Local Youth Soccer Programs

  • Newton Youth Soccer Intramural Program
  • Newton Youth Soccer Spring First and Second Grade Intramural Program
  • BAYS NYS Travel Program
  • Newton Girls Soccer
  • YMCA
  • MAPLE

    • Newton Youth Soccer Intramural Program

    The intramural program is a recreational, non-competitive league for boys and girls from grades one through ten.  In order of importance, the intramural programs' objectives are fun, sportsmanship, individual technique and team play.  Winning is not a priority--there are no won/loss records, no standings, no playoffs.

    Teams are organized by grade level and play other Newton teams made up of players in the same grade.  Children who are Newton residents or who attend Newton public schools are eligible to play.  Our first choice always is to organize teams according to public school districts, if there are enough players in a grade to make a full team and enough volunteer coaches for each team in a specific grade from a specific school.  Registration occurs each spring for the following fall season.  Registrations received after the registration deadline must pay a late registration fee.  The season typically begins on the first Saturday in September after the start of school and ends on the Saturday before Thanksgiving.

    Dates and Fees
    Registration

    In the fall, approximately 1,500 boys and girls play in the intramural program on 190 teams coached by 300 volunteer coaches.  Organizing teams and recruiting and assigning volunteer coaches involves hundreds of hours of  labor from the NYS grade coordinators, all of whom are volunteers.  The results are worth it.  Newton's intramural program is the largest in Massachusetts and a model for programs in other towns.

    Please volunteer to coach!!! Without volunteer coaches there is no program!!!  Coaching is fun and satisfying.  Coaching an intramural team typically involves one practice per week (one to two hours), one game each Saturday (one hour) and team administration, e.g. preparing game line-ups and organizing practices (forty-five minutes).  In return for your investment of four or five hours a week you receive a priceless bond with your child and his or her peers.  You do NOT need to be an experienced soccer player or coach to volunteer for the intramural program!  NYS offers extensive support for both novice and experienced coaches.  We will provide you with enough ideas for practices and games to fill many seasons of coaching.  For more information or to volunteer to coach email the  Vice President-Intramural or call the NYS Soccer Line.

    Small-Sided SoccerSmall-Sided Soccer  The intramural program emphasizes "small-sided" soccer rather than "full-sided" eleven-versus-eleven soccer.  Newton Youth Soccer is a leader in fostering small-sided soccer.  We play small-sided games as shown in the following table.

    GRADE

    # PLAYERS

    One

    3 versus 3

    Two

    4 versus 4

    Three

    4 versus 4

    Four

    5 versus 5

    Five

    5 versus 5

    Six

    6 versus 6

    Seven-Ten

    8 versus 8

    Of course, we set maximum roster sizes according to the number of players on the field to ensure that children play, not watch from the sidelines.

    The rationale for small-sided soccer is simple.  Players only develop foot skills through repeated touches of the ball in practice and game situations;  small-sided soccer allows each player a greater number of touches.  Soccer is a fluid game that requires its players to move, with or without the ball, into ever-shifting open spaces on the field.  Small-sided soccer allows players to develop their sense of the game, their sense of movement, on smaller fields with fewer players.  As players mature the fields grow larger, the number of bodies on the field increases and the dynamics of the game grow more complex.

    Variations between FIFA rules and NYS rules

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    Newton Youth Soccer Spring Intramural First and Second Grade Program

    Newton Youth Soccer is offering an  Intramural program in the Spring for first and second grade children. It is intended to bridge the gap between Fall seasons. Players in the first and second grades do not qualify to play in the travel program in the spring given their age. Given the numerous requests from parents, we've expanded the program to include first graders as well and our based on our experience with various age groups, the mix is well suited for this program. 

    Pease continue reading in the Registration section

    Have fun this Spring.

     Newton Girls Soccer

    "Newton Girls Soccer is a private not-for-profit organization dedicated to promoting girls soccer in the City of Newton."  It is the largest girls' program in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and is not formally affiliated with Newton Youth Soccer, although the two leagues cooperate on field maintenance and improvement and other issues.  It runs both an intramural program and a BAYS travel program.

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    YMCA

    The YMCA runs a non-competitive recreational soccer league in the fall for children between the ages of five and eight at the Y facility located at 276 Church Street, Newton Corner.  The program emphasizes fun, fair play and sportsmanship.  For more information call Kathy Costa, Youth Director, at the YMCA at (617) 244-6050.

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    BAYS (Boston Area Youth Soccer) - Our Travel Program

    BAYS, the largest youth soccer league in the United States, is a competitive league of town-based "travel" teams that play each other in ten-game seasons in the spring and, to a limited extent, in the fall.   Approximately 66 towns, roughly south and west of Route 3 and inside Route 495, currently participate.  Towns organize teams through a competitive selection process and BAYS assigns teams by skill level to age-specific divisions and sections.   Eligibility is based on date of birth, not grade level.  The "BAYS Year" for determining age eligibility runs from August 1 to July 31 of the following year. 

    See Dates and Fees for BAYS age groups and tryout dates.

    BAYS teams are coached and managed by volunteers.   Newton Youth Soccer holds age-specific tryouts for BAYS teams once a year, in the fall.  Team selections are announced after Thanksgiving for the BAYS season that begins the following April.  Each player must try out each year for placement on a team.  Newton Youth Soccer allows a limited number of BAYS teams in each age group to play in the fall BAYS season.  Both boys and girls are eligible to play on BAYS teams sponsored by Newton Youth Soccer.

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    Massachusetts Premier League ("MAPLE")

    The Massachusetts Premier League is comprised of regional club soccer teams that play full-sided soccer in both the spring and fall seasons.   Its objective "is to provide a league for teams who want the highest level of competition available in Massachusetts in order to prepare for higher levels of competition."  (Source:  MAPLE Constitution)  MAPLE players may not play on any BAYS team at age levels above U-14 during the Spring season.   MAPLE players are permitted to play BAYS during the Fall and at age levels U-14 and below, without limitation.  For further information about MAPLE contact Paul Irwin, MAPLE Commissioner, 194 Maple Street, Sherborn, MA  01770 (508) 655-7113.

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