Fall Season is starting – important information for our SWSC families

Thank you for your patience as we have worked through a myriad of issues with getting the fall season up and running again.  We are still working through field allocations for practices with THPRD and our fellow clubs, but we have enough in place to get started.

Coaches have received their rosters and current practice schedules and you should be hearing from them soon.  We have activated almost all of our G2-HSRec teams online and you can log in and view your player’s roster.  Just go to the following link, click User Login at the top left, log back in using the same credentials you used to register your player (or yourself), select your record on the My Account page and then the Teams tab and finally Team Info. 

If you do see your team online, it is because it does not yet have a coach.   If you can help or know someone who can, please let us know ASAP.

Please be patient as we know a number of people, including our coaches, are on vacation and may not get back to you immediately.  The first game of the season is not until Saturday, September 11, so we have some extra time this year.

IMPORTANT:  Please download, complete and bring to your coach a completed Medical Release form.  It is available on the SWSC website at the following link.

SAVE THE DATE:  Team/individual pictures will be taken on Saturday, September 18.  Once we have the final game schedule (expected in early September), we will finalize the picture day schedule so there are no conflicts for our teams that day.  Stay tuned!

At this time, there are no specific Covid guidelines or restrictions we are required to follow and masks are not required for players, coaches or spectators.  We ask that everyone respect the choices our families make in terms of mask wearing.  Note that there are no guarantees that the guidelines or requirements will change – we are bound by the policies of both THPRD (park district) and BSD (school district) whose fields we use for our practices and games.  If there are any changes, we will let you know immediately.

If you have any questions, please let us know at one of the following email addresses.  If you have Microsoccer players, you will be hearing from our micro coordinator within the next couple of weeks.

General questions:  Stu Frische – president@somersetwestsoccer.org

Registration:  Jan Steinfeld – registrar@somersetwestsoccer.org

Coaches:  Brad Gennings – coach@somersetwestsoccer.org

Microsoccer:  Jennifer Sfetku – micro@somersetwestsoccer.org

Thanks again for your patience and we look forward to a good fall season – it is wonderful for our kids to be getting back onto the fields.  A special thanks to all our coaches and assistants who are making it possible for this to happen.

We know all our SWSC families are anxious to get back out on the soccer field and we appreciate your patience as we get the fall season organized. Field allocations from the park and school districts have been late in getting to our league clubs, registration and team formation has been slower than usual, and all clubs are busy recruiting coaches. Our first Grade 2 – HSRec games is not scheduled until September 11 and we want to ensure that everything is correctly in place so are taking a little extra time to get things done.

Note that, at this time, there are no special requirements related to the Covid pandemic. Since youth soccer is an outdoor activity, masks for the coaches and players will not be required. We do ask that everyone respect the choices that all our families make for themselves related to pandemic precautions, especially mask-wearing.

We expect to have more detailed information available by next weekend (August 1) and will let you know here and also via email.

Registration for the fall season is continuing on a space-available basis. We have a number of grade groups that are currently full and are working with our fellow THJSL clubs to ensure that everyone who wants to play has a spot.

The following groups are full. If you have a player at one of these levels, please send the registrar an email at registrar@somersetwestsoccer.org to be placed on a waiting list (and also she will work with our neighboring clubs to find a team with openings):

• Grade 5 Girls
• Grade 6 Boys and Girls
• Grade 7 Boys and Girls
• Grade 8 Boys and Girls

Note we are still looking for coaches at Grade 4 Boys and HS Rec. If you are able to help, please let us know at registrar@somersetwestsoccer.org. Thanks much for your help!

Our Regular Registration period is now over so placement on a SWSC team for the fall is on a space-available basis. We do still have space at all our grade levels but several are very close to being full, so if you want to play, register as soon as possible. Click on any of the Register Now buttons on our website to be taken to our online registration system. Here is a direct link to register. If you have any problems or have forgotten your password, please send an email to registrar@somersetwestsoccer.org for help.

We will post any full grade/age levels on this website. To be placed on a waitlist, please send an email to our registrar at registrar@somersetwestsoccer.org. We are also working with our neighboring THJSL clubs like Oak Hills and Milltown to ensure that all our kids are able to play with fall.

