Select Question for Veteran Parents

For the veteran parents out there, if our DD who has played select for the same club for a couple years, but wants a change for next year, how does that process work? I have tried to read the competitive soccer policies, but am hearing differently than what I understand from that. I guess my questions are

1) At what point can your DD attend and participate in practices for different clubs to check them out? Is there a specific date?

2) Do you have to have some kind of release from your current team to participate in practices after said date with other clubs?

3) If you want to guest play after said date in tournaments with a team from a different club to see if your DD gels with the team, do you have to have a release from your current team for that?

4) If your DD chooses a different club after said date to sign with the following year, does she have to wait until July 1 to play with them?

Sorry for the long post, any help you vets can offer would be appreciated.

If she is NTSA registered , once ECNL and DA open their tryouts she is eligible to attend. If she looking to move within NTSA tryouts will begin in July. I would attend all the ECNL and DA tryouts for each club you are interested in and see where she stacks up competition wise within her age group. This will allow you a early start on your decision on where she should play and at what level. ECNL and DA tryout schedules should hit their websites in March and May.

All good questions. Hoping someone else jumps on and answers them clearly. Unlike

Lol, clearly you have no clue

DA players are registered with USSF
ECNL players are registered with US Club Soccer
LHGCL players are registered with NTSA

None of them have any jurisdiction with each other. Players that are NTSA registered can go to ECNL and DA tryouts at anytime. Clubs will post tryout dates on their websites as early as the end of April or May. If you are a new player to ECNL / DA their are no restrictions to you going to tryout with these teams from LHGCL. Tryouts is all you can do at this time no guest playing. Go to the ECNL / DA tryouts even if you are not selected you will get a better look at their other teams and coaches within he club. If NTSA ask you were trying to make a ECNL or DA team it just so happen your placement was back in LHGCL.

1. Most ecnl players are NOW dual registered with us club and NTSSA. so they are not eligibke to just attend a session of the other.

No clue on DA players.

2. The clubs mutually agreed to stop holding early tryouts in January for the next soccer year. This past year all were in may. If you look back at prior years you will see tryout postings in January.

What if you don’t care about ECNL or DA, what is the timeline for participating in tryouts with other clubs, etc?

SelectGirl wrote:What if you don’t care about ECNL or DA, what is the timeline for participating in tryouts with other clubs, etc?

To be on the safe side, after state cup is over..

Per NTSA tryout officially start July. If you are set in leaving your team. After state cup your coach can give you written permission to look at other teams without going through North Texas.

Why would one need written permission?

As per ntssa rules.

Money talks and BS walks.

Zizou wrote:Per NTSA tryout officially start July. If you are set in leaving your team. After state cup your coach can give you written permission to look at other teams without going through North Texas.

Open practices begin the day after State Cup ends (usually second weekend in May) - no permission necessary to practice with any team - still need signed release to guest play.

If you are sure you are leaving your team, you can get an automatic "release to rec" by April 1, then you can freely practice and guest play with any team - you don't have to play or register with a rec team, just makes you a free agent without restrictions and NTSA signs the guest play releases.    If you know you are leaving, why leave yourself in the position of having to ask the coach for a guest play release?  coaches can be petulant and refuse, or the club can dictate that none will be granted.

I have heard both. You need permission after state cup and I have heard after state cup that you am practice with either. What’s the true rule? Also if you ask for release to Rec in April.....you still cannot practice with a select team until after State Cup? Release to rec does not mean you can play for select teams at any point...not even in tournaments?

after State Cup, rostered players can freely practice with any team, just need a signed release to guest play through June.

The release to rec by April 1 gets you off the roster and  allows you to practice with anyone immediately.  can guest play in tournaments with select teams (not State Cup or league qualifiers), and of course cannot play in any remaining league games.

Again, if you know you are leaving your team and don't trust that the coach will release you to guest play, get the release to rec for total freedom.

see section 3.10 of
NTSA rules:
https://usys-assets.ae-admin.com/assets/989/15/2017-2018%20NTSSA%20Bylaws%20and%20Rules%2010-24.pdf

SelectGirl wrote:For the veteran parents out there, if our DD who has played select for the same club for a couple years, but wants a change for next year, how does that process work? I have tried to read the competitive soccer policies, but am hearing differently than what I understand from that. I guess my questions are

1) At what point can your DD attend and participate in practices for different clubs to check them out? Is there a specific date?

the day after State Cup ends - May 14, 2018 (this applies if DD is still on the roster after April 1)

(for any team regardless of club)



2) Do you have to have some kind of release from your current team to participate in practices after said date with other clubs?

no (for any team regardless of club )

3) If you want to guest play after said date in tournaments with a team from a different club to see if your DD gels with the team, do you have to have a release from your current team for that?

yes  (for any team regardless of club)



4) If your DD chooses a different club after said date to sign with the following year, does she have to wait until July 1 to play with them?

yes to play league games or qualifiers; she can guest play with signed release from current coach until June 30 (coaches are not required to grant these and often don't) - after signing in July or later, she can play any and all games with new team

(for any team regardless of club)


Sorry for the long post, any help you vets can offer would be appreciated.

answers inserted above.

please see my other posts concerning a "release to rec" for total freedom.

Why wouldn’t everyone interested in leaving their team just get a release to rec then? Seems like th best way to go.

Another question, if you get a release to rec, how does your current competitive team get the rest of your contract paid out? Do you pay it out before you leave?

I think that is a part of getting the release is to be fully paid.

The next question , how do you get released from your contract without finishing the remainder of your balance?

Zizou wrote:The next question , how do you get released from your contract without finishing the remainder of your balance?

The NTSSA release has nothing to do with the financial arrangements with the club.  If the release is granted and you owe money to the club, you will still owe that money.  

How they go about trying to collect it is another issue.  Often, the club will sign the release without the need to go to North Texas if the dues are fully paid.

SelectGirl wrote:Why wouldn’t everyone interested in leaving their team just get a release to rec then? Seems like the best way to go.

It is the best way if you know there is no way you are staying, otherwise you are at the mercy of the coach for guest play releases and some are petulant and/or clubs dictate that none will be granted.

Other considerations: DD wants to finish league play (weather delayed past April 1) and/or play in State Cup with the team.  iif this route is taken, no open practices until May 14 and guest play releases from coach are required.

Release-to-rec is absolutely the best way if DD is sitting the bench.


Another question, if you get a release to rec, how does your current competitive team get the rest of your contract paid out? Do you pay it out before you leave?

usually the contracts require the last payment to have been made before getting late in the year.  a release-to-rec is independent of any financial agreements with a club.
you still owe the money - club contracts never have clauses that let you off the hook if you leave.

A release-to-rec is automatically granted by NTSA and is not signed by the club or the coach and is independent of any financial considerations.  Usually the club contracts require that all payments are made before getting this late into the year.  Again, this release allows DD to freely practice or guest play with any team.

Another type of release ( a "transfer" ) that allows DD to join another select team BEFORE the end of the soccer year MUST be signed by the coach, and no it won't happen unless the dues are paid or an agreement is reached.

So with rec release-
1) Pay what you owe
2) Can practice with any select team
3) Can guest in any tourney with any select team
4) Cannot play remainder of Lake Highlands games with any select team


What about JDL? Can you guest play in JDL games? Or is it no to any league games?

Without a full release JDL is a no.

Why is JDL a no? That falls under US Club rules...

Clubs dual register players/rosters. This keeps a player from just leaving for the other sanctioning entity. Been done since day 1 of jdl.