Frequently Asked Questions

What is CCFA?

CCFA is a soccer academy that houses the CCYS club program and premier skills clinics. CCFA provides Concord Carlisle soccer players with continued individual player development through professional coaching and high level team play. CCFA is a supplement to, not replacement for, CCYS Travel Soccer. CCFA teams play in the NSL (Northeast Soccer League) and are made up of CCYS Travel players. Roster placement on teams are available to only a limited number of committed soccer players. Tryouts will be held in June. Register here for tryouts.

CCFA teams will play fall and spring with 1-2 practices and one game per week on Sunday. Players will be required to attend some Travel practices and Saturday Travel games. This will entail a total of 4-5 days of commitment per week.

What is the CCFA Mission?

The mission of CCFA is to provide a training environment that focuses on the development of each player through access to professional coaching. With a foundation of sportsmanship, community, and personal leadership, CCFA emphasizes a deep commitment to respect, understanding, teamwork, determination, and love of the game.

Why CCFA?

CCYS is adding CCFA to its programs to provide more training and competition for those players who want more directed development opportunities. We believe we can provide a program with similar player development potential as nearby soccer clubs while requiring less travel to practices and tournaments. CCFA helps CCYS to serve the broadest community of soccer players and will keep more local players in the CCYS community. As a not-for-profit, CCFA can provide high-level training at a significantly lower cost to families than out of town clubs. In addition to the club teams, CCFA will continue the newly launched professionally coached premiere clinics open to all In-Town and Travel players. The goal of CCFA is to enhance the CCYS experience for all players.

CCFA will:

  • Provide access to professional coaching for all through club teams, practice player opportunities, and premier skills clinics
  • Strengthen CCYS by retaining more players in CCYS offerings
  • Continue CCYS focus on individual player development
  • Provide opportunity for kids, who may have started together in pre-K, to play together longer
  • Provide local practices, enabling players to participate in other local sports/activities
  • Provide club benefits without the high cost and long commute
  • Provide financial aid to those that require it
  • Focus on the value of nutrition and fitness

How is CCYS covering the cost of this new program?

CCFA can fund itself through registrations from its 4 team rosters and the premiere skills clinics. These clinics, which we launched this year, are open to all CCYS InTown/Travel players in the relevant age groups.

What teams will CCFA field in fall 2018?

Thanks to the Concord-Carlisle community for completing our recent survey on a club soccer program. Based on the feedback, we are pleased to launch CCFA this fall with 4 teams, including boys and girls who will be in the 5th grade (current 4th grade birth years 2007 & 2008) and boys and girls from birth years 2005/2006. In the fall this will include 6th, 7th and some 8th graders. The 2007/2008 roster size will tentatively be 13, and the 2005/2006 roster size will tentatively be 15. Each team will also have approximately 5 practice players. Tryouts will be held in early June. Please register here for tryouts.

When and where are the tryouts?

All CCFA tryouts will be held at the Doug White Memorial Field at Concord Carlisle High School (CCHS):

Date Time Age  Location
Monday, June 4 5:45 - 7:30 2007-8 Girls CCHS Upper Turf (Turf 2)
Monday, June 4 7:15 - 9:00 2007-8 Boys CCHS Upper Turf (Turf 2)
Thursday, June 7 5:45 - 7:30 2007-8 Boys CCHS Upper Turf (Turf 2)
Thursday, June 7 7:15 - 9:00 2007-8 Girls CCHS Upper Turf (Turf 1)
Monday, June 11 5:45 - 7:30 2005-6 Girls CCHS Upper Turf (Turf 1)
Monday, June 11 7:15 - 9:00 2005-6 Boys CCHS Upper Turf (Turf 1)
Thursday, June 14 5:45 - 7:00 2005-6 Boys CCHS Upper Turf (Turf 1)
Thursday, June 14 7:15 - 9:00 2005-6 Girls CCHS Upper Turf (Turf 1)

Why have two teams that are grade based and two that span grades?

