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Travel Policies 2026-2027 Season
GLASTONBURY HARTWELL SOCCER CLUB
TRAVEL POLICIES
Effective
FALL 2026 - SPRING 2027
Seasonal Year
The Glastonbury Hartwell Soccer Club (“GHSC”) Travel Program is focused on player development as a soccer player and on player character growth as a member of our community. Our goal is to offer a quality, competitive town travel program at a reasonable cost and to ensure that the soccer environment is one of encouragement and support. Wins for our club are not based on game scores, but rather on the improvement of our players, and on inspiring the next generation of soccer players with a lifelong joy of playing the “beautiful game.”
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Contents: Playing Time and Team Commitment |
PLAYING TIME POLICY (“50% RULE”)
Player development, not a winning record, is the primary goal of our travel program. For that reason, and because we typically observe players developing at different rates, we strictly enforce a policy that all GHSC travel players play at least 50% of all friendly, league, and tournament game minutes so that all players gain valuable game experience.
NOTE: 50% does not mean all players receive equal playing time – but rather all players play at least 50% of any game.
NOTE: The 50% playing time rule does not apply to Connecticut Cup games, as GHSC coaches have discretion in those games to maximize team competitiveness.
NOTE: During multi-game tournament weekends, playing time may be calculated over the whole tournament, and not on a game-by-game basis. Thus, provided that each player plays at least half of the potential tournament minutes he/she was present to play over the whole weekend, the coach has discretion in allocating playing time accordingly in any particular game to meet the 50% rule based on the whole tournament play.
Coaches retain the discretion to reduce a player’s playing time based on injuries, disciplinary considerations, and the level of a player’s overall commitment to the team. “Commitment to the Team” refers to a player’s attendance at team practices, games, and tournaments, and a player’s effort to develop as a player and demonstrate good sportsmanship. Team Commitment does not refer to the player’s skill level or performance.
- GHSC players are expected to participate in at least 50% of their GHSC team’s practices and prioritize all of their GHSC team’s league games.
- GHSC players are expected to participate in all of their GHSC team’s Connecticut Cup games.
Failure to comply with these commitment expectations will result in a discussion between the player, the player’s parents/guardians, the player’s coach, and the Travel Director. Consequences for non-compliance may include a reduction of playing time or removal from his/her GHSC team, without refund of fees paid, and will be determined by the Travel Director and Program Director.
“Double Roster” is defined as a GHSC travel player who is also on a roster with another club/league’s soccer team during the same playing year/seasons.
Accepting a position on a Hartwell travel team is a commitment to play soccer primarily for Glastonbury Hartwell Soccer Club for the entire 2026-2027 season (Aug. 2026 through June 2027).
YTL, U09, and U10 DOUBLE ROSTERING POLICY. Effective Fall 2026–Spring 2027 travel year, YTL, U9, and U10 players may not double roster on any secondary soccer team, regardless of club, league, state association, or unaffiliated status. Players found in violation of this policy will be subject to removal from their GHSC travel team without refund of fees paid. This policy does not apply to participation in other sports, which is encouraged to support overall athletic development.
U11-U15 DOUBLE ROSTERING POLICY. Players in U11–U15 age groups may roster with another soccer club team; however, GHSC expects that players can fully meet their commitments to Hartwell (as outlined above in the Team Commitment Policy) before joining another team. While allowed, double rostering is discouraged due to potential impacts on team cohesion, increased risk of burnout from overlapping practices and games, and conflicts in coaching or style of play.
Teams negatively impacted by a player’s or multiple players’ double-rostering may take appropriate measures to support team standards and development, including tracking attendance at practices and games, adjusting playing time based on attendance, preparation, and commitment, and addressing concerns through the club’s Director of Coaching and Program Director. In cases where a player’s or players’ double-rostering results in ongoing or significant disruption to team cohesion, performance, or commitment expectations, the coach may recommend removal of the player(s) from the team, subject to review and approval by GHSC leadership.
HARTWELL SPRING WARMUP DOUBLE ROSTERING POLICY. Notwithstanding the Double Rostering policies above, GHSC does not permit GHSC players to play or otherwise double roster during the GHSC Warmup Tournament for another club that is also playing in GHSC Warmup Tournament. GHSC players are expected to play all Warmup Tournament games with their Hartwell team during the annual GHSC Spring Warmup Tournament (held in April).
