Thank you for your interest in the West Virginia Soccer Club. We are a youth travel soccer club with boys and girls teams across several age groups whose mission is, quite simply making players better.  If your family is new to travel soccer or to WVSC, you likely have several questions. This information sheet is designed to address them, but please feel free to contact the club officers if you have any additional requests.

There are several benefits to being a member of the WV Soccer Club, including:

• Quality team training and coaching -- The WV Soccer Club provides knowledgeable and experienced coaches to its member teams. These coaches are recruited, selected, assigned, developed and supervised by our Director's of Coaching.
• Supplemental training and development -- The WV Soccer Club seeks to provide additional training and development opportunities to its members, both specialized and general. Among these are goalkeeper training, speed and agility training, and informational sessions on topics such as goal-setting and playing college soccer.
• Assistance in Seeking Competitions -- The network of contacts with other soccer clubs throughout West Virginia and in surrounding states can help member teams who seek admission to prestigious leagues and tournaments or who desire friendly matches with other teams. In addition, WVSC hosts or assists with numerous competitive opportunities that provide a venue in which our member teams can play.
• Administrative Assistance -- WVSC provides assistance to team managers in navigating the regulations and requirements associated with travel soccer, helping them to avoid pitfalls in the process. Through the club's membership in the WV Soccer Association, teams and players enjoy medical insurance coverage in the event of injuries from team activities.

PLAYER AND FAMILY COMMITMENT -- The WV Soccer Club exists to provide opportunities for youth players to improve their knowledge, skills and love of the game of soccer. WVSC offers resources such as quality coaches and supplemental training opportunities, but these alone are insufficient without a commitment on the part of players and their families. Such commitment need not be to the exclusion of other activities. Most teams practice twice per week for approximately 90 minutes at each practice. Policies regarding attendance are at the discretion of each team's coach. The number of tournaments that a team attends is completely at the discretion of that team, so the amount of time required is manageable by the families themselves.

Premier teams:  When possible, the club will seek to establish multiple teams at each age level so that an environment will exist that is appropriate for the development and commitment of each player. The "premier" team in each age group is intended for those players who wish to make soccer their primary activity and whose skill is appropriate for the most competitive venues. Consequently, the commitment required of premier team players will often be greater than that of non-premier teams. For example, premier teams will likely travel to more tournaments at a greater distance, and they might participate in league play in Kentucky, Ohio or Pennsylvania. Additionally, premier teams will likely vie to attend the Region 1 tournament during the summer, part of the US Youth Soccer National Championship Series. For the 2006-07 and 2007-08 seasons, the Region 1 tournament will be located in Portland, Maine.

• Club / WVSA Registration -- WVSC charges each member player an annual registration fee of $50. This $50 fee covers the time period of August 1st - July 31st of each year and includes the cost of membership in the WV Soccer Association as a travel soccer player, as well as club administrative costs such as the salary for the Director's of Coaching.
• Weekly Team Training & Coaching -- WVSC teams have adopted a standard training fee of $45 per month per player, payable to the team's coach. This fee covers two regularly scheduled weekly team practices, each approximately 90 minutes in length, as well as the coach's time to coach at competitive events such as weekend tournaments. (Note that the coach's travel costs are not included in this fee; see "Travel" below.)
• Field / Facility Rental -- Depending on the location that a team chooses to practice or play friendly matches, a field or facility rental fee may be required. These fees vary from facility to facility and can range from approximately $15 per hour to more than $100 per hour, depending on the nature of the facility (e.g., indoor facilities and outdoor facilities with lights being more expensive than others).
• Travel -- The extent to which a team elects to travel is entirely within its own control. WVSC does not mandate that a team participate in any tournaments or other events. Indeed, a team may elect to forego travel entirely and focus only on training and competitions close to home. Most teams, however, choose to participate in two to four tournaments during each of the fall and spring seasons, with most (but not all) of those tournaments located in the states of West Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky, Virginia, North Carolina, Maryland, Tennessee and Pennsylvania. Costs associated with travel include:
  • Tournament registration -- typical registration costs range from $300 - $600 per team per tournament and vary according to the size and prestige of the event.
  • Coach's travel and accommodations -- teams pay for the cost of the coach's travel, including hotel costs and an allotment for mileage and food.
  • Family travel and accommodations -- individual families are responsible for their own personal travel costs, including mileage, accommodations, and food.

Many teams seek opportunities for friendly matches with teams within and outside of our club. Costs for friendly matches are much less than those for tournaments and usually include only the amounts necessary to pay referees and any necessary field or facility rental.

• Uniforms -- WVSC uses a standard uniform kit for member teams that incorporates the club's colors of red, white, and navy blue. The current uniform kit is the Nike Brazilia Pro Vent (available in both a men's and a women's cut) with the club crest screen-printed on the front and numbers on the back. The basic kit should include, at a minimum, one pair of shorts, two jerseys and two pairs of socks for each player. Approximate costs for each item are:

  Jersey (each)	$28.00 (y) $31.00 (adult)
  Shorts (each)	$16.50 (y) $18.00 (adult)
  Socks (each pair)	$6.50
  Total (Full Kit)	$85.00 (y) $93.00 (adult)

Note: these prices include screen printing of the club crest and numbers on the jerseys, but do not include shipping. To control costs, teams may elect to use T-shirts ($10 each, including screen printing of club crest and numbers) in lieu of either or both jerseys. Additional, optional items available include a warm-up suit (two-piece, approximately $68 for youth or $80 for adult, including embroidered club crest and number) and a backpack (approximately $30).

• Additional Costs -- Teams may incur additional costs for activities in which they choose to participate, including league fees, facility rental for training or friendly matches, team camps, etc.