ANNUAL TRYOUTS INFO

- PLEASE read through the area below for important information on what to wear, to bring & do when you arrive.
- Follow us on Facebook to monitor last minute changes to tryouts (weather, field changes, etc!)
- Annual tryouts are to form teams for the coming soccer year (Aug-June) Annual tryouts is when the bulk of a team's roster is formed.

When to arrive?
20 minutes early on your first session! When you arrive, there will be tables set up for MANDATORY CHECK-IN and same day registration. Everyone has to check in. If you do not check in on the first tryout day you come, we will not know your son or daughter is in attendance. Without this step, they will not be on the coaches' lists. On subsequent days, 10 minutes early is fine but that means dressed and ready to play. 

Parking at tryouts?
Towson University, Johnny Unitas Stadium: there is a small fee for parking in most lots on campus, including those closest to the stadium. The parking machines take cash or credit cards. Parking at Poly/Western HS is free. At Poly/Western HS, parents may not drive down the road next to the turf field or park in that lot. Parking at Poly/Western must be done in the lots and areas around the school. 

What to bring? 
Shin guards (required), soccer cleats (non-metal) or turf shoes, water (extra!), and a ball (inflated properly). Bring PLENTY of water. 

What to wear?
Wear a WHITE shirt (as plain as possible) plus whatever else is weather appropriate. Please wear black shorts and socks if you have them. Do NOT wear anything with the logo of another team or club. Existing players should NOT wear jerseys with Pipeline either. 

How many tryouts should my son/daughter attend?
The more tryouts attended, the greater the opportunity a players has to exhibit his or her skills. We encourage you to attend all of the tryouts in your respective age group and you must attend at least one of the tryouts to be considered for placement on a team. We have a limited number of tryouts because we have found that holding more make is less likely that players can make all and coaches really need to see players competing with on another. If players are spread out over many sessions it is more difficult to fairly make selections. 

What are coaches looking for in a player?
At all ages, coaches are looking for: attitude, coachability, athleticism, competitive drive, technical skill, pace of play, and tactical understanding. A player's position is not really a factor at the younger ages as they will play all over the field at teams to aid in learning. At the older age groups, U16-U18, players are playing specific roles/positions on teams and coaches will be combining the other criteria with team needs. 

When/how do I find out if I made a team? 
After the last tryout, staff will inform parents by email or phone about a player's status on a team. This will happen within 1-3 days. Parents will be given information as to commitment level and costs of a team at that time. A deadline will be placed on players making decisions. This is necessary to be fair to all players who tried out for the team. 

To reserve a spot in an age group, a per player club fee is required when accepting an offer of a spot. For U8, the fee is $100, for all others it is $200. This process is necessary to be fair to the players who do not make certain teams or a team at all. If a player initially accepts, then changes his/her mind, we then have to call back another player after already turning a player down. That is not fair to the players and we need to avoid that situation as much as possible. 

What does it cost to play on the team? 
There is a lot of misinformation out there about club soccer, so please take us as the source about our fees and not what others tell you. Costs vary drastically by team, age, level of play, and a team's goals. Learn more in the What is Club Soccer area below.

How do I try out for the Baltimore Armour USSDA Academy? 
The Baltimore Armour US Soccer Development Academy is for boys who will be 13 to 18 during the calendar year (Jan. 1 - Dec. 31). Players will be chosen for further evaluation by Baltimore Armour coaches and the Board of Governance directly.  More info here

Who makes the selections? Who are the coaches?  Are they licensed? Do they get background checks?
The head coach of the "Black" team in an age group oversees the tryout for an age group. He or she chooses players for the "Black" team first. When that is complete, he or she assists any other coaches in the age group in picking the other teams. All coaches for an age group will be at tryouts helping one another assess all players throughout. Our coaches hold licenses with governing bodies such as USSF, NCSAA, and UEFA.  Our coaches undergo extensive background checks in compliance with all Maryland State Youth Soccer Association best practices for youth soccer programs. 

How many teams in an age group will you have? Team names/designations?
In the younger age groups (U12 and below), we will field 2-4 teams in an age group. We will not field more than that. On the schedule, we only may list two teams, but will grow to three or four if demand and the level of play warrants. At U13 and above, we will field 1-2 teams in an age group. Our teams are designated Black, Red, Gold or White for their team names. Black being the strongest. Teams get the same level of training, facilities, and commitment from the club so that the only difference is the level of play (ie, certain leagues or divisions) they play enter so that it is developmentally appropriate for their progress as players. Our goal is not to have the most club teams, but to have the best run and best coached team for the enjoyment and development of the players. 

