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Tryouts

Join a Stanford Soccer Club Team

All Stanford Soccer teams look forward to meeting potential new players, so even if you do not see an appropriate tryout for your player on the list below, please email the contacts Teams/Schedules or send a message to webmaster@stanfordsoccerclub.org. In your email please include the player name, DOB, sports experience and family contact info (for more information see Contacting the Appropriate Team).

During all tryouts SSC requires that players wear shin guards and bring a signed copy of this tryout form. We look forward to meeting you and your soccer player.

Team Tryouts Listings (Boys & Girls)

Note: Age designations (e.g. U10) are for Fall 2011; Birthdates are shown to help clarify this.

Boys Teams

Stanford New Team, U8 Boys (born after 7/31/03) Tryouts for a new spring team (in addition to current Volcanoes team) are on the following dates:

January 11 Wednesday 5:30- 7pm @ Mayfield North
January 18 Wednesday 5:30- 7pm @ Mayfield North

The coaching team is led by Vava Marques (http://vavamarques.com), a very successful Brazilian coach. He has coached a number of teams from youth to national men's teams. The philosophy is development-oriented in a way that spurs creativity and soccer instincts as well as team spirit and discipline. If you are interested or would like to learn more please contact Asha Nigh <ashanigh@gmail.com>.

Stanford Hurricanes, Blizzards, and New Team U9 Boys (born after 7/31/02) Please contact Rajiv Parikh at stanfordhurricanes@gmail.com or Laura Vaughan at lvincentvaughan@yahoo.com.

Stanford Meteors, U9 Boys (born after 7/31/02). Formed in Spring 2010 and currently playing in CYSA Copper division, the Meteors are having an incredible undefeated season and are poised to win their bracket this fall, scoring 37 goals and allowing only 7 goals in their first 8 games.  We have a couple of slots available on our roster and are looking for competitive players who value team play. Our goal is to become a Silver/Gold team over the next 2 years.  Our ‘brother’ team, the Comets, was formed in Spring 2011, is coached together with the Meteors, and provides further opportunity to develop and compete.  If your son is committed to playing soccer, wants to join a team that truly loves playing soccer together, and wants to learn from experienced, devoted coaches, then we look forward to meeting him. Please contact Jon Chen at stanford.meteor@gmail.com for more information.

Stanford Flood, U10 Boys (born after 7/31/01) To schedule a tryout contact manager Kathy Kawakami, ksklusk@gmail.com.

Stanford Fireballs and Hailstorm U11 Boys. (born after 7/31/00 ) Two CYSA teams, Fireballs (bronze division) & Hailstorm (copper division) are looking to add players for Spring 2012 play and beyond. We are searching for enthusiastic boys who love soccer and want be part of competitive teams that are developing towards Class I play. Fireballs & Hailstorm are led by head coach, Vava Marques, who has extensive experience at the youth club, collegiate as well as professional levels. For additional information about the teams, contact Michael Grady (manager of Fireballs), michaelfgrady@stanfordalumni.org or Anne Rerolle(manager of Hailstorm), anne_rerolle@hotmail.com.

Stanford Catatumbo, U11 Boys (born after 7/31/00 ) Catatumbo is comprised of a great group of kids and parents that like to have fun and who enjoy competitive soccer. The team had a successful Fall 2011 season in the Bronze division, and as a result expects to  move up to the Silver division in the Spring and following Fall. As the team moves from 8 v 8 to 11 v 11 this Spring, we are looking for a few dedicated players to complement our squad. If you are interested in trying out, please contact Manager: Todd Ford, tford@brokenarrowcapital.com or at 650-862-4616.  Coach:  Vava Marques

Stanford Vortex, U13 Boys (born after July 31, 1998) We are a family oriented team and interested in boys that have a great attitude and love competitive soccer. For more information contact the manager, Tanna Kienitz, tannak@att.net.

Stanford Eclipse, U14 Boys (born after July 31, 1997) We are looking for players aspiring to Class 1. Our team focuses on preparing our players for High School soccer. We try to attend 1-3 tournaments each season to help the players and parents get to know one another on and off the field.

Tryouts for a new spring team are on the following dates:
January 19 Thursday 7:00 - 8:30pm @ Mayfield North
January 26 Thursday 7:00 - 8:30pm @ Mayfield North

For more information, contact the manager, Howard Lee, howslee@yahoo.com or Lisa Berardi, lberardi@yahoo.com;. You can also visit our team on the web at http://stanfordeclipse.teamsnap.com/ .

