House, Travel and Indoor

House League The House League is for anyone who lives in Stamford, regardless of the level of ability and experience. Everyone who joins a team should get relatively the same amount of playing time.  For older divisions (D1-D4, G1-G4, practices are held once per week at the times convenient to the volunteer coaches. For the younger divisions, practice generally takes place the hour or half hour before games on the weekends. Seasons House League has two seasons, Autumn (September-November) and Spring (April-June).  There is no organized House League during the summer months. Coaching Coaches are volunteers, usually a parent of one of the children on a team.  Additional skills training is provided by SYSL for Division 1 teams by Quality Touch Soccer Academy.  Attendance is suggested, but not required. Fees Fees for House Division are covered in the SYSL Registration fee (at this time, $140/child).  There are no additional fees to play in the House Division.  In addition, to a uniform, your fee also includes professional training once a week by Quality Touch Soccer Academy as well as a ticket to a New York Red Bulls home game held at their new stadium in Harrison, NJ.  Additional tickets for parents or siblings can be purchased at a reduced fee. Field time at Games All players in the House division can expect relatively equal amounts of playing time at games.  Uniforms Children in the House Division are given a uniform at the beginning of each season.  That uniform consists of a jersey, shorts and socks. It is expected that a child wears his or her uniform to all games.  In addition, shin guards are mandatory. Cleats are strongly suggested.
Travel Division Travel is for players who achieve a level of play high enough to award him or her a place on a Travel team.  Seasons There are two seasons for the Travel Program: Fall (Late August-November) and Spring (Late March-June).  Winter training is organized on a team-by-team basis. It is expected that children on a Travel team attend winter indoor training if it is organized by the team. Tryouts In order to participate on a Travel team, a child has to try out. Tryouts take place in October / November for the Spring season, and in May / June for the Fall season.  Details about tryouts are posted on this website and in local newspapers.  If a child has to miss a tryout session, parents are encouraged to contact the Travel team for that child to arrange for a make-up tryout (held at the discretion of the team coach).  Fees Fees for Travel tend to be higher than for house to accommodate the need for registering the child with the Connecticut Youth Soccer League. Parents can also expect additional training fees to cover the cost of professional trainers.  At the U9 & U10 levels, SYSL subsidizes these training fees.  Registration fees do not cover the cost of uniforms.  At the beginning of a child's participation on a Travel team, a uniform kit is provided for each child on the team. These uniforms are NOT the property of the child, but are the property of the team. If a child leaves the Travel program, it is expected that the uniform will be returned to the team for redistribution.  In older age groups (U11 and above) there may be the need to purchase an additional uniform for away games.  The fees for these uniforms are NOT included in registration fees.  The total cost to play on a travel team is roughly $400/season exclusive of any additional uniform purchases. In addition, members of the Travel Division also receive a free ticket to a New York Red Bull's game (parents, siblings and friends can also purchase tickets at a reduced rate from SYSL). Behavior Expectations As a Travel player, children represent SYSL and the City of Stamford in play all over Fairfield County.  As such a level of maturity and decorum is expected of children on these teams. In addition, a level of commitment is expected from both children and families to attend training and games. Coaching At the U9 and U10 professional coaches and trainers are employed by the team to ensure fundamentals are the focus of the experience.  These are developmental levels.  At older ages, parent coaches are permitted, but teams may elect to continue to pay for a professional trainer. Time in Games The amount of time in a game for a child in Travel is not guaranteed. Game time is dependent on the level of effort, commitment and talent that is expressed by the child as recognized by his or her coach.  For additional information about Travel Division, please see the Travel section of the Website.
Indoor League During the winter months, SYSL sponsors an Indoor league.  Children from both House and Travel Divisions are encouraged to participate in Indoor. The Indoor season runs 8-9 weeks from January through March.  There are different rules for indoor soccer (which can be found in the RULES section of this website).  All players need shin guards and sneakers to play. Registration fees include a full uniform kit (jersey, shorts and socks).  It is expected that each child will wear their uniform to each game. Indoor is a very fast paced game.  It is not uncommon for scores to be significantly higher than outdoor soccer.

Last updated Spring 2010 : SL