My son/daughter was selected for the "Red" team, how will this experience differ from the "Black" team?
We value our second and third teams, we don't slight them in any way. All teams will be treated equally in terms of training resources. They have the same level of coaching and field access as any other team. This means that a player on any team in an age group has the same chance to develop to his or her potential as a player on another team. Further, a player may be moved up or down over time if that is better for the player's development. This happens regularly, even on the best teams. Our goal is development of every player in the club. 

My daughter/son is also trying out for another club, or will soon, what do I do?
We know this can be a difficulty, but this is not something we can work around. We schedule our tryouts based on field availability and hold them before kids go away on summer vacations. Each year, we announce our tryout dates well before anyone else announces theirs as a help to families. It would be unfair to other players at tryouts to wait for a decision while a player tries out for another team or play teams/clubs against one another. Our hope is to get dedicated players and supportive families who believe in the Pipeline model of player development, our coaches, and the Pipeline approach to youth club soccer as a whole. 

Can my son/daughter play up in age?
Yes, but this is up to the discretion of the evaluators. A player will not be allowed to play up in age unless he/she is able to start and play most of the game on the older team. Further, playing on the younger team must be a hindrance to the player's development. A player's development is the priority of this club (not loyalties to teams or pursuit of winning). A player in our organization will play up if it benefits the player; that is our priority. 

Club Soccer
WHAT IS A CLUB SOCCER TEAM? RECREATIONAL AND TRAVEL?

RECREATIONAL: Playing on a recreational team involves no tryouts. Teams practice and play games so the focus is on development but players are either new to the game or not yet in love with it enough to dedicate themselves further yet. Recreational soccer is often the first step to playing travel soccer or to playing club soccer. Our recreational program involves professional coaches instead of parents, but parents coach recreational soccer elsewhere.

TRAVEL: What is the difference between travel and club teams? This can be confusing, particularly in the Baltimore region where travel programs try and act as clubs at times. This is not something that is really a problem in other parts of the country. Despite this, there are clear differences. Travel soccer involves tryouts and the teams are coached by parents of kids on the team. Travel teams play most of their games against other local travel teams, often other recreational councils. Further, almost all travel teams do not play year round. Some play play a small winter league but training during that time is very limited, if at all. The level of dedication and commitment to the sport is often not quite there. This is not a criticism of travel soccer. It has its place but as players get older, even in other sports, the best players end up at the club level as they look for better coaching, and more consistent opportunities to play tough competition. 

CLUB: Playing on a club soccer team involves a level of commitment on the part of players and families that one does not find at the recreational level or travel level. Playing on such a team is for the dedicated player who loves soccer and wishes to improve. The soccer is still age appropriate and fun, but it does involve trying out for a team, more practice than other programs, as well as a higher level of competition. Players should be interested in improving technically, tactically, and in terms of fitness/speed. The coaches are licensed and have played the game at a higher level than one finds in rec or travel soccer. Some of our coaches have played for their national teams, others have played professionally, and virtually all played collegiate soccer as well. Perhaps most importantly of all, at Pipeline we strongly feel that non-parent coaches are best for the experience of not only the player but also parents and the team. Facilities & fields are consistently available and good for our practices. The club provides the fields and they are provided year round so that teams are not struggling to find space to train, particularly outside the fall. 

AGE GROUPS

Starting with the summer of 2016, age groups in soccer will go by birth year. This replaces the old soccer calendar year that was August 1 to July 31 and often was resulted in players being called "U-10" for example. Teams will generally be referred to as their year and team name (ex. Black '08 would refer to our top team of players born in 2008). 

COSTS

There are no hidden costs. New families to Pipeline Club teams should attend the "Parent Meeting" after tryouts to clarify any questions related to cost. The information below gives an idea of what to expect, but nothing replaces the information at the Parent Meeting. Club soccer at this level is more expensive than "recreational" and "travel" or "select" programs. That is unavoidable, but we do our best to keep it as reasonable as possible while still providing the player development experience sought by families when they come to Pipeline. Below are the areas to look at for costs:

Club Dues - Pipeline players pay club fees of $200 three times a year. This covers the expenses of operating a club. Our expenses include providing fields, training facilities, offices, postage, field equipment, maintenance, insurance, marketing, technology/phone/internet, accounting services, and much much more. 

