After being selected at tryouts and registering, players begin training twice a week, either M/W or T/TH, 90-minute sessions. Players are expected to attend all trainings. Some teams may participate in Summer tournaments. The Fall season begins in late Aug and can run as late as the second week of December for older teams and may end as early as late November. During Fall play, teams typically compete in a few local weekend tournaments.

No. Registration in a year-round competitive program typically includes Fall AND Spring League play. Some year-round Clubs also train and play in Winter League. A registered player with SSA is making a commitment to play in the Fall season.

9U – 14U The season is typically June through early December. Tryouts are held in the spring.

15U – 19U Tryouts are usually in May. Season play can vary by team, so teams extend tournament play into the first quarter of the next year.

Practices begin in June/July. A few teams organize early to play indoors or in a Spring league or hold occasional informal scrimmages between March and June.

League games running from early September through late November. There are typically 10 regularly scheduled games. Some may require travel to areas such as; Auburn, El Dorado Hills, Stockton, Woodland, and Fairfield.

Tournaments start in July and end in early December. Teams usually participate in at least 3 tournaments. Tournaments involve several games in a single weekend.

Approximately $400 – $700 per player for a season. This includes:  registration, uniforms and tournament fees.

Coaches choose tournaments for the team. Most are held within an hour's drive of Sacramento.  Some teams travel to one overnight tournament per year. This is a fun way to take a mini vacation but will add to your travel budget. Tournament fees vary by team and are divided amongst the players, typically about $35 – 45 per player, per tournament. These fees are paid directly to the Team’s Manager.

Most league games are in the Sacramento and surrounding area, within a 30-45 minute drive.

As for tournaments, the team can register for events that are suitable to their skill level. Some teams only participate in tournaments that are close to Sacramento, others prefer to compete in one or more traveling tournaments that involve overnight travel. Many families look forward to these weekends as mini-vacations.

Our teams compete in NorCal Premier League, Region 6, Bronze, Silver, and Gold divisions. The make-up of these divisions can vary by season within Region 6, but generally, the higher the level of competitiveness of a team, the greater the range of travel. Older age groups may have greater travel as by high school, the overall player pool ‘size’ for all Region 6 teams can be smaller.

Training sessions are usually 1 1⁄2 minimum to 2 hours each. Teams train 2x a week, typically a M/W or T/Th split. Some teams may vary practice times and frequency. Soccer is a team sport that requires individual fitness and skills. It is very important that all players make all the trainings. We know many families schedule their vacations in July and August. As long as you inform Team Coaches of the situation they usually have no issue.

Trainings are held at local City Park fields in the general area of South Land Park & Land Park. Refer to the Fields tab of our website for current field locations.

SSA parents:

The decision whether to train or not on days when air quality is questionable, is ALWAYS yours.

The SSA supports a parent choosing to miss training session(s) due to excessive heat and/or poor air quality. We recognize that players can respond or be affected differently when air quality is poor.

If you choose to miss a training session, please inform the coach as soon as possible. This helps the coach plan the session accordingly for the players who will be attending the training session.

We want to remind parents and players:

• Player safety is our priority.

• Please inform coaches of any respiratory or medial issues immediately. It helps us understand the needs of the individual player.

• The SSA monitors weather and air quality daily.

• Monitoring begins in the morning and continues throughout the day.

• We look for trends, elevations in readings and evaluate how it compares to the AQI forecast.

• Coaches are contacted around 2pm if training sessions will be cancelled.

• If we notice an extreme spike or high readings, we will notify the entire SSA family via email no later than 4pm.

• We use the AQI chart (click here for AQI chart) to establish our daily plan:

• 0-50 – normal training

• 51-100 – normal training

• 101-150 – modified training (increased rest breaks, lower intensity training games, Coaches may individually cancel their session if the perceived risk out weighs the needs the team may have for future match play.)

• 151-higher ALL SSA TRAINING SESSIONS MUST BE CANCELLED

• We encourage parents and coaches to use the Sacramento County Air Quality mobile app to monitor air quality. Click here to learn about the mobile ap.

Understand that you play a part in helping keep the air clean. Click here to learn how you can help.

Remember, the decision whether to train or not on days when air quality is questionable, is ALWAYS yours.

Yes. We understand players develop by playing, and the SSA program is about player development. Therefore, our policy requires our coaches to play each player at least half of every regular season game.

No. Like many competitive Clubs, we have a diverse membership base who live and work in a variety of places. Parents DO need to be conscious of the travel and time required to make weekly team training commitments for their player.

We understand that in the younger age brackets especially, your player may not be ready to exclusively commit to soccer.

This is why we have elected to limit League play to the ‘Fall season’. This allows players the opportunity to play other sports in the Spring. We do ask that parents consider making Fall play the priority, as teams develop and players develop through consistent play. Too many distractions from soccer typically end in a negative result for the player and the team. It’s important that both players and families understand the commitment level is elevated when choosing to accept an offer to play competitive soccer.

Players who are enthusiastic about soccer and want to improve their skills are definitely encouraged to try out. You do not have to be a soccer star.

Some indications are that the player:

• Has a high interest level in soccer and practices on his or her own or with friends outside of soccer practice

• Is one of the better players on their current team and seems to want more than recreational level soccer

• Sees higher-level players and wants to be like them

• Is mature enough to commit to more frequent practices and more strenuous training

• Wants more of a challenge on the soccer field.

• Has passion for the game

• Has a supportive family network committed to helping the player train and develop.

The US Soccer Federation sets the parameters for defining what age groups make up a team. SSA follows these guidelines for “age pure” play.

SSA builds teams through a tryout process to give players the opportunity to play for SSA. Teams are formed via tryouts and all players, new and returning should attend tryouts to be evaluated. Interested Coaches should contact the SSA President and Director of Coaching