest, in the state. This is because our program merely covers the costs of your child playing the game while other programs across the state also pay their coaches a salary. As much as we would like to do this for our wonderful volunteer coaches, we know that the financial situation for most of our players does not afford us this luxury.

To give you an idea of where the money goes, we can tell you that there are referee fees ($300-$400 a team), uniform costs ($50 a player), insurance costs ($25.50 per player), city parks fees ($10 a player), league fees ($75-$500 a team), tournament fees ($350-$450 per tournament) plus additional costs for field maint, first aid equip, soccer balls and other team related equipment.

A booster club has recently formed to help our volunteer coaches defer some of their travel and other costs, as many of our coaches have no children in the program and merely coach because of their love for the game. Please get involved with this organization should your child become involed in Clompetitive soccer and let the coaches know you appreciate them.

What is this about not getting my money back if we change our mind about playing Competitive soccer?

That simply is a matter of planning. We hold tryouts and we then have to make a financial committment to a league. If we make a financial committment and then later on you decide you do not want to do this, it could put the entire team in a situation where we might have to fold the team. We do not get our money back if that happens. We have this policy in place to discourage folks from coming out to tryouts, taking a place on a team, and then quitting.

A big reason for this is if we have to cut a child imagine how they felt at not making the team. Then later you decide that your child was not going to participate. We could have saved the cut child's hurt feelings had you decided for the beginning you were or were not committed. By not refunding money after you have made a commitment, it helps to further the commitment of those who choose to participate. If you have a question about something, be sure and ask beforehand.

Do you offer scholarships?

Yes we do. However, you need to keep in mind that our Competive program pretty much covers its costs with not a lot of wiggle room from a financial standpoint. So any scholarships we do is a loss for our program. What we would ask is that if your child really wants to play and you really need some scholarship help, please talk to us BEFORE you come to tryouts. We will ask that you pay what you can and if what you can do happens to be nothing, then we will work with that. However, please take care of these arrangements BEFORE tryouts.

In addition to that we do offer the option of making payments. Sometimes spreading things out over time will make things more affordable for families and they may not need any scholarship help. We are flexible and will work with you. The key thing is make arrangements BEFORE tryouts.

Thank you for taking the time to read through these questions. If there is something we missed, please feel free to contact Roseburg Soccer Association at 541.672.5089.