North Port Fusion FC - Competitive Program
COMPETITIVE PROGRAM FAQ’S
1. How do I become eligible to play for a competitive team?
In order to be selected for a competitive team, you must participate in the competitive program tryout. For the coming season, tryouts will be held May 6th, 2024 through May 10th, 2024. There is no cost to participate in tryouts, but you must register through Gotsport using the following link: https://system.gotsport.com/programs/6394781H2
2. How do I know if I made a competitive team?
You will receive an offer letter to join a competitive team sent via Gotsport to the email address you used to register for tryouts. Offer letters are typically sent a few days after tryouts end. In order to reserve your spot on the team, you must communicate to the coach your acceptance of the offered roster spot. The Club will then host a “Signing Day” event in which every player who accepted an offer to join a competitive team will sign his/her commitment letter.
3. How do I officially register for the competitive program?
Per FYSA rules, official registration begins June 10th, and will be completed online through the Gotsport program. The Club will email a registration link to all players who communicated an acceptance of the offer to join a competitive team.
4. What is the cost to register for the competitive program and when do I pay it?
The registration fee for this season’s competitive program is $725.00 for U9 through U12 teams, and $800 for U13 through U19 teams. The registration fee can be paid as a lump sum payment or in monthly installments. The registration fee covers FYSA and regular season league registration fees, coach stipends, regular season referee fees, registration and referee fees for one state level tournament or its equivalent, and general overhead expenses, such as insurance, field rental costs, equipment, etc.
5. When does my team begin practicing?
Per FYSA rules, official practices cannot begin for any team until June 10, 2024. Senior Division teams (U15 to U19) generally start practice in June while Junior Division teams (U9 to U14) generally start practice in July. However, each coach does have some discretion to start earlier (but not before June 10th) or later, depending on the training needs of the team.
6. How often will my team practice?
The frequency and duration of each team’s practices can be affected by many factors, including Club-wide demands on field space, weather, City of North Port field closures, etc. Subject to those factors, the Club requires its U13 to U19 coaches to prepare for and conduct three practices per week, and its U9 through U12 coaches two practices per week. However, each coach does have some discretion to increase or decrease the frequency of practices depending on the training needs of the team, injuries, schedule conflicts, etc.
7. When do games begin?
Regular league games for Senior Division teams (U15 to U19) generally begin in August and run through early October, before resuming in February. Regular league games for Junior Division teams (U9 to U14) generally begin in October and run through February, with only a short break during the last two weeks of December. Tournament games may be played at any time (see further information on tournaments below).
8. When can I expect to learn about my team’s actual game schedule?
Most of the Club’s teams will participate in the USA Soccer League this season. The USA Soccer League staff sets the schedule for every team in the league, and announces that schedule on its own timetable. Typically, Senior Division (U15 to U19) schedules are released in July and Junior Division (U9 to U14) schedules in September. Neither the Club, nor its coaches, has any control over when the USA Soccer League staff releases the schedules.
9. Will my team participate in any tournaments?
The Club has an expectation that each of its competitive teams will participate in at least four tournaments during the season, with one of those tournaments being funded by the Club. Each team is responsible for raising its own funds to participate in further tournament play, so the number of tournaments for each team can vary based on its fundraising efforts. Tournaments are available throughout the year, and each coach has the discretion to choose which tournaments his/her team participates in.
10. How far will I travel for games?
All home games for North Port Fusion will be played at Narramore Sports Complex or Butler Park. Away games for the regular league season generally range from Tampa to Naples, although there are a few clubs on the schedule that might fall slightly outside of that range. A team’s tournament games may be almost anywhere, but most teams choose to participate in those tournaments that are held in the same geographic range as the regular league games.
