The Town Select League (TSL) will be holding tryouts within the BAYS,  CMYSL, Essex , Middlesex and Nashoba Valley area on May 29^th, 31^st, June 2^nd & 4^th for the upcoming  2024-2025 season and will be open to any player born in 2016-2011. The TSL works in cooperation with the town soccer programs to provide playing opportunities in a league that focuses on player development and joy of the game while learning from licensed coaches who work to support player growth in a positive environment. Teams are formed from 4-8 towns groups which provide select competition and limited travel to and from the practice field.

To register for tryouts please CLICK HERE . To view our tryout dates, times, and locations, please CLICK HERE, scroll down to the bottom of the page to see the TSL Tryout dropdown. . There is no cost to register for TSL Tryouts. Players must attend 1 tryout but may come to multiple. If a player makes a team, the location where they tried out does not designate where they will be rostered. Players are rostered to the closest team in proximity to their residence.

Soccer, like all other youth sports is meant to provide your children with an opportunity to have fun in a group environment. Learning how to love and enjoy an activity like Soccer is the key to progress. The role of the coach is critical in this process.

Here are some basic tips on how a Coach can have a positive influence on the development of his or her players:

• Think of your team as a class and the practice as a classroom.
• At the classes, the only teachers are the coaches.
• Parents need to be supportive of the children by supporting you as the teacher. There cannot be one or two coaches at practice and twenty on game day.
• Too many people directing and yelling from the sidelines only confuses the players and is detrimental to a positive learning environment.
• Address these issues early with all of the adults and challenge them to adhere to your team rules to benefit the players.
• Hold a team meeting before the start of the season to review rules, expectations for player and team support by parents, sideline behavior, respect of referees and coaches and respect of opposing players

• In many ways, the team will reflect your individual personality traits. If you are calm, the team will be calm. If you are positive, so will the players.
• If you are negative or reactionary, the team will act similarly. Be aware of your influence on the children.

• The most important measuring device for a coach is in the team's ability to progress as both individuals and as a team collectively.
• If there is a continued focus on the development and progression of the team and children, the wins and results will take of themselves.

• Create opportunities where players can dictate their willingness to compete.
• Build time into practice where players can play without constant, structure and instruction.

• As the lead educator in the game, players and their parents will respond to the way you deal with referees.
• Take time to address the entire group on this subject and hold yourself to a high standard.
• Many referees at the youth level are learning and need positive reinforcement to maintain their interest in the sport.

COACH'S PLEDGE

I pledge to teach and guide the players. I will always recognize my responsibility to, and influence on, both the players and parents. I will be a positive force. I promise as coach to remember I am responsible for setting and maintaining the tempo and behavior patterns of my team. I will focus on development and let the results take care of themselves. I will be a factor on children continuing their soccer experience for many years, instead of being a reason for them dropping out of the sport.

WAYS TO PRAISE YOUR PLAYER
 
Great try
You must have been practicing
I’m proud of the way you worked today
Tremendous
I think you’ve got it
Super effort
Nice give and go
Magnificent
Excellent ball control
Great sportsmanship
You’re getting better every day
You make it look easy
Perfect pass
Good thinking
Great save
Exactly right
Good trap
You’ve got what it takes
Wow
Perfect 1^st touch
You remembered
You’re learning fast
Nice defensive move
Hurray for you
That’s quite an improvement
Congratulations
Good tackle
Well done
Great decision
That’s the best ever
Perfect execution
Great goal
That’s the way to support your teammates
Keep up the good work
Excellent move
You haven’t missed a thing
Great vision on that pass
Fantastic
You outdid yourself today
Great counter attack
I’m impressed
That’s the best you’ve ever done
You are very good at that
Great timing on your run
I knew you could do it
I’m very proud of you
Nothing can stop you now
I’ve never seen anyone do it better
You really make coaching fun
Thanks a million
Awesome
 

Soccer, like all other youth sports is meant to provide your children with an opportunity to have fun in a group environment. Learning how to love and enjoy an activity like Soccer is the key to progress. In order for your child to benefit from the experience, you need to be an active supporter in the process of learning.

• Support the Coach
• Think of the Coach as your child's teacher in this activity
• It is easy to get emotional in a game but remember it is confusing to a child to have many adults yelling different things to them.

• Recognize what your child is trying to do, not the result.
• Making mistakes is part of learning.
• It is the coach's responsibility to focus on specifics and the parents responsibility to praise their child's effort.
• Give positive reinforcement("great effort", "great idea", "good try") Don't be a negative influence, avoid comments like, "What are you doing?", "Pass the ball", "Wake up".