OTHER SPORTS OR ACTIVITIES: Travel soccer is a two-season (year-long) commitment and while it is important that our players honor that commitment to their team, we do not promote a “soccer only” approach.
Not only do we permit our players to play other sports during the soccer seasons, we encourage it. Many studies show that multi-sport athletes are less susceptible to injury, have greater game intelligence, are better socially adjusted, and are overall healthier. (See end notes for links to articles on the benefits for multi-sport athletes). We only request that Hartwell players who play other sports comply with GHSC’s Team Commitment Requirement policy above. Communication between the player, Team Coach, and Manager about a player’s other commitments is important.
PREMIER PLAY: Hartwell’s Program Director can identify teams to play at the entry-level Connecticut Junior Soccer Association (“CJSA”) Premier Competition in the Fall of 2026, Spring of 2027, or both.
NOTE: CJSA rules require that players on Hartwell premier teams are not allowed to “double roster” with any other CJSA-sanctioned premier team.
TRAVEL ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS AND PLAYER SELECTION
Per CJSA and U.S. Soccer mandates, we register our teams as follows:
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Division |
Age Range Requirements |
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U08 (YTL) |
August 1, 2018 - July 31, 2019 |
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U09 |
August 1, 2017 - July 31, 2018 |
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U10 |
August 1, 2016 - July 31, 2017 |
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U11 |
August 1, 2015 - July 31, 2016 |
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U12 |
August 1, 2014 - July 31, 2015 |
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U13 |
August 1, 2013 - July 31, 2014 |
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U14/U15 |
August 1, 2011 - July 31, 2013* (*up to 8th graders only) |
PLAYER SELECTION/PLACEMENT/ACCEPTANCE: During tryouts, we use professional soccer trainers from both inside and outside our club to evaluate the players. It is important to the process that the trainers have no conflict of interest with our players. The evaluators supply impartial skill assessments and recommend the placement of players on teams. Assessments include data on the player’s soccer abilities, potential, commitment, and behavior/conduct.
GHSC notifies the player’s parents/guardians of tryout results via email, so ensure that you verify the email address provided to Hartwell during tryout registration. Email is the only means of communicating the team selections, offers, and acceptance. Parents/Guardians are asked to formally accept the player’s spot on a team within 48 hours of the offer notification.
Once players accept team placement offers, the rosters will be posted on our website. Team rosters must comply with various rules of competition, established by the Connecticut Junior Soccer Association “CJSA”). U9 and U10 teams play 7v7 with maximum team rosters of 12 players; U11 and U12 teams play 9v9 with maximum rosters of 16 players; U13 and U14/U15 teams play 11v11 and we typically cap rosters at 18 players.
Other than maximum roster limits set by CJSA, the roster sizes are only guidelines. Circumstances unique to an age/gender group could modify the team roster sizes and ultimately, placements from year to year, or even mid-season.
TRAVEL FEE: There is no deposit due before tryouts. Once your child is offered a roster spot and accepts, the full travel fee ($550) will be due within 48 hours, as part of your child’s acceptance of an offer.
The travel fee covers professional support from Hartwell trainers under the oversight of our Program Director. The support includes technical and tactical instruction, gameday support, post-game reports, and specialized goalkeeper training. Hartwell hosts and provides many coaching education opportunities through partnerships with other organizations. The travel fees also cover updates and maintenance to equipment and fields (nets, balls, etc.), referee fees, town fees, state fees, and registration for the Glastonbury Spring Warm-Up Tournament (held each April).
GHSC offers financial assistance for those who qualify.
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Age Group 2026-2027 |
Travel Fee Paid within 48 hours of acceptance of a team placement |
Uniform Costs Paid AFTER acceptance to a team |
TOTAL Travel fee + Uniform costs for 2026-2027 |
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ALL Age Groups |
$550 (unless sibling discount applies) |
Approx. $150 for the base kit. |
$700 (approximately) |
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NOTE: if your child is selected for a premier team, there is a $100 winter program surcharge (see below) |
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REFUND POLICY: Once a player has accepted a position and paid the applicable travel and uniform fees, there are no refunds.