There is a lot of interest in a club offering and there were many options for starting teams. We selected boys and girls current 4th grade (2007/2008) and boys and girls from birth years 2005/2006 due to a combination of demand, our ability to transition to grade-based in the future, and the desire to start off the program with 2 competitive, older teams. Without a doubt we want to also capture the interest of the younger players beginning with 3rd grade, and in year 1 will work to do this through skills training and pro coached clinics.

While our long-term objective is to field grade-based teams, we feel that spanning grades for the older teams will position us for success in year one. We plan to expand and evolve the teams in future years and foresee CCFA year 2 including boys and girls 4th grade rosters with a 3rd grade Skills Academy offering.

What team will a young 5th (2007) grader be placed on?

If you have a player in the 5th grade who you think could make the older team, this player should tryout for the younger team (5th grade 2007/2008). Based on the independent evaluations and Technical Director review, the coaches will decide if the player’s skills warrant playing up.

Who is eligible for the CCFA?

Boys and girls currently in the 4th grade (5th grade in fall 2018) with birth years 2007/2008 and boys and girls from birth years 2005/2006 who are registered with CCYS Travel Soccer are eligible for CCFA teams. CCFA is a supplement to, not replacement for, CCYS Travel Soccer. Teams are available to only a limited number of committed soccer players.

My child already plays CCYS Travel. Why should we be interested in CCFA?

CCFA is for the soccer player who wants more than what CCYS currently offers — more soccer overall and more technical training. It is not for everyone and we are advocates of kids playing multiple sports, having a balanced lifestyle with other interests and less time in the car. We wanted to develop a program for players and families who want more to stay in Concord Carlisle and to play with their friends. They get access to professional coaching and more competition in an environment that promotes love of the game.

CCFA teams will play fall and spring with two practices and one game per week on Sunday. Players will be required to attend some Travel practices and Saturday Travel games. This will entail a total of 4-5 days of commitment per week.

How many days of soccer will CCFA/Travel require?

We are currently gathering feedback from parents and are planning options for the practice schedule. We are considering one Travel team practice, 1 CCFA team practice, and a CCFA add-on practice after the CCYS once per week. This is 2 practices during the week and one Travel game on Saturday and one CCFA game on Sunday.

How do I get my child involved?

Tryouts for the 4th grade (2007/2008) teams will be the week of June 4, 2018 and 2005/2006 teams will be the week of June 11. Register here or see the CCYS homepage for details. Registration for fall 2018 Travel soccer is now open.

Will there by time for my child to play other sports?

The CCYS/CCFA philosophy is that kids should be playing other sports. This is the first year for CCFA so there is a lot of scheduling to work out. We are working to understand what the practices & games look like for the other sports and when these schedules are set. In general, if a player wishes to play multiple sports in the spring (e.g. lacrosse and/or baseball and softball), they may opt out of CCFA for the spring season (with no discount).

How are CCFA teams formed?

CCFA teams are chosen through a tryout session and invitation. The selection process will include input from professional evaluators and final rosters will be approved by the Technical Director. Players will be evaluated first on technical skills and second on tactical skills. We evaluate and train our youth players on their technical ability (dribble, pass, shoot) within the scope of small-sided/full games. Keeping possession is first and foremost, advancing/penetrating is second, and tactically understanding the concepts of play within our system is third.

Why have practice players?

Practice players enable CCFA to maintain a larger player pool without a large roster. This enables more players to participate in the training. All CCFA teams have approximately 5 practice players. Practice players participate in all training sessions but will typically not play Sunday matches unless they are needed to fill the roster due to injury, illness or other circumstances. 

What is the CCFA schedule?

Fall

  • 16 to 18 training sessions.
  • Approximately 8 Sunday games

Winter

  • Approximately 8 turf-based training sessions

Spring

  • 16-18 training sessions
  • Approximately 8 Sunday games
  • One tournament

What is the Cost?

·    Regular players: $1,250
·    Practice players: $950

The CCFA fee is in addition to the CCYS Travel Soccer fee.

What is in the CCFA player Kit?

Players will use their CCYS Travel uniforms and in addition will receive a CCFA kit including:

  • 1 game jersey
  • Backpack