Team Dues - This amount is calculated by the team manager (a parent volunteer) and is simply the total costs of the team's operations divided by the number of players. For our most recent season (Spring 2014) we have Team Dues ranging from $130 to $750. It is unique to every team and to every season. This covers the cost of entering tournaments, referee fees, leagues, coaches fees, goalkeeper coach, Coach's travel, team equipment, etc. Note that one of the reasons our club soccer teams do cost more to play for than, for example, a rec-based travel team, is that our coaches generally do not have a child on the team. Our staff is a professional one -- licensed, experienced as players and/or coaches at a higher level than at many clubs and all travel programs. In general, the older the team and higher level of a team the higher these dues are. This is because tournaments, coaching, and travel costs are higher as teams get older and as they play at higher levels. For example, a team of 9 year-olds new to club soccer is going to have a very different cost structure than a team of 17 year olds who play in national leagues/tournaments for exposure to college and other scouts.

Uniform Kit - Every other year, the player is required to purchase a complete uniform kit that includes home and away jersey, shorts and socks, backpack, warm ups, and training shirts. The kit is estimated at $260. 

Travel to games- Each player is responsible for their travel costs to tournaments and games. Our most competitive teams travel extensively and more so at the older ages than the younger. Some tournaments may require overnight stays. Travel costs will vary from team to team. At older ages, it can be common that only the player travels or carpools with others.

Fundraising - Pipeline carries out various fundraising efforts throughout the year to offset club costs and provide monies for scholarships. Individual teams can offset their team dues by carrying out team fundraising as well. This is encouraged, especially for teams that travel extensively.

LOCATION OF PRACTICES

For the 2015/2016 soccer year, Pipeline has partnered with many schools and other facility providers for training. These include, but are not limited to, Friends School of Baltimore, Baltimore Poly HS, Glen Arm fields, and Loyola University. This will entail all seasons, including indoor facilities during the winter. A few teams may train elsewhere but for the most part teams will be at Friends School. 

LEAGUE LOCATIONS & TOURNAMENTS

Our club teams play in leagues such as EDP, Region I, MSSL, BBSL, and CMSA. CMSA is a Baltimore Metro league that our second or third teams of an age group might play in. Sometimes our top teams may play in that league at the youngest ages but even though, they are almost always playing up a year and sometimes two. At the other end of the spectrum is a league such as EDP where play could be throughout the Mid-Atlantic. Tournaments may be local or quite far (nationwide). The younger a team is, the more likely they are playing very locally. As teams get older (or better), they will travel farther for away games and some tournaments as they need to have quality competition. It does not good for a player's development to beat up on other local teams, so such a player would be on a team that would play farther away in some events. To put things in perspective -- a U8 Red team is going to play in a local league and in local tournaments. In contrast, a U17 Black team is going to be playing in a league that spans the Mid-Atlantic and will play in tournaments that are sometimes an hour away but sometimes may be in Florida, NY, Dallas, or even California in order to get the players exposure to college coaches looking to recruit them. Players at that age may be playing for scholarships to college or admission to top schools that they might otherwise not be admitted into. All other teams would fall somewhere in between and we have a club team that fits any player looking to play beyond our own recreational program or a travel program elsewhere.

CAN MY SON OR DAUGHTER 'PLAY UP'

Yes, but this is up to the discretion of the evaluators. A player will not be allowed to play up in age unless he/she is able to start and play most of the game on the older team. Further, playing on the younger team must be a hindrance to the player's development. A player's development is the priority of this club (not loyalties to teams or pursuit of winning). A player in our organization will play up if it benefits the player; that is our priority. 

When does the season start? Practices start?

Teams below HS Age will train during most of the summer in preparation for the fall season, and players are certainly excused for family vacations. The season generally starts with a Labor Day tournament, although some teams also do an August tournament. Leagues start the weekend after Labor Day. Teams are active during the winter with league/practices and most teams do involve some level of a spring commitment, although at the younger ages this may be scaled back to take into account multi-sport athletes.

Teams with players HS Age -- will train during June and July in order prepare players for their High School tryouts and seasons. Teams at this age will not play a fall season as they will be playing for their high schools, but those teams will get together for a practice once every week, or every other week, to keep fresh as a team so they are ready for an end of fall tournament and the beginning of winter league play. Spring play is the main club season for HS players.