All players - current and new - must tryout to get placed on a Travel team for the Fall season. Tryouts consist of skill assessments and scrimmages according to age group and gender. Tryouts are conducted by our training partner, PESA.
Timing: Tryouts are held in April or May. There isn't a special tryout for players who can't attend. Tryouts will only be rescheduled due to bad weather. In the Spring, new players will be placed on teams based on order of registration as or if space allows.
Tryout Registration: Create an MLBTB account to be notified of tryouts and to register. All players interested in playing Travel soccer must register PRIOR to attending the tryout. If a player would like to ‘play-up’ in the next age group, indicate that when registering and the player must attend both age group tryouts. The fee for tryouts is non-refundable and not transferable.
Venue: RVA Fields. Parents may watch from the spectator area and are not permitted to be on the field or sidelines.
Attire: Shin guards and cleats are required. No jewelry is allowed.
Tryout/Team Notification: Team formation will be informed by tryout results and input from the prior season's trainer and/or coach. Players new to travel soccer will be evaluated by the tryout results only. Notification of selection will be made near the end of June. Once a player is notified, your child is expected to join the team.
Parent expectations: We strive to train the maximum number of children and to nurture their love of soccer. The team roster size is set by the state so we do not have the option to exceed a certain number of players per team. A large number of children may tryout for a limited number of roster spots, which can result in some children not being selected for a team. The recreation and 4v4 programs can be wonderful alternatives to continue to build your child’s skills. However, please know that we don’t want players to get discouraged, and every effort is made to place every player on a team.
Out of Town Players – While our preference is to have our travel teams be 100% Mountain Lakes, Boonton and Boonton Twp players, we might not be able to field teams in certain age groups. As a contingency, our bylaws allow up to 4 out of town players on travel teams.