Selection to and acceptance of a roster spot is a year-long commitment.  The travel soccer year begins on August 1st and runs through July 31st of the following year.  Registration fees cover the fall and spring seasons as well as club-hosted tournaments.  Teams may also elect to participate in a winter indoor league and/or a pre-season team camp.  Players are expected to attend ALL training sessions, games and tournaments.  We recognize that from time to time situations arise which may take precedence over team activities. Players may also participate in other sports or activities during the soccer year, and Iron Valley United SC encourages players to do so. However, players and parents should understand that soccer is a team sport.  Excessive player absences have a detrimental impact on the team experience.  For this reason, players are expected to keep absences to a minimum.  Players and parents should inform their coach of conflicts with team activities as far in advance as possible so that plans can be adjusted accordingly to meet the best interest of the team.

What else to expect:

• EVALUATIONS:  Iron Valley United holds evaluations and forms teams each spring for the upcoming Aug-July soccer year.  1-2 sessions are scheduled for each gender/age group on an annual basis.  At these sessions players are evaluated by qualified independent evaluators for the purpose of gauging a players skill level.  Players are expected to attend the eval sessions for their age group.  Following the completion of all evals, teams are formed by the Technical Director of Coaching and the Competition Committee based on the skill-level and number of players in a given age group.  Iron Valley United forms its travel teams with the intent to minimize the skill gap between players on any given team.  For this reason, there may be occasions when all available slots are not filled on a team.  Iron Valley United will field multiple teams if the player count and skill-levels provide this possibility.  The club’s Travel Evaluation and Placement Policy can be found under the Policy section of the club’s website.
• TRAINING: Most teams train two times per week (60-90 minutes per session) during the spring and fall seasons.  Training sessions typically run from early August through mid-November for the fall season.  Spring training sessions typically run from early March through early June.
• PRE-SEASON TEAM CAMP:  All IVU travel teams have the option for a pre-season team camp.  These four-day team camps are typically scheduled in early/mid August.
• GAMES:  In the fall, most teams participate in league play.  In spring, teams may chose to participate in league play and/or State Cup competition.  In most cases, games will fall within a 30-40 mile radius of Lebanon County.  Higher level teams may elect to play in regional leagues that may require travel of slightly greater distance.
• TOURNAMENTS:  Teams are encouraged to participate in tournaments commensurate with USYS Player Development Initiatives during the soccer year.  This includes the 2 Iron Valley United sponsored tournaments in October and July.  Older teams may elect to play additional tournaments and/or replace league play with tournaments.  Tournament play gives teams the opportunity to observe and play against new teams with different styles of play, and to develop team camaraderie in a focused atmosphere.  Additional participation costs may be required to cover tournament registration fees for non-club sponsored tournaments.  These fees are typically communicated/collected by the coach and/or manager of each team.

Should you have any additional questions about what to expect from your child's participation in the Travel Program, feel free to contact our VP of Travel Soccer at vp_travel@ironvalleysoccer.org