The Three Rivers Soccer Club bylaws serve as the governing document that outlines the structure, operations, and regulations of our organization.
Payment ($100 deposit) is due at the time of registration. All players must be registered prior to tryouts to be covered under liability policy. If you want to pay only the $100 deposit instead of the entire annual club dues, select ‘Payment Plan’ while registering. This will make the immediate $100 deposit payment upon registration completion, and spread out the rest of the payments over the course of 4-6 months. For more details on the payment plan structure, including automatic billing dates and payment breakdowns, see ‘Parent Information’ under our ‘Resources’ tab, and select ‘Player Fee info’. Because our 3rd party card processor charges their convenience fee for every transaction (2.5% + 3$), choosing to do payment plan will add to the total cost of the annual club dues.
Financial Aid is available to qualified candidates. Financial aid does not support team fees or uniforms. Candidates who wish to be considered for aid must be registered and financial aid will only be applied to registration. The application for financial aid and the criteria for qualification will be posted on the 3RSC website. If applying for Financial Aid, please fill out the Financial Aid Form and send to the registrar.
Teams can use guest players for tournaments without the player incurring club fees. If a player participates in more than two weeks of practice and/or two tournaments, they then must be offered a spot on the team, register with the club, and pay the corresponding fees. All players are required to be registered with US Youth Soccer.
Players WILL NOT be released from 3RSC during season play. Players will be released at the end of the season if all Club fees are current and team fees are up-to-date. Players with a season ending injury may be eligible for a refund or credit with the amount to be determined on a case-by-case basis when that request is made during the course of the season in which the injury occurred. Refunds are not granted for those players who have participated with a team in any form of play or for those players who are placed on a roster and then decide to leave 3RSC for whatever reason unless approved by the 3RSC Board of Directors. If a refund is granted, the amount of refund for those players will be the original amount of the base payment less a nonrefundable $100 administrative service fee. Requests for releases and withdrawals must be presented in writing to the club president, club registrar and to the technical director.
Player Movement within 3RSC is allowed upon both coach’s agreement and a Director’s approval in writing. Any 3RSC guest playing outside of the club within Washington Youth Soccer or US Club leagues will not be allowed without special written permission and approval from the Directors. Guest playing for other clubs will not be approved for any team or league that competes within the same leagues as 3RSC unless a special circumstance such as a national playing opportunity is presented and approved in writing. Any 3RSC members found violating this policy will be suspended from 3RSC activity until a meeting is held with the Directors and President after first offense. Any player found violating this policy a second time will be removed from 3RSC.
We generally try to avoid playing players up an age group older than their own to avoid cannibalizing our own age groups and affecting the long term stability of that age group as they move into the High School ages, where much attrition happens in youth sports. Also, since all soccer teams under FIFA are formed by birth year, there will be an 8th grade/9th grade split year where a player that is playing up will not have a season to play because the rest of their teammates will be playing High School soccer, which will force all players back to true age, and thereby supplanting players who were previously at the correct age.
We qualify for leagues that nobody else in our area qualifies to play in because we are a large club with competitive teams in each age group. We must register a team in each age group in these leagues, which is why smaller local clubs can not access our leagues. For instance, we can not choose to not enter a U15 team for ECNL Regional League because we moved the best U15 players to U16 and now do not have a good enough team at U15. We would be subject to expulsion from the league if that were the case. For this reason, we make decisions with long term viewpoints in mind as we want our older players to be a part of a competitive age group that can play in the best leagues, get accepted to the best college showcases, and have an opportunity to get exposure to the next level of soccer, whether it be college or professional.
There are, however, two occasions when players “play-up” an age group.
Playing time is not “equal” for all players in any program where a team is formed by tryout, including Junior Academy (U9/U10 program), WPL Copa (Developmental/District), RCL/ECNL (Competitive/Premier). Stronger players will usually play more than weaker players. However there are some guidelines our coaches should follow for playing time.
Junior Academy and WPL Copa are Developmental teams, where the major focus is improving, and players need playing time in games to do so. Players should average about half a game of playing time throughout the season, and get a minimum of 1/4th of a game playing time every game. For example, if your player is U10 and plays 25 minute halves (50 minute game), they should receive, on average 25 minutes of playing time per game. Some games might be 20, some might be 30, etc., but the average throughout a season should be half the game, minimum. Stronger players will naturally play more than weaker players. Summer tournaments should follow these same guidelines.
RCL and ECNL Regional League are Premier level teams. While we still are developing youth soccer players in these leagues, there is promotion/relegation and also our club needs to a maintain a certain quality of play across all age groups to keep our active status in these leagues. Underperforming clubs get expelled from these leagues as they are designed to be the top clubs in the Pacific Northwest. While the focus is not solely on winning, results are more relevant to the long term success of our club staying in these higher leagues as they set us apart from other clubs in our area and attract quality players to our club. Players should, on average, be playing a minimum of 1/3rd or 33% of the minutes per game. For example, if a player is player is U17 and plays 45 minute halves (90 minute game), they should receive, on average 30-35 minutes per game of playing time. Some games might be 45, some games might be 25, but the average throughout the season should be 1/3rd of the game, minimum. Again, stronger players will naturally lay more than weaker players. Summer/Winter/Showcase tournaments should follow these same guidelines.
WYS State Cup/USYS Regionals or Nationals/ECNL Regional League Playoffs are result-based tournaments where we want to have success. It’s the only time of the year where we play 100% to win games, which means some players might not get into games, even after traveling to an away game. Also, at U15 and older, games are played with substitution restrictions that are closer to professional soccer than youth soccer, which limits our coaches ability to rotate players in and out. These games represent less than 10% of your total annual average of games throughout the year and we feel that it’s important to teach our players how to compete for positions, playing time, and how to be a supportive teammate from the bench. These help prepare our players for the result-based realities of high school and college/pro soccer. The players we develop in our system that balances development (90%) and winning (10%) are more attractive to college programs and allows us to continue to have class after class of future college soccer players graduating out of our programs year after year since the 1990s, as college coaches trust that we’ve prepared our players for the rigors of being a college athlete.
Conversations with parents about which position their youth soccer player is playing, or which formation their youth soccer team is playing will not be entertained. Anybody who has participated in very high level soccer as a player or coach knows that college and professional players may change positions week to week, and teams may change formations week to week, as injuries, opponent’s strength/weaknesses, schedule congestion, and a variety of other factors may dictate. Our club philosophy is to create well rounded, versatile, and smart soccer players who do not have their comfort zone limited to playing a single position in a single formation for their entire youth soccer careers. Versatile players are more attractive to college and professional programs, and there are no shortcuts around the growing pains of having players try multiple positions and formations. At the younger ages, more goals may be conceded and less goals may be scored by our teams occasionally as we work through these growing pains so that our players are more college-ready and recruitable when they are seniors in high school. As a club, we are more focused on what our players look like when they are 17 than how many wins and losses they had when they were 11.
All players are required to purchase uniforms and training apparel every two years, per their teams’ purchasing schedule. All NEW 3RSC players are required to purchase a 3RSC kit, per their teams’ requirements. ALL RETURNING players are required to purchase kits based on their teams’ requirements. All items are purchased through Soccer.com. Required purchase packages and prices vary depending on program and sizing. Further details and complete information concerning the ordering process will be provided by your team manager, the uniform coordinator, and will also be available the website.
