Parents and Players
Overview
South Portland Strikers teams participate in two leagues administered by Soccer Maine, which is the governing body of youth soccer in the State of Maine. Each annual season runs from the fall through the spring, with teams playing in the Fall Classic League August-October and the Pine Tree League April-June.
We are an all-volunteer organization, including our dedicated coaches and board members.
Players are expected to make a full commitment to Strikers and their team. Conflicts between Strikers games and practices and participation with other sports or teams may result in loss of playing time. This is a commitment to your team, and all players should understand their obligations.
Spring Pine Tree League
Team participation in the spring Pine Tree League is at the discretion of the coach and the availability of players. It is open to returning Strikers fall players only, with rare exceptions. The season consists of six games, usually on Sundays, beginning in late April: April 27, May 4, May 11, May 18, June 1, June 8. Because some families and coaches are not available for the spring season, we often combine multiple fall teams into a single spring team. Players may have different coaches than they had in the fall. In the unlikely case that we are unable to form a team for your child’s age group, we will issue a full refund. Fees are noted below.
Fall Classic League
The fall season typically runs from August through late October, with occasional post-season games in November. There are 6 league games, most of which are scheduled on Sundays, with the first game typically on the last Sunday in August. In addition, coaches may schedule exhibition ("friendly") matches. Teams have two practices each week.. U12-U14 teams have single-elimination playoffs after the regular season, and U9-U11 teams participate in an end-of-season festival.
Players are expected to make a full commitment to Strikers and their team. Conflicts between Strikers games and practices and participation with other sports or teams may result in loss of game playing time. It should be noted that this is a commitment and all players should understand their obligations. It is a team sport.
For the upcoming fall 2025 season: any child who is 7 years old by July 31, 2025 is eligible to play.
Registration will open by March 25, 2025.
Registration, Player Evaluations, and Rosters
We use GotSport for registration and club management. All players will need to have a Gotsport profile, and parents will need an account in order to register their child.
While registering your player(s), please make sure all information is up to date, such as new email, cell phone, and emergency information. Most communication from South Portland Strikers will be conducted via the email that you have listed on your player profile in GotSport, so please make sure your email address is correct.
Pine Tree League registration will be open February 15 - March 8, 2025. Refunds on spring registration fees must be requested by March 31.
Fall Classic League registration will open by March 25, 2025. Refunds on fall registration fees must be requested by July 15.
There will be no refunds after these dates.
All U12-U14 players must attend the evaluations held in May (specific dates and locations to be announced).
Fall rosters will be announced by the end of June. The configuration of teams depends on registration numbers, the availability of coaches, and what is in the best interest of each age group of players as a whole. Please note that where there is more than one team per age group, there is no guarantee that your child will be on the same team from year to year. Requests to “play up” an age group will be considered by the Strikers Board of Directors and will be granted only at the Board’s discretion.
Fees and Financial Aid
We are committed to helping every child to play regardless of their financial status. If you need financial assistance, please contact us.
In addition, we make every effort to avoid fee increases for paying players, and our fees are lower than those of most neighboring clubs. For the 2024/2025 season we instituted a modest fee increase for the first time since 2019.
Our 2024/2025 fees are as follows:
Fall 2024:
U9-U10: $100
U11-U14 early-bird: $150
U11-U14 regular: $175
Spring 2025:
U9-U10: $50
U11-U14: $65
Uniforms
In late May or June, we will send all registered players a link to the uniform store.
New uniforms cannot be ordered for the spring season.
It is critical to communicate with your coach and/or the club if you need to make a uniform change, because we must adhere to Soccer Maine's roster policies regarding jersey numbers.
Eligibility (Fall 2025)
We adhere to all eligibility policies established by Soccer Maine, our governing body.
For the Fall Classic League 2025, any child who is 7 years old by July 31, 2025 is eligible to play.
AGE GROUP TYPE OF LEAGUE FORMAT AGE BEFORE AUG 1, 2025 MOST COMMON PLAYER GRADE
U9 Non-Competitive 7v7 8 2 & 3
U10 Non-Competitive 7v7 9 4
U11 Non-Competitive 9v9 10 5
U12 Competitive 9v9 11 6
U13 Competitive 11v11 12 7
U14 Competitive 11v11 13 8
Requests to “play up” an age group will be considered by the Strikers Board of Directors and will be granted only at the Board’s discretion.
Policies
We follow all rules and policies established by Soccer Maine, our governing body.
Player code of conduct: https://docs.google.com/document/d/13UJ-kpb1MecYBdWRnyJV0XAfOkkdwSKtCW5WggzsJkM/view
Parent code of conduct: https://docs.google.com/document/d/17RiUvdUFtPYGeQM6GJquZItCiDVaEIAAZqjdq5Ub5Zs/view
Concussion policy: https://docs.google.com/document/d/19DSihyAGqHqNPWoD-A81k2E_B9N-KW91vhUZXTecdtA/view
Other resources
USYS pocket soccer guide: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1bQ7h5OKgE1PtXUMhytrDRGIsKClM_-IN/view
CDC concussion fact sheet: https://drive.google.com/file/u/0/d/1H5IPUNjqP2vDMBmeS7qdCVDZawyH_p3r/view
Contact
Still have questions about travel soccer? Please see our FAQ page or email us: strikerssouthportland@gmail.com. We look forward to answering any questions you may have or providing you with further information.