Ive heard through the grapevine that Ames Soccer Club is “competitive”. What does that mean?
Frankly, this is a bit of a misnomer for our younger age program. Our U5-U10 program (pre-K-4th grade) is strictly recreational. No scores are kept at games, and no standings are kepts. Team formation is based on schools attended and there are no sorts of “all-star” teams. We emphasize individual player development over trying to win as a team at these ages. We emphasize teaching soccer skills “the right way” in a fun, age-appropriate, game-based environment. We emphasize the importance of good sportsmanship with players, parents, and referees. There are no tryout or player evaluations of any sort. You just sign up and we get you on a team! For our older players (beginning with the U11 year), we do run a competitive program, again with an emphasis on player development. Here, we do run tryouts, to conform to the league rules. This is designed not to exclude, but rather to place players sensibly on appropriate teams and to be able to place those teams in the various divisions within our
