| What is the refund policy? | Link |
When will the games and practices be?
| Link |
| What equipment do I need? | Link |
| When does the season start? | Link |
| When does the season end? | Link |
What is ITL (In-Town League) vs Travel for Grades 3 & 4 ?
| Link |
| Should I register for ITL (In-Town League) or Travel for Grades 3 & 4 ? | Link |
| When will my child have the chance to play Travel soccer? | Link |
| What are Player Evaluations? | Link |
| Who Should Attend Player Evaluations? | Link |
| happens if my player cannot make player evaluations? | Link |
| What does "Rising Grade" mean? | Link |
| How are Travel teams selected? | Link |
| Can I Request a Coach a or a Teammate for My Player? | Link |
| How do I check if I registered for the season already? | Link |
| Processing your player's placement | Link |
| What happens after rosters are released? | Link |
| A Note from RUSC Alumnus, Grace Hattery (RMHS 2024) | Link |
| What do the "Red" or "Black" Teams Mean? | Link |
| Contacts | Link |
When will the games and practices be?
Please review your team page on https://rusc.org. You can also communicate with your coach/team from your team page.
What equipment do I need?
Shin guards, water, cleats/sneakers and a ball (Size #3 for micro players, size #4 for grades 3/4 and 5/6, size #5 for grades 7/8). When does the season start?Fall - Early September
Spring - Early April
When does the season end?Fall - Early November
Spring - Mid JuneWhat is ITL (In-Town League) vs Travel for Grades 3 & 4 ?ITL is a mixture of Grade 3&4 players with a focus on development in a controlled game setting.
Games are typically Saturday afternoons - probably after 2pm but ending by 5:30pm
ITL teams get two practices in the week (same as travel teams).
ITL teams get specific training from pro staff at both practices on weekdays (in comparison, travel teams get 1 Pro-Coach led training session & 1 volunteer coach session)
Our staff works with ITL players during Saturday games because it’s a developmental league rather than travel league (travel tends to be more focused on the competitive side).
Travel teams play as far away as Waltham/Westford or as close as Stoneham.
There is no specific fixed time frame for travel games each week, it varies week to week. Travel games could begin as early as 9 am or as late as 5pm.
Should I register for ITL (In-Town League) or Travel for Grades 3 & 4 ?
If you register for ITL we assume that you would prefer this program due to its development structure and predictable schedule.
If you register for travel then you are open to the variability of the schedule and the competitive nature of the league.
All players (ITL/Travel) should attend Player Evaluations so we can build balance teams.
But, just because you registered for Travel does not mean you are automatically on a travel team. The number of travel teams are limited at this level as they player in higher divisions. The results of Player Evaluations and Coach feedback could recommend that your player should play on ITL. We will transfer them through the system.
When will my child have the chance to play Travel soccer?All RUSC players play on travel teams once they reach 5th grade. Some select players in Grades 2, 3, and 4 play on travel teams in the U10 Division (Grades 3 and 4) of the Middlesex Youth Soccer League.
Players in
Grade 2 are identified for candidacy for a Travel team by the pro coaching staff, as well as the volunteer coaches. Parents of advanced players in Grade 2 may request that their child “play up” in the Grades 3/4 division, and such requests will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis by the RUSC Board. Not all players in Grades 2, 3, and 4 travel. Most play in the ITL program. Players then partake in the Player Evaluation process (see below)
Players in
Grades 3 and 4 partake in the Player Evaluation process (see below)
What are Player Evaluations?These are NOT considered try outs, but a process where we evaluate all players for correct placement in a travel team for the upcoming season. Teams are normally stacked (Team 1 has the best ability players, Team 2 has the next best ability players, etc.). Player Evaluations, performed by trained evaluators that are not the current coaches, allow for an external perspective. Players are moved around fields, scores are captured with objective to see how each player compares. These scores are collected and collated.
Who Should Attend Player Evaluations?All players in the
travel or ITL programs, returning or not returning, should attend. This allows the evaluators to compare players so we understand the range of abilities. This provides information for the Placement Committee to stack the travel teams and balance the ITL teams.
What happens if my player cannot make player evaluations?
We will do our best to place players using the information we have from coaches, coach evaluations, pro-coaches and comparable players.
What does "Rising Grade" mean?This is the grade your player WILL BE in at school in the following September. If your player is in 5th grade in the spring, then their rising grade is Grade 6.
How are Travel teams selected?Travel teams are selected by a placement committee comprised of the Placement Evaluators, RUSC Board Members, ITL and Travel coaches, and the RUSC pro coaching staff that reviews all players to create competitive teams based on each player’s relative ability. Input for these placement meetings is provided from the volunteer coaches, pro coaches, and field evaluators at the different Player Evaluation sessions that are held prior to each Fall and Spring season.