MULTI-CHILD DISCOUNTS: GHSC offers multi-child discounts for households with 3 or more children in our travel program. The discount applies to the Travel Fees only. Note that uniform fees are not discounted.
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Children in GHSC Travel |
Travel Fees |
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2nd Child |
$550 (no discount) + Uniform Fees |
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3rd Child ($250 discount) |
$300 + Uniform Fees |
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4th Child ($350 discount) |
$200 + Uniform Fees |
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5th Child |
$0 + Uniform Fees |
UNIFORM KIT: The base package of the new Nike uniform includes a blue game jersey, white game jersey, blue game shorts, red training shirt, red socks, and training (reversible) pinney. All uniform kits are on 2-year cycles. This year is the 2nd year of a new 2-year cycle, so all new travel players must purchase a new uniform. Also available from the vendor are optional embroidered backpacks, warm-up jackets, and warm-up pants.
Returning Travel Players may use their Nike uniform kit purchased for the 2025-2026 season.
TEAMS DUES: Individual team dues cover the team’s operating expenses (team parties, out-of-town tournament fees, additional referee fees for friendlies, patches for seasonal tournaments, etc.). Team dues will be assessed by the coach/manager at the start of each season and are paid directly to the team manager. Team dues should not exceed $150 for the entire 2026-2027 season. Some teams choose to play in winter leagues (i.e. Oakwood, Tolland Indoor, etc.) or other out-of-town winter tournaments. Those activities can have additional costs, but participation is not required and is at the parent’s discretion.
PREMIER WINTER TRAINING PROGRAM: If a team is selected as a premier team, there will be a mandatory winter training session commitment. Training will be once a week with a professional trainer for about 12 sessions between December and March. The premier winter program fee is an additional $100 per player fee. This additional fee does NOT include any games or registered play in an indoor league.
PLAYER TIME COMMITMENT: Players commit to a full year, which consists of two seasons: a Fall (late August-early November) and a Spring (early April to mid-June) season. See also Team Commitment Policy above.
Our club transitioned to the U.S. Soccer’s recommended practice-to-game ratio of 3 practices to every 1 game. Not all weeks will strictly follow that model, but teams typically have 2 weeknight practices per week of 90 minutes each. On weekends, teams will typically have 1 game (usually Sundays) and 1 practice, or an additional game on Friday/Saturday.
Lastly, many of our travel teams will also play indoor soccer over the winter months at places like Oakwood in Glastonbury or FSA in Farmington. This play is optional and not part of the Glastonbury Hartwell Soccer Travel program.
TRAVEL PARENT TOURNAMENT COMMITMENT: Each spring in April, Hartwell hosts an annual soccer tournament called the GHSC Spring Warm-up Tournament, which can have over 200 teams submitted, mostly from out-of-town. Our families are required to fulfill a mandatory 3-hour work obligation at the tournament for each child they have registered in the travel program. The parent work obligation is mandatory. The tournament is our biggest fundraiser and requires the support of all participants to succeed. Failure to serve the mandatory 3-hour obligation may result in reduced playing time for the player during the tournament or subsequent games.
LOCATIONS: Practices will be held on Glastonbury fields. Games are in Glastonbury or neighboring towns, like West Hartford, Enfield, Middletown, Avon, Granby, Portland, Burlington, and Farmington. In addition to our own Spring Warm-up Tournament, many teams may choose to compete in out-of-town or out-of-state tournaments.
End Notes:
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Title |
Organization |
Link |
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The Benefits of Being a Multi-Sport Athlete for Kids |
University Hospitals |
https://www.uhhospitals.org/blog/articles/2024/03/why-young-athletes-should-play-multiple-sports |
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Case Study: Youth who play multiple sports tend to be healthier, become better athletes, and have a lot more fun |
National Strength and Conditioning Association Foundation (NSCA) |
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Multi-sport participation: The pathway to health for a lifetime |
United States Tennis Association (USTA) |
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5 reasons you want your kid to be a multi-sport athlete |
ESPN Voices with Michelle Smith (2013) |
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To raise a better athlete, don’t specialize |
Sanford Health |
https://news.sanfordhealth.org/sports-medicine/multi-sport-vs-single-sport/ |
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The Benefits of Playing Multiple Sports |
Player Development Project |
https://playerdevelopmentproject.com/qa-should-my-players-play-multiple-sports/ |
