2025 Summer Competitive Traveling Program

The GGFSC Summer Competitive program is GGFSC's top offering for soccer players who want to develop their skills to a higher level and compete in tournaments and other games against talented competitive teams throughout the region. The competitive program involves travel to other cities in North Dakota, Minnesota, and sometimes other states. Summer is a beautiful time to be out on the pitch and prior competitive experience is not required. What are you waiting for? Join now!

NEW THIS YEAR

• One (1) day a week training session for all teams at the Grand Forks Sports Academy. GGFSC and GF Sports Academy will be collaborating even further by all GGFSC teams having 1 day a week of training held at the Sports Academy facility, for 6 weeks throughout the season. Practices will be increased to 4 days a week, beginning in June,  to allow GGFSC coaches to still have 3 practices a week with their respective teams.
• April and May practices are NOT optional practices for players not participating in school sports.
• May optional Tournament. For teams and players who are not playing in Middle School or High School sports and are able to participate in GGFSC, we will offer an opportunity to attend the Shakopee Cup on May 16-18, 2025, at an additional cost per player. This is something coaches and families have asked about for the last couple years for the younger ages not affected by sports for school.
• Revised tournament schedule.  In order to keep our season length the same for U11 and up, we will be returning to the USA Cup in Blaine. U8-U10 would have their season end after the GGFSC tournament in June but could choose to go to the USA Cup in Blaine an optional tournament,  with an extra cost to families.  We will also be attending the NSC All-American Cup in Blaine at the beginning of the season, the Fargo Summer Classic Tournament as well as hosting our own Greater Grand Forks Tournament.  Optionally, teams can also choose to participate in the Bemidji 6v6 Tournament and Jamestown Tournament..
• Price Changes.  We are changing our prices based on projected tournaments, Sports Academy training, additional increased costs projected for 2025 and after a careful review of the Competitive Program's overall financials for 2023 and 2024 losses.  For the U8-U10 players, the cost will increase by $50.  For our U11 and up players, the cost will increase by $200 but includes the additional tournament and training. (Last year had a decrease in cost due to one less tournament).  If your team elects to go to an additional tournament (such as Bemidji), charges for attending that tournament will be charged separately.
  

REGISTRATION

• Make sure you have a GGFSC account (register by clicking the register button above)
• Find the appropriate age division in the "Registration Listing" section at the bottom of the page, click the appropriate button, and follow the instructions.  For program registration purposes, age divisions are grouped by program cost.
• Registration deadline:  Tuesday, December 31, 2024
• NEW DEADLINE: Tuesday, January 7, 2025

• Registration will be closed at midnight on the date above. (Please try to not wait until the last minute to register as you may run into problems with your account or the registration process). 
• We will hold a Registration Q&A Meeting, TBD, at the ICON Sports Center (Board Room)
• After the registration deadline, the executive board will evaluate the total number of registrants per age group and determine the number of teams, and which teams, that will be created.  The board will advise the Director of Coaching of the teams and roster sizes, and the Director of Coaching will begin to determine player placements on teams for the 2025 season. 
• Age groups may be combined as needed based on final registration numbers.  If certain teams/age groups are short players, registration may open up in those age groups for late registrations.  Late registrations will incur a $50 late fee.

SEASON DATES

• Around April 14 - July 14, 2025
• Try-Outs for U17-U19: Most likely in February or March (dates TBD)
• Full practice schedule begins the week of June 2.  Details below.
• We take Monday June 30 through Sunday July 6, 2025 off for the Independence Day Holiday
  
  

COST

Girls and Boys U8-U10 (3 tournaments):  $525

•  Or choose a 5-month payment plan of $95 per month
  
  

Girls U11-U14 (4 tournaments):  $775

• Or choose a 5-month payment plan of $155 per month
  
  

Girls U15-U19 (4 tournaments): $750*

• Or choose a 5-month payment plan of $150 per month
  
• *The overall cost for this group is less due to the high-school season not allowing girls this age to start the competitive season until the high school season has finished. (High School State Tournament for Girls is May 29-May 31. 2025)
  
  

Boys, U11-U19 (4 tournaments): $775

• Or choose a 5-month payment plan of $155 per month

Practice Squads (Boys & Girls, No tournaments or games): $200

Please note that our website adds a $3 processing fee to registrations.  The processing fee is not a credit card fee (the club pays additional credit card fees for all credit card transactions).  If you use a payment plan, the processing fee will be added to each installment.  If paying by check, you must still include the $3 fee as the website charges the club regardless if a payment is made by check or credit card.  This fee pays for the maintenance and hosting of the website.

