HOW TO REGISTER FOR SUMMER COMPETITIVE TRAVEL

---

HFC United uses an invitation system where your child will be invited, via email, to play on a team for the summer season.  For example, a U11 girls player will receive an invite email for the summer season. However, you are able to access fall registration once open, by the upper right hand register icon  

A player typically receives an invite after tryouts in July/August for summer season.  Click here for information on how to register for competitive travel soccer (which includes troubleshooting information for those having registration issues).

NEW PLAYERS

---

If you are a new player interested in registering for an HFC United travel team please email the club president   for team information, as well as information on how to register.

PROGRAM REGISTRATION COST

---

Age Group	Fall Season¹	Summer Season²
U9 & U10-	$105	$255
U11 & U12-	$115	$320
U13 & U14-	$125	$340
U15 & Older-	N/A³	$350

¹A $25 late registration fee is assessed for players registering for the fall season after 08/06/2021.  Please note that any late registration fee cannot be waived in any financial assistance request.
²A $50 late registration fee is assessed for players registering for the summer season after 12/31/2021.  Please note that any late registration fee cannot be waived in any financial assistance request.
³Certain situations may result in having an older player eligible to play the fall season.

Registration includes registration and pass cards for players and coaches needed to play in the TCSL league and various US Club Soccer, US Youth Soccer, and USSSA Soccer sanctioned tournaments.  The registration cost also covers TCSL team registration fees, referee costs, equipment, and rented practice facilities for winter training.

The registration cost does not include tournaments, coaches fee (if a contracted coach is needed due to no parent volunteer registering for that team), team level fees, and uniforms, among others.

More information on what is included and not included in the registration costs is detailed in the "Frequently Asked Questions" section.

TRAVEL VERSUS RECREATIONAL SOCCER

---

The travel and recreational programs follow the US Soccer rules and guidelines for each age appropriate youth age level.  The rules and guidelines maybe altered slightly based upon which governing organization each youth program is associated.  HFC United's recreational soccer program is guided by USSSA Soccer (and by Minnesota Youth Soccer Association,or MYSA, in the past).  HFC United's competitive traveling soccer program is a member of the Twin Cities Soccer League, or known as TCSL for short, and follows the rules of the game, and is sanctioned by, US Club Soccer. 

At what age can a player start travel soccer?

Competitive traveling soccer starts at the U9 age group (age 9 or younger) and goes through u19 (age 19 or younger). The U9 age is typically 3rd graders, but 2nd graders (and sometimes motivated 1st graders) may also play but will be mixed with the older players.

Is my player ready for travel soccer?

The most important consideration is whether they enjoy soccer, and would like to play more or at a higher level than with the recreational program. The travel players tend to be have better stamina and/or athleticism, but become better players largely because they play more, and spend more time on training/practice than at the recreational level. They do NOT have to be a superstar to play travel soccer!

As players get older, there are teams at different skill levels, and players are placed accordingly. HFC United, like all area soccer clubs, holds tryouts to form balanced teams at the younger levels (typically at U9, U10 & U11). At U12 and older, tryouts are held to place players on higher and lower competition level teams (if there are enough players for more than one team at that age group).

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

---

How do the travel ages work?

Starting in 2015, US Soccer issued Player Development Initiatives, mandating that all youth soccer affiliates adopt national small-sided standards.

So what does that mean?  Players are registered according to their birth year (which is the typical calendar year from January 1st to December 31st).  A player born in 2011 will turn 9 in 2020, and thus playing the U9 age group for HFC United. 

Where are the travel games played?

Half the TCSL league games are played at home (at Vet’s Park) and half are away games. HFC United teams are usually placed in divisions within close proximity.  This means that HFC United teams typically play against appropriate local teams, such as Cottage Grove United, Salvo SC (Woodbury), St Paul Blackhawks, Hudson, Eagan Wave, and others.  The higher skilled teams may play games further away from Hastings, but all TCSL games are played within a 35 mile radius of the Allianz Field- where the Minnesota United FC play their home Major League Soccer (MLS) games.

For the fall travel season, when is the season, what are game days and how many games are played?Teams play six league games which can land on weekends (Friday night, Saturdays and Sundays) between Labor Day and mid-October- three home games and three away games. Most coaches do one or two practices a week as well.

Teams may elect to participate in a fall tournament, however due to the tight schedule in the fall, there are only a few tournaments.