Stanford Blaze, U17 Boys (born after July 31, 1994) The Blaze, CCSL Fall 2011 Bronze Division Champions, is in its fifth year and is looking to fill some spots for its spring 2012 roster. The team includes mostly high school juniors but with some skilled sophomores as well. We will practice Tuesdays and Thursdays this spring, with matches mostly on Saturdays; and are coached by Ivan Bandov. The spring season will end with the District 2 Spring Cup, June 2012. Players capable of sharing goalkeeping as well as field play would be especially interesting. Info, questions: Duncan MacMillan, dmcmllan@pacbell.net, 941-3697.

Stanford Thunder, U18 Boys (born after July 31, 1993) We are continuing for fall 2011. If you are interested in trying out, email manager Lori Salcido (tapiaclan@sbcglobal.net). Coach Juan Mayora.

Girls Teams

Stanford Riptide, U8 Girls (born after 7/31/03) The Riptide is a new team now being formed. For further tryout information please contact Scott Foster at sfoster@ctbt.com.

Stanford Cyclones, U8 Girls (born after 7/31/03) The Cyclones is a new team now being formed. For further tryout information please contact Pearl Renaker at ptrenaker@gmail.com.

Stanford Twisters, U8 Girls (born after 7/31/03) The Twisters is a new team. We are looking for girls who love soccer, and want to join a competitive team that plays together for many seasons. If interested please contact Susan Bush at susancbush@gmail.com.

Stanford New Team U9 Girls (born after 7/31/02) For further tryout information please email Lance Nakamitsu <lance_nakamitsu@yahoo.com>.

Stanford Tornado and Heat Wave U10 Girls (born after 7/31/01) For tryout information please email Carrie Daniel <ccdaniel@comcast.net> or Anna Thayer <annathayer@mindspring.com>. Coach Juan Mayora.

Stanford Landslide U10 Girls (born after 7/31/01) The Landslide is a U10 Class 3 (Copper/Bronze) girls CYSA soccer team. Under the guidance of coaches Stephanie Darling and Taylor McCann, the Landslide provides a positive and nurturing environment for our girls. Playing on the Landslide helps our girls to develop into well-rounded individuals with an appreciation for good sportsmanship. Contact manager Bill Barnett for more info at Stanford.Landslide@gmail.com. The team website is at https://sites.google.com/site/stanfordlandslide/.

Stanford Tsunami U11 Girls (born after 7/31/00) is looking for high level players who want to join a competitive team that continues to develop together over time. The team plays in the CCSL Bronze Division, having won the Copper Division in Fall 2010. Tsunami Coach Nicole Van Dyke is also an assistance coach for the Stanford University Women's soccer team. For tryout details contact Chris Daniel at cdaniel@apnicure.com, (650) 315-4675,or JB Kuppe at jb@kuppe.com, (415) 595-5961.

Stanford Shockwave U11 Girls (born after 7/31/00) For tryout information contact manager Kevan Wilson kevaw@noa.nintendo.com. Coach Juan Mayora.

Stanford Wildfire, U12 Girls (born after July 31, 1999), We play in the CCSL Silver Division and are always looking to move up. We work hard, play harder, and laugh a lot. For more information and to tryout please e-mail stanfordwildfire@gmail.com.

Stanford Supernova, U12 Girls (born after July 31, 1999), Copper CCSL. We are a team of great friends who focus on playing our hardest, trying our best and having lots of fun. We have just finished our third winning season. For more information on tryouts, please contact our managers, May Herr at: mayherr14@gmail.com and Don Darby at dwdarby@gmail.com. Coached by Stephanie Darling. Our team site is http://sscsupernova.teamsnap.com

Stanford Heat, U12 Girls (born after July 31, 1999), Currently Copper CCSL (goal to move to Bronze by Fall 2011). This competitive team provides experienced, professional coaching with an emphasis on team-building, improving athletic skills and character development. Coaches Amy Love (ex-UCSB player) and Molly Goodman (ex-Stanford player). For any questions or more information please contact manager Michael DiFilippo, email mbdifilippo@yahoo.com or cell 919-522-0532.