Hotel, uniforms, and travel costs are not included and are the sole responsibility of the registrant’s family.

Tournament Stay & Play Rules NEED to be followed by families. Tournaments have become more strict about this policy and are team checking. If families do not comply, your team and/or the club are at risk to be disqualified.

SCHOLARSHIPS 
We do have some scholarships available for families in need.  If you are in need of a scholarship, please submit a scholarship application to [email protected] by January 5, 2025. This will allow us enough time to review the scholarship application before the registration deadline and give you time to decide whether to enroll based on the scholarship decision.  For the application form, please visit our GGFSC Hardship Application page.  Please note that previously due balances must be paid in full for scholarship applications to be considered.

TEAM MANAGER CREDITS
Team managers who manage at least three tournaments receive a $150 credit toward registration per club policies.  There is only one team manager per team and the team manager is chosen by the Club Administrator.  If you are interested in becoming a team manager, please contact us at [email protected].

As indicated above, you may sign up for a payment plan instead of paying the entire fee upfront.
There are five payments:
1: When you sign up
2-5: on the 10th of each month (January 10, February 10, March 10, April 10).

Please note that from time to time, the payment plan may error.  This could be due to an expired credit card or it could also be due to an error in the system.  It is still your responsibility to make the payments.  Should something happen with the automatic payments, you will receive a communication from the club asking you to make a payment.

Players who have not paid their balances (current season and past) in full by April 14, are ineligible for practices, games, and tournaments until the balance has been paid in full.

AGE DIVISIONS
Age divisions are based on birth year. 
Please visit our age breakdown page explaining what division your athlete belongs in for the August 2024- July 2025 season.

• U8-U10 teams are considered non-competitive.  They typically play jamboree-style tournaments, get fairly equal playing time, and rotate through several positions.  U8-U10 teams will participate in two (2) out-of-town tournaments plus the Grand Forks tournament.  Optional tournaments are also available.
• U11-U12 play in competitive-style tournaments, but get mostly equal playing time. Players begin to be moved toward position specialization. U11-U12 teams will participate in three (3) out-of-town tournaments plus the Grand Forks tournament.  Optional tournaments are also available.
• U13-U16 play in competitive-style tournaments.  Playing time is at the discretion of the coach (though all players will get some playing time). U13 -U16 teams will participate in three (3) out-of-town tournaments plus the Grand Forks tournament.  Optional tournaments are also available.
• The U17-U19 division is our senior division and is a combined age division (there will NOT be separate age group teams within the division) and play in competitive-style tournaments.  Tryouts may be needed to determine the season roster (see below).  This is considered our most competitive age group and playing time is at the sole discretion of the coach. The U17-19 teams will participate in three (3) out-of-town tournaments plus the Grand Forks tournament.  Optional tournaments are also available.

Remember, the Summer Competitive Traveling Program is about more than games and playing time.  GGFSC’s main focus is player development.

COACHES
GGFSC Coaches are licensed by US Soccer (or equivalent), hired by GGFSC, and supervised by the GGFSC Director of Coaching, Scott Nordin ([email protected]). If you are interested in coaching, download a coaching application here.  We do allow the Director of Coaching to hire parent coaches.

TEAM FORMATION
Players will be assigned to teams by the Director of Coaching and the coaching staff based on their age.  It is our goal to keep teams as age pure as possible and to minimize movement between age groups.  In cases where we are forced to move players, we will be moving up the most skilled (as recommended by the Director of Coaching & Coaching Staff) from the age group below. 

