The Port Washington Soccer Club has a dynamic and extensive travel soccer program. As with other clubs, this program is intended for competitive and committed soccer players looking to take their game to the next level. We typically field 30+ teams across boys and girls age groups from U9-U19, and participate in various leagues, cup tournaments, friendly tournaments, scrimmages, and other competitions. In many age groups, we have multiple teams, offering options for various levels of competition, with the goal of enabling both our most competitive as well as our developing teams with the opportunity to compete against similar-level teams.
All teams are assigned a dedicated professional trainer, and either the primary trainer or a substitute professional trainer (in the event of a conflict) will attend all practices and games. Teams also have 1-3 volunteer parent managers that assist in both organizational duties, and also help the professional trainers on the sidelines - however, the club's model is such that our professional training staff make the primary determinations on the field, regarding all soccer-related items (lineups, substitutions, tactics, etc.).
The travel program is a tryout-based program, with tryouts occurring in May/June for the following school year. During the outdoor fall and spring seasons, teams typically practice twice per week for 90 minutes per practice, and have league games on the weekends. Teams also participate in various tournaments, and the club provides regular clinics for players to further develop their skills.
Since this is a tryout-based program, the club's expectation is that players accepting positions on teams will commit to their team for the entire school year. Costs vary based on age group and specific teams (depending on the number of tournaments they intend to participate in and the nature of their winter program). Many teams do provide indoor winter training, and also participate in indoor soccer or futsal leagues.
Parents should understand that while the club's goals are to keep teams intact for the full school year, and to also field at least one boys and girls team in every age group, the numbers that turn out and commit within each age group from season to season will dictate whether or not that will be possible. When that is not possible, the club's board members and Director of Coaching will work on alternate solutions for the players in the impacted age groups.
Further to that point, playing "up" to an older age group is only permitted with the permission of the Director of Coaching and the board, and any such determinations will be made based on a variety of factors, including ability, team rosters in the applicable age groups, and other variables that may come into play.
Finally, due to the structure of our program, there are opportunities for players to occasionally play with other teams in the club, either in their own age group or in an older age group (players cannot play "down" to a younger age group under any circumstances, due to travel league and sanctioning bodies' rules). There are no additional costs to such opportunities, and players are often able to get in some "bonus" soccer as a result of such flexibility and needs of other teams from week to week.
The Port Washington Soccer Club endeavors to provide scholarships for players that are unable to afford the entire cost of travel soccer - our goal is to keep our programs open to all players. For those able to do so, a donation to the club makes it possible for the club to continue to offer scholarships where needed, so that all youth soccer players in our community have the opportunity to experience soccer.
For more information on our travel program or for information on available scholarships, please contact our Director of Coaching at jigs@portsoccerclub.com.
Our travel soccer program features the best professional training staff in the region, provided by Jigs Soccer Academy, as well as a club-based style and curriculum that makes movement between teams (either on a permanent or week-to-week basis) seamless within our club. See below for more about our travel soccer model and philosophies.
Our annual travel soccer registration fee is $1525 for the 2024-25 soccer year. Why do we openly publish this number, unlike virtually all other clubs? Because we have nothing to hide, and we provide way more overall value than other programs and clubs, particularly when considering all that's included (not to mention our top-tier training provided by Jigs Soccer). Consistent with the 2023-24 travel soccer year, this is intended to be a fairly all-in fee, which covers the following items:
Some items NOT included in the annual travel soccer fee include: (i) additional tournaments above the two (2) covered by the club, (ii) winter league fees or additional winter training fees on top of the 8 club-sponsored practice sessions, (iii) travel expenses for teams and/or trainers for destination tournaments, and (iv) any other optional team activities and expenses outside of the standard PWSC annual travel program outlined above. Team managers will discuss any optional activities with their respective teams during the year.
WITH ALL THAT'S INCLUDED IN OUR PROGRAM, NOW IS A GREAT TIME TO JOIN THE PWSC FAMILY!