Stanford Avalanche, U13 Girls (born after July 31, 1998), Contact Keith Ferrell: ferrell.keith@gmail.com or 650-321-6933. We are looking for girls who love soccer, and want to join a competitive team that plays together for many seasons. We are looking for a couple players and tryout occur during our regular practices; please contact us anytime. Coach Ross Ireland.

Stanford Earthquakes, U14 Girls (born after July 31, 1997) are looking for high level players who want to join a competitive team that continues to develop together over time. The team plays CCSL Copper Division and is looking to move up. For tryout information, contact Paige Biorn at paigebiorn@yahoo.com or (650) 387-3461. Coach Ross Ireland.

Stanford Firestorm, U14 Girls (born after July 31, 1997) Bronze A Division, is looking to add 1-3 experienced players for Spring 2012 play & beyond. We are searching for enthusiastic girls who love soccer, have a great attitude, & want be part of a close-knit, competitive team that grows together over time. Firestorm is led by a fantastic head coach, Morgan Redman, recently of Stanford Women's Soccer. After moving up to the CCSL Bronze A Bracket in Fall 2011, Firestorm finished the season 2nd in the division. We plan to continue moving forward! Interested players are invited to join winter/early spring practice sessions. For more information or to join a practice, please contact Maggi Smeal, maggianded@gmail.com, 650-303-8499. Web site: http://stanfordfirestorm.org/

Stanford Storm, U14 Girls (born after July 31, 1997) Please contact Ed Feitzinger at 650-743-2281 or feitzinger@gmail.com to coordinate a tryout.

Stanford Explosion, U14 Girls (born after July 31, 1997) is looking for one to two more players, especially a girl that would enjoy playing goalee and in the field half and half. Explosion formed this past 2011 summer under Coach Kim Limbrick. We've had a great first season. In the Copper bracket we finished second in the District Cup losing 1-0 in the finals, and 5th out of 10 in the league despite being down a player in several of the games. The girls, parents, and coaches are having a lot of fun, we all feel fortunate to be part of this team and group of people! For tryout information, please contact Diane Greene at dianebgreene@gmail.com or (650) 704-8746. Web site: http://explosion.teamsnap.com/

Stanford Typhoon, U16 Girls (born after July 31, 1995) The Stanford Typhoons are a competitive Class I soccer team and are looking to add motivated & skilled players and goalkeeper with a love for soccer to the roster for the upcoming season. The Typhoons are coached by Ivan Bandov, we are a fun-loving group of hard-working, enthusiastic young athletes. If you know of a girl who loves soccer and wants to have a great time on a supportive team, please contact team manager Cathy at abmaharaj@comcast.net and for additional info check out the team web site: www.stanfordtyphoons.com .

Stanford Tidal Waves, U16 Girls (born after July 1, 1995) . For tryout information please email manager Robin Boselli, reboselli3@gmail.com. Coach Juan Mayora.

Stanford Lightning, U17 Girls (born after July 31, 1994).The Lightning are looking for energetic players to join them for the Fall 2010 season and beyond. Lightning is dedicated to developing skilled players in a fun, supportive and positive environment. Lightning has been together for six years. For information about joining the team please contact team manager Joe Rizza jerizza@sbcglobal.net. Coached by former Gunn High School Women's Varsity, Olympic Development Program, and nationally licensed coach Ed Cervantes.

What is CYSA?

CYSA is a youth soccer association in California that is generally much more competitive than AYSO, attracting youths who excel in soccer. Is your child interested in playing CYSA soccer? If so, this background information about the Stanford Soccer Club could allow your daughter or son to gain much benefit and pleasure from competitive soccer in the Palo Alto area.

CYSA teams play official soccer games in the fall and spring of each year; in addition, many Stanford Soccer Club teams offer team soccer and social activities for their players between seasons.

Player Recruitment

The Stanford Soccer Club offers teams in various stages of progression:

  1. More established teams, whose player rosters are quite full

  2. New teams, whose rosters need to be built from scratch or a small core of excellent players

  3. “Open team slots,” for parents and coaches who want to start or bring over a team in an age group that is currently not represented in the club (for example, a boys' or girls' team for a younger age group, or for a gender where the club has an age-group opening)

These various kinds of teams all have the same recruiting objective: to make their team as competitive as possible by adding kids with optimal mix of talent, skill and attitude.

Even a well-established team with a nearly full roster will normally be willing to add an extremely capable player. Less established teams will be more flexible in their recruitment expectations, perhaps underscoring ability and attitude more than experience.