• Encourage your child to work on skills at home, in the backyard or with friends in a non-team situation.
• Take some time to play with your children in this type of setting. You will both benefit..
• It is the coach's responsibility to focus on specifics and the parents responsibility to praise their child's effort.
• Give positive reinforcement("great effort", "great idea", "good try") Don't be a negative influence, avoid comments like, "What are you doing?", "Pass the ball", "Wake up".

• Referees, like players are constantly learning from their experiences in the game.
• Mistakes will be made, however, your children will learn from your example. If you berate an official, they will. If you accept the referee's decisions, they will focus on the game and not the sideline yelling.
• Remember, most Leagues if not all have a zero tolerance policy for berating or verbally assaulting officials. Don't embarrass yourself and your child by being ejected from a game.

• Everyone lives and works in a group environment. Being a team member is one of the greatest benefits offered to our children.
• They learn how to contribute to group goals through individual tasks.
• Leadership, commitment, goal orientation, preparation and learning are a few of the qualities your children can benefit from in a positive sport learning environment, whether in victory or defeat.

PARENTS'S PLEDGE

I pledge to enjoy the journey with my child and not just focus on the destination. I will support the positive aspects of the experience and my child's own personal objectives. I will support and respect the Referees and coaches.

Too many parents are thinking about what they want their children to become. Playing youth sports is an opportunity to provide your child with a forum to learn. Personal growth and achievement can not be forced, it can only be encouraged.

Soccer, like all other youth sports is a chance to get with your friends and have fun as a group. If you feel like you are not having fun, talk to your parents about what makes you feel this way.

• Keep an open mind
• Take the time to practice on your own what you learn from your coach
• Become a better player by becoming a better teammate
• Measure your progress by what you have learned.
• Do not compare yourself to other players, you are all different. Help and encourage your teammates, don't coach, don't be critical, everyone makes mistakes.

• Show respect to your coaches who are taking the time to teach you.
• Show respect to your teammates who are sharing this experience with you.
• Show respect to all referees, because they are figures of authority on the game field.
• Appreciate the time and energy your parents have spent to provide you with this opportunity.
• Respect your opponents by playing within the rules of the game and playing fair.

PLAYER'S PLEDGE

I pledge to play fair and be respectful of all players, coaches, referees and to learn and enjoy playing soccer.

How to Rollover teams from Fall Soccer to Spring Soccer

Why use the Rollover feature?

Usually the Spring teams are the same as the Fall teams except for some minor drops or adds.  Rollover will save you a lot of time by making a complete copy of the Fall teams into the upcoming Spring season.  Then as the Spring season registration progresses you can remove any non-returning players and add any new players before the season starts.

How to do team rollover ?
Rollover is done in 2 steps, 1-Remove current Spring team assignments, 2-Rollover the Fall assignments for players/coaches to the Spring season

Step 1: First remove the players and coaches from the current Spring Soccer teams. Do that by clicking on Teams and Rosters. Then click on the button for "Bulk Assignment Removal".  When that program comes up make sure it is set to the Spring season because that is the season you want to clear out. Once you select the season then you will see the list of teams and the number of players and coaches for each team.  Then go to the bottom of that page and click the "Delete" button to clear out the rosters.

Step2: Now you are ready for the Rollover. Click on Reports, then scroll down to report  # 13) Team Rollover Report .   Make sure the Source season = Fall Soccer and the Destination season = Spring Soccer.  Once you do that, then the program will display all the Fall teams on the left and the Spring teams on the right. It will show you if that team already exist in the Spring or if the team needs to be added for the Spring. If it exist then Rollover will just copy the players and coaches from the existing Fall to the existing Spring team. If it says "Add" then the program will first add the team name into the Spring season under the same age group and then copy over the Fall Players and Coaches. When you are ready to start rollover click the large button at the top of the screen that says Rollover Team/Job Assignments. It will take about a minute to process once you give it the final confirmation.

Tip:

Once Rollover is completed you can see all your Spring teams and players/coaches in the Teams/Rosters area.  If there are any teams missing, try checking the "Inactive" box to review inactive teams, it's possible the rollover was done to an inactive team that had the same name as the Fall Team. To make a team active, click on it and select the Active option and then click save.

Background on Team assignments:

Keep in mind that Season/leagues/teams are "year less", that means the team shown is the current team for the current year.  There is only one current team with current assignments for coaches and players. All previous assignments are considered deleted but are saved for references. So that is why we talk about clearing out the assignments for the current spring season and rolling over the assignments from the Fall season.

• Championing diversity, equity, and inclusion at all levels.
• Intentionally fostering an environment and a culture that is inclusive and safe for underrepresented groups.
• Doing my part to participate in outreach efforts reducing barriers to entry.

• Leadership driven by fair play and sportsmanship
• Affordable and inclusive player development
• Commitment to education of coaches, referees and clubs
• Promoting a fun, safe, inclusive and healthy soccer environment