Travel teams are built for each season, using the above process. This means players could potentially move up and down teams from one season to the next to ensure all players are given fair opportunity. We take into account players performance at
games AND
practices.
In addition to individual player performance, teams are also created with consideration given to minimum roster sizes and the number of kids who register in a given season. For example , if there are 45 players registered for spring, we would create 3 teams of 15 rostered players. Sometimes fall rosters are larger than spring, so it’s possible that 3 of the 18 fall players need to be placed on another team due to enrollment numbers.
Can I Request a Coach a or a Teammate for My Player?Unfortunately we cannot honor any requests due to the size of the program, the number of volunteers and the automated way the system builds some of the teams. Logistically, we just do not have a way.
How do I check if I registered for the season already?
Log in to your account on
https://rusc.org. Then : My Orders. Click on "Details" to drill in to a specific order.
Processing your player's placement
We recognize that a player’s team placement can be a source of stress and so we wanted to provide some resources to help your player, particularly if a player is disappointed with their placement. There are a few principles we’d like to offer that may aid in having informed conversations with your player:
Teams are made fresh each and every season and prior placement on a certain team is no guarantee of future placement on a certain team.
- Each season is a new season with new opportunities to grow as a soccer player and excel with your teammates; embrace the present and make the best of it.
- Focus on soccer as an educational and developmental opportunity, rather than a quest to make a higher team
- Set goals to improve as a soccer player & teammate and use these goals as a motivation for the new season to motivate focused hard work.
- The placement committee tries to place a player on a team that will help develop that player’s confidence and soccer skills as well as game awareness.
PS- even Lionel Messi didn’t make the team he hoped to make when he was 11 years old and look at him now!
If your child is disappointed with their team placement, we encourage you to share with them an essay from
Grace Hattery, RMHS Class of 2024, in which she describes her soccer journey from RUSC to RMHS Varsity Soccer. This essay is a shining example of perseverance over the years and working through disappointment to achieve goals.
Additional Resources
https://www.mayouthsoccer.org/soccer-parenting-association/https://positivecoach.org/parents/What Happens After Rosters Are Released?Fall Season:
The season starts in early September (practices on Labor Day, games on next weekend).
Spring Season:
The season starts in early April.
Over the rest of this month (August or March) we work with the assigned volunteer coaches on each teams' practice schedule based on our field permits. Coaches will communicate that schedule, along with the game schedule, once released from the league, later in August / March.
What Do the "Red" or "Black" Teams Mean?In some situations where the placement committee is unable to identify meaningful differences between a certain pool of players, the decision is made to make two roughly “balanced” teams – one with a “red” designation and one with a “black” designation (corresponding to Reading’s colors). The Middlesex Youth Soccer League labels team by numbers (e.g., B34-1, B34-2, etc.), but for RUSC’s purposes, when teams are balanced, we name them “red” and “black.” The two teams that are balanced with each other play in the same division. We request that they play in another grouping in that same division, so they don’t play against each other.
Example: B34-1 (Red) and B34-2 (Black) would be balanced and play in the same division.
A Note from RUSC Alumnus, Grace Hattery (RMHS 2024)"My experience participating in RUSC was a major factor in my success both on and off the field during my time in high school. I will be honest and say I was TERRIBLE at soccer and I was younger. I vividly remember getting the email when I was in U10 and crying in my bunk bed when I found out I was on the 4 team. Throughout the years I slowly worked harder and harder and eventually played on the 1 team by the time I reached my 8th grade year in U14. However, even being on the 1 team when I was in U14, I had near ZERO confidence in my abilities on the field.
When COVID hit in the March of 2020 and my last season playing on RUSC was cut short. I made it my mission to spend all my free time getting better, preparing to try out for my high school soccer. I had watched myself go from the 4 team to the 1 team during my time playing for RUSC, so I knew improving my skills as a player was very much attainable if I put the work in. That summer I spent hours at the field every day, I had a streak of 162 days straight and I went to every single captain’s practice. In the span of only a few months I went from an unlikely freshman team player to a strong candidate for the varsity team. I ended up making the varsity soccer team as a freshman and am forever grateful for all the opportunities that it opened up for me.
Since then, soccer has become a major part of my identity and it’s fueled my interest in exercise science, which I will be majoring in next year. I have made some of my best friends on the team, learned to step and lead even during challenging times as a captain for the team this year, and have learned the most important lesson that hard work pays off - something RUSC had taught me before I even knew what it meant. This level of discipline and hard work has also translated to my academic success throughout high school, as an honors student taking some of the most challenging courses offered at the high school"
Canceling Registration / Requesting a Refund
Review our refund policy here: Refunds
To request a refund, please email us at: [email protected]. Include : Players name, registered grade and reason for the cancellation.
Age Group Coordinator Contacts
For questions specific to your child's age group, please contact the relevant coordinator. Including your child’s name and grade will help ensure a quick response.