While the club assists all Stanford teams with player recruitment, each team is responsible for creating and implementing its own evaluation process.

Evaluation Process

New players usually join a team between seasons, that is:

  • Between Dec. 1 and Mar. 31
  • Between June 1 and Aug. 31

While you should definitely contact a Stanford Soccer Club team whenever your interest points you in this direction, the above two periods are the best times to contact a new CYSA team of interest to your child.

Please understand that it can take a month or more to register a player with CYSA and receive an official player card (this requires photos, birth certificates and other official documents); moreover, a CYSA team's roster is usually set at the season's start, making it more complicated to add new players during the season. Most established teams will not add a new player unless he or she would rank in the top half of the team, since players at the bottom half will hopefully improve over time.

To evaluate candidates, some teams hold open tryouts on weekends, whereas other teams ask prospective players to participate in normal practices both during the regular season and between seasons.

The club places more emphasis on quality than quantity, also because the “process” of “mass tryouts” is often arbitrary and disappointing when dozens of kids show up who aren't CYSA-caliber soccer players. Therefore, a pre-evaluation discussion usually takes place between the team's manager and prospective player's family to determine if the player is in the ballpark of eligibility.

Contacting the Appropriate Team

In light of the above information, please go the Teams/Schedules page to determine the Stanford Soccer Club team responsible for your child's age group and gender.

To improve the accuracy of the recruitment process, please send an email to the team manager including the following details about your child:

  1. Name and date of birth
  2. Soccer and other sports experience
  3. Family's contact information (parents' names, address, email, home and cell phone numbers, etc.)
  4. Other details that you feel are important, such as how you heard about the Stanford Soccer Club

If you do not receive a response within a day or two, please feel free to email the club president, Juan Mayora at jmayora@sbcglobal.net or send an email to webmaster@stanfordsoccerclub.org repeating the above details.

You should soon hear back from the appropriate team's manager or coach to exchange more specific information, also about the team's tryout plans.

New Team Formation

The Stanford Soccer Club welcomes parents who want to start a new team, or bring a Palo Alto-based team from another club.

To form a team, active parent leadership is required by the club. Parents who are unfamiliar with CYSA yet wish to start a team may turn to club leaders for guidance regarding practice expectations, game schedules, recruitment, the logistics of CYSA, and other aspects of creating and sustaining a successful soccer team. To be accepted by the club, a new team's leaders must present themselves and their objectives at a monthly club meeting.

Existing teams associated with other clubs may apply to join the Stanford Soccer Club, especially if a team for a particular age group and gender is not already represented within the club.

If you wish to create or register a new team within the Stanford Soccer Club, please send a mail to recruiting@stanfordsoccerclub.org.

Financial Parameters

Each Stanford team sets its own budget so seasonal fees vary. Fees for younger teams typically range from $200 to $400 per season (other clubs may charge over $1,000 per season); if equipment or uniforms must be purchased, or if the team participates more heavily in tournaments, fees may increase.

In general, the Stanford Soccer Club has lower-than-average fees because the community-minded club charges only a small amount for providing its largely volunteer-provided services. In addition and in exchange, the club's teams rely on parent volunteers to manage the team, set up the fields, assist with team and club functions, purchase items, organize social activities, coordinate tournaments, lead conditioning or off-season sessions, and so forth.

Coaches are typically paid professionals with impressive soccer credentials and the desire to help children develop a passion for soccer. They must be licensed by an appropriate professional soccer association. The Stanford Soccer Club features some of California 's best coaches.

Age Group Definitions

The cut-off date for each CYSA age group is July 31. A child's age on July 31 determines his or her CYSA age group. For example, if a boy is 12 years old on July 31 then he must play in a U13 (or older) age group. The 'U13' designation means "under 13 years of age as of the end of July 31."

Any player is eligible to play in any older age group, skill and team permitting. A player can play in any geographical area of choice, regardless of CYSA District or league boundaries. Longer travel distances often apply to older age groups; younger players usually stay closer to home.

Teams may have a maximum of 18 players. Most teams have 15 or 16 players to allow sufficient playing time for most players; the rules, however, require no minimum amount of playing time for any player.

Other Questions?

Navigating through the CYSA labyrinth can be challenging, since good information is hard to find. Your best way to get straight answers is to call the manager of the team that interests you, at Teams/Schedules.

We at the Stanford Soccer Club wish you much luck in your search for an appropriate CYSA team!