Swarthmore Soccer Club offers travel soccer teams for U9 through U16 boys and girls for Swarthmore and surrounding areas. Teams are coached by volunteer parents, and the Club is run by the Soccer Board at the Swarthmore Recreation Association. SSC offers travel soccer in the fall and spring, indoor winter soccer, and pick-up games in the winter and summer. Want to be involved? Email SRA Interim Executive Director Amy Strachan at amy@SwarthmoreRecreation.org
Spring Travel Soccer
Spring travel soccer is for players with birth years 2006-2013. The shortened season is more laid-back than the fall season, with a focus on getting back on the fields and having fun with friends. The season consists of one game and one practice each week through April and May (with weeks off for Easter and Mothers’ Day). Game dates for 2022 are as follows: April 3, 10, 24 and May 1, 8 and 15. (You’ll have a bye one week.)
WHO: boys and girls birth years 2007-2013; 2013 players have the option to play in the SSC intramural league (2014 players play intramural; 2015 and younger play town soccer)
WHEN: April and May, 2022, one practice and one game each week, (see above for game dates, practice days and times are determined in conjunction with volunteer coaches)
UNIFORM: Spring soccer uses the same uniform that we use for Fall travel soccer. If you need one (the shirt is changing for spring 2022), please order HERE before March 11.
WHERE: Rutgers and Henderson Fields, plus some travel to away games
REGISTRATION FEE: $95
REGISTRATION: for birth years 2009-2012 is now closed (for birth years 2013-2014, please see the SSC intramural league)
Fall Travel Soccer
Fall travel soccer is for players born 2009-2014. (If there is interest in older teams, we are happy to support them.) The season runs from the week after Labor Day through Thanksgiving. Many coaches offer practices during the summer months. Most teams practice twice a week on weekdays with a game on the weekend.
Players register for soccer before evaluations. If your child is not selected for a team, we will refund your fee. (SSC policy is to accept as many players as possible.)
WHO: Girls and boys, birth years 2009-2014. (Birth year 2015 plays intramural; 2016 and younger play Town Soccer.)
WHEN: Labor Day through late October, practice schedules are set in conjunction with coaches and will not be finalized until late spring or early summer; games are on the weekends
WHERE: Rutgers and Henderson Fields, other towns for away games
EVALUATIONS: May 24-26, 2022, SSC makes every effort to find a team for every player. All evaluations are on Henderson Field.
- Tuesday, May 24, 6:00-7:30: boys and girls 2011-2012
- Wednesday, May 25
- 6:00-6:45 boys 2013-2014
- 6:45-7:30 girls and non-binary 2013-2014
- Thursday, May 26: boys and girls 2010 and older, 6:00-7:30
**Please arrive fifteen minutes early for evaluations
UNIFORMS: SSC uniforms are getting a make-over this year! The kit consists of one black and one white jersey, a pair of black athletic shorts, and a pair of black soccer socks. Order your uniform HERE. (This store is primarily for spring soccer and closes March 11. But we will open it again over the summer to give you a chance to order your jerseys for the fall.)
EQUIPMENT: Each player should bring a ball in the correct size to practice. If you are uncertain which size is appropriate for your player, feel free to ask your coach.
SSC ACCEPTANCE DAY PARTY: DATE TBD (let the kids hang out with their friends while parents get registration squared away!)
VOLUNTEER COACHES: SSC runs primarily under the direction of volunteer coaches, many of whom stay with their teams for years. Coaching is a big job, and it is made much easier by having a team of coaches. If you can help, please volunteer on the registration form, even if you can’t attend every game. It takes a village.
REGISTRATION: OPENS MARCH 7th, 2022, at 9:00AM. We will continue to accept players for as long as roster size permits, but the best way to ensure your child’s spot is to register early and/or to volunteer to coach.
CODE OF CONDUCT: All players and coaches are required to sign and respect the SRA Code of Conduct.
REGISTRATION FEE: $275
**If the registration fee or uniform cost represents a hardship for your family, please reach out. We have scholarship money available.
REGISTRATION FOR THE 2022-2023 SEASON IS NOW CLOSED
If you missed registration and your player would like to register with an SSC team, please reach out to Amy at amy@SwarthmoreRecreation.org.
SRA is a safe space. We ask children to register for soccer under the designation that works best for them and are open to helping non-binary or other gendered athletes participate. Please do not hesitate to reach out if standard gender designations are in any way an impediment to your child’s registration.
Winter Indoor Soccer
Winter Indoor Soccer offers a chance to play pick up at the indoor turf at the YMCA on Wednesday evenings. We rent the turf between 6:00 and 9:00 and divide registrants by birth year for a single hour of pick-up games. Younger players will be assigned to earlier hours. Older players will play later hours. Registration is offered first to players who played on fall teams at SSC and is then opened to the community.
WHO: players looking for pick-up soccer in the winter (player should already have a working knowledge of the game as they will be playing with travel players)
WHEN: Wednesday evenings, November 30 to January 11, 6:00-7:00, 7:00-8:00, or 8:00-9:00, players are divided by birth year with younger players playing early in the evening and older players in the later time slots
WHERE: the indoor turf at the Springfield YMCA (please note: your child MAY NOT walk to and from the parking garage alone; you MUST drop your child off at and pick your child up from the turf; there is limited space for parents to wait at the Y, so we strongly encourage you to carpool)
REGISTRATION FEE: $65
REGISTRATION IS NOW FILLED FOR 2023. Did you miss registration? We sometimes have spots open up on the roster. Email Nika@SwarthmoreRecreation.org. If we can make a spot for you, we will.
NOTE: Are you looking for soccer for a younger child? Take a look at Intramural or Town Soccer (developmental).
updated 2022.11.21