HFC United teams may elect to play in the open-invitational "end of the season" tournament hosted by the TCSL called the "Autumn Championships" for U11 to U14 teams (as U15 teams do not typically play fall soccer due to the availability of high school soccer).  For U9 and U10 teams, an season ending jamboree-style called the "Autumn Festival" is available for teams to participate.

For the spring/summer travel, when is the season, what are game days and how many games are played?

Teams will have winter training opportunities starting on or around January. HFC United will schedule approximately ten indoor training times per age group or team January to March, based upon availability of training facilities. Teams may choose to schedule additional winter training times, or have a portion of the team play in an optional indoor soccer, futsal league, or attend various training clinics hosted throughout the twin cities. Once conditions allow, teams begin setting their outdoor practice times and locations in April for preparation training for the summer traveling season.

League play through the TCSL typically starts the first week in May and runs through the 2nd week in July.  Just as in the fall, the TCSL hosts an open-invitational tournament for interested U12 and older teams, called the Summer Cup.  U9 and U10 teams may participate in the TCSL hosted Summer Festival.

The TCSL league games can vary, but typically teams play ten league games (five home and five away games).  TCSL does not have assigned game days, so games can be played any weeknight or anytime during the weekend (Saturday and Sunday).  This flexibility allows teams to schedule various tournaments to compete in during open dates where no games were scheduled to play.

Where are the away travel game fields?

Your child's team manager will inform you of where your child will be playing and what field location within the city your opponent is located.  HFC United uses TeamNet for each team to use, courtesy of Demosphere.  This is free to use and teams can choose to use this app on their phone to manage and schedule games, trainings, and availability (among other features).  The TCSL also posts their schedule and standings on their website for public viewing.

What’s covered in the travel soccer registration fee?

Registration includes registration and pass cards for players and coaches needed to play in the TCSL league and various US Club Soccer, US Youth Soccer, and USSSA Soccer sanctioned tournaments.  The registration cost also covers TCSL team registration fees, referee costs, equipment, and rented practice facilities for winter training.

What are additional possible costs for travel soccer?

• Tournaments - Team families and coaches decide how many tournaments, and when and where their team wants to play. Each tournament typically costs $20-$40 per player, and are equally divided among all players regardless of availability at a particular tournament. Younger teams typically might play in 1-2 tournaments per season, and usually choose locations close to Hastings. Older or higher level teams might choose to play 3-4 tournaments, and as they get older, they sometimes choose to play in an overnight "away" tournament, resulting in a team having additional costs for stay at a hotel, along with meals and other expenses.
   
• Coaches – HFC United relies on volunteer coaches at most levels.  However paid coaches may be needed for some teams, especially for higher level teams, or teams where no volunteer coach is available.  In those cases, all players are expected to pay their share.
   
• Uniforms – HFC United tries to maintain a two year cycle regarding uniforms to avoid players and families from having to purchase a new uniform for as long as possible.  A practice shirt may be required for purchase as well, and specific goalkeeper uniform may be required if your child is a permanent, full-time goalkeeper.

How many players are on a travel team?

• U9 and U10 teams play "7 v 7" on smaller fields with 14 rostered players
• U11 and U12 play "9 v 9" on medium sized fields with 16 rostered players
• U13 and older teams play the traditional "11 v 11" on a large size field with 18 rostered players.

What are the travel levels of play?

• U9 & U10 teams play either as a Red (most experienced), White, or Blue (least experienced).  These levels are self-selected by each club.  HFC United tries to balance all U9 and U10 teams equally based off of ability, and therefore, will field a Blue team (typically).
   
• U11, and older teams play as either as a National/Regional team (most experienced), State, and Cities (least experienced).  These teams are also self-selected by the club.  Based off of many factors (such as tryouts results, coaches evaluation forms, and observation by the director of coaching, among others), as well as the number of players registered for a particular age group, different team levels can be assigned- an example is if there are two U12 girls teams, HFC United could field two Cities teams (least experienced) or one State team and one Cities team.
   
• Even higher levels of play are available.  Without getting into too much detail, a team may play at a higher level if their talent and/or record of play in the previous season warrants possible "promotion" into a higher level league.  Teams can also be "demoted" back to a lower level.  While a small club like HFC United can field a high caliber team beyond the National/Regional level, HFC United typically fields State and Cities teams, with an occasional National/Regional team.

For additional information, or if you have additional questions, please contact the director of coaching of HFC United.