Specific details on team formation for an age group are dependent upon the number of registrants. General considerations for the 2023 season include the following:

• Age-pure team formation remains a priority whenever possible through age U16. However, this does not preclude the formation of combined birth year teams when numbers and/or player skill composition dictate that as a favorable option.
• If registration numbers allow, two U17-U19 teams (one for boys and one for girls) will be rostered based on a try-out process. Tryouts will be held late January or early February 2025. U17-U19 players not rostered on the competitive team will be offered participation on the Competitive Practice Squad and may participate in all practices. Should injuries occur, or if a rostered player is otherwise unable or ineligible to play, a practice squad player may be moved on to the rostered team at the discretion of the coach.  While we don’t anticipate this to be the case in 2025, if there are enough registrants for two teams in this division, an A and a B team will be created. 
• Going forward, based on club member input, GGFSC will prioritize not fracturing age-pure teams with strong registration numbers.  Very strong consideration will be given before fracturing an age-pure team for the benefit of an older or younger team that does not have adequate numbers for a team.  If there are not enough players for a certain age group to form an age-pure team (i.e. there is a significant shortage of players), and the age-pure teams below and above have full or nearly-full rosters, there may not be a team for players in that certain age group.  If the age group above needs a select number of players to make an optimal roster, the players in the age group that is short may be offered to try out for the team in the age group above.  Players will also be offered to participate in the Competitive Practice Squad. Refunds will be given to players who do not have a team and GGFSC will work with players to find other options for the season.
• Player movement may still occur at the discretion of DOC and coaching staff.
• For age U13 and above, if there are enough players to form two teams in an age group, the DOC will determine whether it is beneficial to roster two even teams or to make A and B teams. This determination may involve the use of tryouts, which would most likely be held in February of 2025.
• Divisions that do not have enough players registered may either be combined with other age-appropriate divisions (must play as higher age group) or canceled outright. Registrants of canceled divisions, or competitive registrants not placed on a traveling team for any reason, will receive refunds and be given the option to join a Competitive Practice Squad.

The approach outlined above will guide our team formation as much as possible while we also consider the players' development, competition, balance, participation, and fun.

Assignment of players to teams will be made at the discretion of the DOC, which may include evaluation using a tryout process.  Players who do not make a team will be offered to participate with the Competitive Practice Squad.

Roster caps are as follows (these are MAX sizes, in most cases, teams will have a more OPTIMAL roster size):

U8-U10 age divisions: Max roster 12 players (7v7 on field)
U11-U12 age divisions: Max roster 16 players (9v9 on field)
U13-U19 age divisions: Max roster 18 players (11v11 on field)

For the U17-U19 teams, while the max roster size is 18, it is at the discretion of the coach and the Director of Coaching to determine the optimal roster size during the tryouts.

In some cases, guest players may be used to fill roster spots.  Guest players will be charged $150 per tournament in which they participate.

PRACTICES
Tentative Start Time: Monday, April 14
Practices from April 14 through the end of May will be held Mondays and Wednesdays.  Specific times for these sessions will be announced at a future time.  Due to limited availability of some coaches until late May, teams may not have individual team practices until that time. For April through late May, practices will likely involve combined age groups.

The week of June 2nd, we will start practicing four times per week (Mondays-Thursdays), with one of those practices weekly being held at the Grand Forks Sports Academy.  Practices may be substituted for friendly games.  Practice days are subject to change.

All teams will get two additional weeks where they have a session at the Sports Academy (for a total of 6 weeks).  Depending on the team and the schedule, this could be spread out over April, May, or July (all teams will have practices there in June).  Specific dates per team is TBD depending on GGFSC Coaches and Sports Academy Coaches schedules.

The last practices will be held Thursday, July 10 (before the USA Cup tournament).  Note that the USA Cup tournament often has early games on Friday and coaches may elect to not hold practice on the Thursday prior depending on the travel schedule.

Girls participating in the Middle School and High School soccer programs may attend practices as able and as their coaches permit.  They cannot play competitive games until the middle school or high school season is completed.  U15+ girls will not start practices until the end of the high school season.

Note: practices will be scheduled around the GGFSC Rec Program in April/May for girls and boys in those age groups.  This allows you to participate in both the rec program and the competitive program. Participating in both programs for this age group is highly recommended.

Actual practice days and times will be announced after teams have been formed and is based on coach and field availability.  Practices are usually after 5pm.

While the season ends after our last tournament in mid-July, we will provide opportunities to participate in a Fall Select Competitive program.

PRACTICE SQUAD
To extend opportunity for summer competitive training to players that have limited availability and/or who do not desire to commit to a travel schedule, GGFSC is offering a competitive registration option that would allow participation in competitive practices only, with no travel, tournament, or game participation. Competitive practice squad players will be placed with the team associated with the registrant's age and/or skill.

Practice squad players are considered part of the summer competitive program and must follow and comply with all requirements of the program, including signing a player code of conduct and completing all compliance mandates. 

