Hillsboro
Soccer Club - Classic
Did you know...Soccer is the largest youth sport in the
USA!!
Any
questions, please contact Doreen at doreen@oregonsoccer.com.
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The highest level of competition available | |
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The next level usually divided into first (I), second (II), and third (III) divisions |
How do we determine what level the team plays?
In order to play at any classic level above III a team
must participate in a "Classic Qualifying Tournament" or a "Premier Qualifying
Tournament" (PQT) usually held the second and third weekends in August.
All teams may enter the "CQT" but only teams which meet certain criteria
will be allowed to enter the "PQT".
In the case of a U12 team the first weekend of the
CQT will be used to determine which teams are invited to participate in
the PQT the following weekend. In the case of older teams, an invitation
is extended based on the previous year's record, returning players and
playing level.
When do Classic teams play?
In Oregon, U12 through U14 teams play in the fall
of each year but start in the early summer soon after the May tryouts.
The season usually consists of 10 to 12 games compressed into a fairly
short time span of about 7 weeks. This doesn't count the CQT or PQT.
Season starts the weekend after Labor day and runs through third weekend
of October. This will often mean that there are two games per weekend,
both Saturday and Sunday. After the season, there is a "State
Cup" for the higher level teams (Premier and Division I) and a "President's
Cup" for lower level teams. Winner of the State Cup at each age level
travels to the "Regional Tournament" for Region 4 (14 western states +
Alaska and Hawaii). Winner of that goes on to Nationals. President's
Cup is just for Oregon.
In many states
where Classic soccer is in a more advanced state of development Classic
Soccer is available to all age levels year round. In Oregon, high
school aged players have no Classic program and must play for their schools
or for high school recreational teams (which HSC also offers).
For U12-U14 a classic
team will often stay active all year playing indoor in the winter, private
spring and winter outdoor leagues and tournaments. Naturally, while
many youngsters play other sports too the most desirable Classic players
are those who are available to the team throughout the year even while
participating in their other sports.
What makes Classic soccer different from
Rec?
There are several key features of Classic that make it
different from recreational soccer:
1. You have to try out to make a Classic team (it's a
"select" team).
2. Standings are kept and published - this is a competitive
system and win/loss record is more important.
3. Coaches of Classic teams in the HSC are paid for their
coaching. Not much compared to the time involved but it isn't entirely
volunteer. Some coaches within the club donate their earnings to
the team (the author does) but this isn't an expectation of them.
What kind of expenses can we expect in a
Classic program?
The Hillsboro Soccer Club Classic program is one of the
most reasonable in our area. Nevertheless, it's more expensive than
recreational by a fairly substantial amount. Here is what you might
expect to pay for during a typical Classic season:
1. Team fee is $275.00 for a new player. The fee
covers a new uniform.
2. A Classic team will typically do several tournaments.
The cost for these will be at least $25.00 per player if they're local.
Add hotel and transportation to that if it's out of town. The CQT or PQT
is a required local tournament that will cost each player about $25.00.
3. During the season there is a potential to travel anywhere
within Oregon. For example, if a Medford team winds up in your division
and your team is from Hillsboro you might get to travel to Medford, spend
the night there and play your game. This might be an expense of about
$80.00 or so per player.
4. It's often true that a Classic team will want to outfit
itself beyond the uniforms. The team may get matching warmup suits
and soccer bags to improve its sharp image. The cost of this will
vary depending on choices.
In summary, expenses for a Classic player will average
about $390.00 per season including the team fee but not including tournaments
beyond local. The team, parents and coaches will typically decide
upon out of town activities other than the regular season.
What is the time commitment for a Classic
soccer player?
A typical Classic team will train at least twice a week
during the summer and bump up to three times as the qualifying tournaments
approach. The level of training really depends on what the goals
are that the team and coach set for themselves. Higher aspirations
on level, development and performance will demand more training time.
Games, again, are often two per weekend during the season. For a
tournament, there can be three to five games in one weekend. The
qualifying tournament is almost always five games. On the other hand,
the length of a game is very well defined - you will know pretty much exactly
how much time each one will take. If a team wishes to compete
at the highest (premier) level then a large amount of training will be
needed as well as lots of friendly games and tournament travel to get enough
competition to develop the team to that level.
What may I expect in a Classic game?
First of all, in a competitive game the result of the
game is of more importance than it is in recreational. Select teams
do not necessarily have any guarantees that any given player will receive
playing time equal to all of the other players.
In a Classic game there are often three referees: One
center and two linesmen. Because referees are in a shortage situation there
may be fewer than three on duty in a game in which case a club linesman
may be asked to help out.
Because the players are more competitive in a Classic
environment the intensity of the play is much higher. This is particularly
true of older teams. There can be very agressive play, tackles and
the like which sometimes lead to "yellow" or "red" cards. We discourage
this kind of play in this club but it is much more likely to occur in Classic
than in Rec. Players and parents of them need to recognize that a
Classic player who has tried out and made a competitive team will have
a more (in some cases MUCH more) intense desire to win the game.
Channeling this desire into positive player development is the job of the
coach and, to some degree, the parents. It's fairly easy to get carried
away in the heat of the match so we must be on guard all the time to be
sure the players are receiving the right encouragement to play hard but
clean and fair. Because the results of the game count it's also easy
to get pretty aggravated with a less than perfect referee so we must be
on guard against letting that influence players and their parents into
abusing the ref.