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TOWSONTOWNE RECREATION COUNCIL
SOCCER PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

Towsontowne Youth Soccer offers recreational in-house and travel league play for boys and girls from ages 4 through 15.

Recreational Soccer
Subject to an adequate number of registrations and volunteer availability, the in-house program consists of the following age groupings participating in the following described play. The age determination date is August 1.

Clinic 4 Co-ed Program
The Clinic 4 Program consists of girls and boys aged 4 as of August 1 who assemble once per week on Saturday mornings for approximately 1 hour. Ordinarily, the first 30 minutes of each meeting is given over to practice within the group. Teams then spend the second half of the session playing small-sided (typically, 3v3) games against other teams. Rosters consist of 10-12 players. Teams are broken into 2 groups at the time that games are played. Parent volunteers and coaches referee the games. Each player receives a team jersey, a size 3 soccer ball, and a participation trophy. Annually, approximately 80 children participate in the Clinic Program.

Clinic 5 Co-ed Program
The Clinic 5 Program consists of girls and boys aged 5 as of August 1 who assemble once per week on Saturday mornings for approximately 1 hour. Ordinarily, the first 30 minutes of each meeting is given over to practice within the group. Teams then spend the second half of the session playing small-sided (typically, 3v3) games against other teams. Rosters consist of 10-12 players. Teams are broken into 2 groups at the time that games are played. Parent volunteers and coaches referee the games. Each player receives a team jersey, a size 3 soccer ball, and a participation trophy. Annually, approximately 100 children participate in the Clinic Program.

U8 Boys and U8 Girls
The Under 8 boys group and the Under 8 girls group consist of children ages 6 or 7 as of August 1. Teams meet twice per week. Saturday morning sessions run approximately 1.5 hours. Ordinarily, the first 45 minutes of each Saturday session is given over to practice within the group. Teams then spend the second half of each session playing small-sided (typically, 4v4) games against other teams. Teams are broken into 2 groups at the time that games are played. During the one-hour weekday evening sessions teams play either 4v4 or, as the season progresses, 7v7 soccer. Rosters consist of 10-12 players. Parent volunteers and coaches referee the games. Each player receives a team jersey, a size 3 soccer ball, and a participation trophy. Annually, approximately 200 children participate in the boys and girls Under 8 programs.

U10 Boys and U10 Girls
The Under 10 boys program and the Under 10 girls program consist of children ages 8 or 9 as of August 1. Each team consists of approximately 10-12 players. Teams meet twice per week, once on Saturday and once during one weekday night. The early part of the season is given over to practice with teams playing a schedule of 7v7 games through the months of September, October, and early November. Paid youth referees, typically drawn from Towsontowne Recreation Council program alumni, referee the games. Each player receives a jersey, a pair of shorts, and a pair of socks. The program supplies teams with balls and other equipment for team use. The U10 league champion and runner up teams receive merit trophies. Annually, approximately 150 children participate in the boys and girls Under 10 programs.

U12 Boys
The Under 12 boys program consists of teams of approximately 11-13 players. Teams meet twice per week, once on Saturday and once during one weekday night. The early part of the season is given over to practice with teams playing a schedule of 8v8 games through the months of September, October, and early November. Paid youth referees, typically drawn from Towsontowne Recreation Council program alumni, referee the games. The U12 boys play a schedule that includes games with teams from other area recreation councils. Each player receives a jersey, a pair of shorts, and a pair of socks. The program supplies teams with balls and other equipment for team use. The U12 champion and runner up teams receive merit trophies. Last season, approximately 50 boys participated in the U12 boys program.

U12 Girls
The Under 12 girls program consists of teams of approximately 11-13 players. Teams meet twice per week, once on Saturday and once during one weekday night. The early part of the season is given over to practice with teams playing a schedule of 8v8 games through the months of September, October, and early November. Paid youth referees, typically drawn from Towsontowne Recreation Council program alumni, referee the games. The U12 girls play a schedule that includes games with teams from other area recreation councils. Each player receives a jersey, a pair of shorts, and a pair of socks. The U12 champion and runner up teams receive merit trophies.

U16 Coed
The Under 16 program consists of teams of approximately 11-13 players. Teams meet twice per week, once on Saturday and once during one weekday night. The early part of the season is given over to practice with teams playing a schedule of 8v8 games through the months of September. October, and early November. Paid youth referees, typically drawn from Towsontowne Recreation Council program alumni, referee the games. Each player receives a jersey, a pair of shorts, and a pair of socks. For 2006, registrations did not support a stand alone Under 16 program, and registrants were directed to other area councils.

Travel Soccer
The Towsontowne Recreation Council Soccer Program also offers travel soccer opportunities to children from the ages of 6 to 13. Annually, approximately 140 children participate in the travel soccer program. Last season, the travel program consisted of eleven boys and girls teams in various age groupings.
Travel team schedules vary according to the age group and skill of the various groups, but on average, teams meet to practice or play 3-4 times per week. Towsontowne teams participate in the Central Maryland Soccer Association (CMSA) and Baltimore Beltway Soccer leagues. Travel teams also participate in CMSA sponsored and other tournaments, including the Overlea Cup, County Cup, Columbus Cup, Fallston Cup, and Bel Air Invitational. Certain teams also travel outside of the state to play in regional tournaments.

Program Administration
The Towsontowne Recreation Program is coordinated exclusively by volunteers. Coaches in the program are also volunteers. The soccer program coordinates its activities with the Towsontowne Recreation Council Volunteer Board. The Recreation Council provides facilities and the services of its Community Coordinator, currently Bob McClelland. Mr. McClelland oversees the activities of certain field leaders who prepare the fields for play.
Volunteers coordinate the activities of the each age group. Age group coordinators are responsible for recruiting volunteer coaches, constituting rosters, scheduling games, and coordinating referees. Age group coordinators also work with the coaches to arrange for the distribution of uniforms at the commencement of the season and the distribution of trophies at the close of the season. Volunteers are always needed. Please contact the program chairman, John Ward – jbward@fgow.com, if you are interested in assisting.