Registration as a practice squad player will not result in placement on a travel team, and will not require any travel.  While rare, and as a last resort, should a team be critically short for a game or tournament, practice squad players may be asked to join a team for that game or tournament should they be interested.  In such a case, an additional fee will be assessed.  Players (or parents of players) on the practice squad should not have any expectation of participation in competitive games or tournaments.

TOURNAMENTS
GGFSC will travel to two (2), for ages U8-U10, and three (3), for U11 and up, mandatory out of town tournaments as well as attend the mandatory Greater Grand Forks Soccer Tournament in Grand Forks. See details in the 2025 Tournaments section below.

These tournaments are required and the registration cost and coaching costs for these tournaments are included in the registration fees.  Note that unforeseen things can happen (such as cancellations or a team not being accepted into a tournament) and the tournament schedule is subject to change.

Individual teams may attend optional tournaments if there is interest among the players and coaches.  Current options include Shakopee tournament in May, a one-day Bemidji 6v6 tournament, Jamestown Tournament, and other tournaments.  Attending optional tournaments would add additional cost to cover the tournament registration and coach pay. Teams will only attend if there is enough interest on the team to form a roster.

FRIENDLY GAMES
We will be scheduling friendly games throughout the season with area clubs, based on specific interest by coaches and families of each team. Some will be in Grand Forks while others may be out of town, but we do not want to travel any further than the Fargo area for friendly games.  Each team will have a maximum of two friendly games included in the cost of the program.  More friendly games may result in additional charges.

MID-SEASON BREAK
GGFSC will break in observation of Independence Day June 30 through July 6.  No games or activities will take place during this period.

UNIFORMS
Uniforms must be purchased by registrants, except Practice Squad participants.  Uniform orders and questions about uniforms may be emailed to [email protected].

Uniform Order Form [XCEL - Auto-calculates]
  OR
Uniform Order Form [PDF] 

Guest Uniforms: Guest players, or players still awaiting uniforms, may rent a uniform from GGFSC for $30 per week needed.  All guest players must buy socks ($12).


Summer Competitive Kick-Off Meeting
We will be holding a Summer Competitive Kick-Off meeting on Sunday, April 27th, 2025 at 5:00 PM at Choice Health & Fitness in the Community Room. 


Questions? Please contact us at [email protected] or stop into our office on 24th Ave during office hours.  We'd love to hear from you!

REQUIRED TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE FOR SUMMER COMPETITIVE 2025 - Subject to Change

(1) June 6-8, 2025 (all teams):  NSC All American Cup, Blaine, MN
Hotel Block Link: https://app.eventconnect.io/events/33784/hotels?registration=1620128&hotelContractId=202894

(2) June 20-22, 2025 (all teams): Summer Classic Tournament, Fargo, ND 

(3)  June 27-28, 2025 (all teams): Greater Grand Forks Tournament, Grand Forks, ND

(4)  July 11-13, 2025 (U11-U19): Target USA Cup, Blaine, MN (U11-U13 Boys; U11 Girls ONLY)
Hotel Block Link: USA CUP HOTELS - GGFSC BLOCK
USA CUP HOTELS - GGFSC BLOCK

 Book Your Room - USA CUP Weekend - National Sports Center | EventConnect

 https://app.eventconnect.io/events/33702/hotels?registration=1626045&hotelContractId=200127

Tournament Stay & Play Rules NEED to be followed by families. Tournaments have become more strict about this policy and are team checking. If families do not comply, your team and/or the club are at risk to be disqualified.

TENTATIVE OPTIONAL TOURNAMENTS - Subject to change:
Fees will be charged to your account if your player's current competitive team has enough players to attend the optional tournament. Fees include registration fee and coaching costs.

(1) May 16-18, 2025– REV It Up!, Woodbury, MN. Est. Cost: $120 per player. Required Stay & Play Tournament.

(2) May 31, 2025– Bemidji 6v6 Paul and Babe Blowout Tournament, Bemidji High School, Bemidji, MN. Est. Cost: $95 per player
Note: as this tournament is a 6v6 tournament, rosters may be created combining players from multiple teams.

(3) June 13-15, 2025– Tonka Splash, Chanhassen, MN. Est. Cost $130 per player. Required Stay & Play Tournament.

(4) July 25 -27, 2025 - Capital City Soccer Classic, Bismarck, ND. Est. $120 per player.