How does “club” soccer differ from town “recreational” soccer and town “traveling” soccer?
The recreation department in a town, such as Sharon, may organize an in-town program for its youngsters. Such a “rec” soccer program normally encourages wide participation by the children of the town, so there are no tryouts. Usually participation is limited to town residents. Separately, a private non-profit organization, such as the Sharon Soccer Association (SSA), may organize one or more “travel” teams to compete against similar teams from other towns. Broad participation may be encouraged, especially at younger ages, but participation in the teams is by tryout. MYSA sanctions and governs the leagues in which these travel teams compete; and it recognizes only one affiliated organization, such as SSA, to represent each town. For this reason (and not because of any formal connection to town administration) participation in a MYSA-affiliated travel program is usually restricted to residents of the town with which the association is identified. Clubs are formed to organize “premier” le