Please help!! We still need coaches and assistant coaches. Our greatest needs right now are at Grade 2 and Grade 4 boys as well as microsoccer (both genders). If you are able to help, please register. We will provide training and mentoring. We are an all-volunteer organization and without your help, we would not be able to get our kids on the field and playing. If you can help, please register at the same link as above. Note that we love to have friends and other family members help coach. If you have any questions about coaching, please email Brad, our head coach at coach@somersetwestsoccer.org.

We are looking forward to seeing everyone this fall.

Registration for our Fall 2021 season is now open. We believe it will be a more normal season but do anticipate some to-be-determined COVID guidelines we will need to follow. We are looking forward to seeing everyone on fields again. Please click one of the Register Now buttons to be taken to the online registration page.

Registration is now closed for the Spring season. We will be opening fall registration in early May. Stay tuned for more details and an exact date. We are definitely hoping for a more normal season starting in August.

Thanks for your patience.

The spring season is a go and we are getting our teams set up and ready to go. For Grades 2-8, we expect practices (1/week) to start the week of March 29 and the 7 games season to begin on April 3. We are in the process of setting up our teams and getting our coaches through their registration and training activities.

For Microsoccer, we anticipate starting in April and running a 6 week season with session twice/week, either M/W or T/Th. Stay tuned for more information from our Microsoccer coordinator.

We will be adhering to the SWSC Return to Play guidelines to ensure a safe environment for our players and our coaches. Note that at this time, masks will be required for all coaches and players at all times and that no spectators are allowed on the field at any time. Parents will be required to wait in their cars/parking lot.

We will be posting our teams online later in March but do have many age groups that are full and others that have very few openings. These are listed below. If you have a player that wants to play but their group is full, please send an email to registrar@somersetwestsoccer.org to be placed on a waiting list. We are also working closely with our neighboring clubs who may have openings at different grade/gender levels and will do our best to get your player on a team.

Team status:

Full age groups: (email registrar to be placed on a waiting list)

Almost Full:

Space Available:

Thank you for your patience as we get the spring season underway.

We got confirmation from Westside that the spring recreational season is a go and practices are expected to start the week of March 29 (after Spring Break).   All clubs playing in the spring league will be following the attached Return to Play rules.  This includes required masks for all players and coaches at all times and, because of current THPRD field restrictions, NO spectators will be allowed on the field for practices or games.   Only coaches and players can be on the field – parents will need to wait in their cars, parking lot, or back at home.

To move forward, I need to complete processing of the players in our registration system and this means that your credit cards will be charged the registration fee.  This will allow me to form teams and provide Westside the information they need for scheduling practices and games.  I plan to do this on Saturday morning, March 6.

IMPORTANT:  If you decide you do not want your child to play this spring under this Return to Play guidance and restrictions, please send me an email (registrar@somersetwestsoccer.org ) no later than Friday night, March 5.  Please include your player’s name.    I will cancel your registration and you will not be charged.

The current plan is for Grade 2 – Grade 8 players to begin practices the week of March 29 and play 7 games starting on April 3.  We are still finalizing our microsoccer program and Jenn will be in touch with our micro families on the details of the micro season.

Thanks very much for your patience and flexibility this spring.  We are looking forward to getting our kids back on the field.  Registration for our Fall season will open in early May and we are hoping for a much more normal season.  Stay tuned!

If you have any questions, please let me know. 

Somerset West Soccer has opened registration for Spring 2021 Recreational Soccer. Because there is still uncertainty about the details of the season due to the pandemic, we will not be accepting any payments at this time as part of the registration process.  

Program status for the spring season:

Microsoccer – SWSC program based at Somerset Meadows Park. Details coming

Grade 2 – Grade 8 – SWSC teams playing in the Westside Soccer Club spring program

High School Recreational Soccer – Not offered in the spring

Please click on any of the Register Now buttons to register your player for the Spring 2021 season. Note that the online system will say you are registering for the Fall 20-21 season. Per our state organization, this is correct as they are using this data for the spring as well. If you prefer, here is a direct link to our registration site – after reviewing the information, please click on the Registration tab on the top right of the page.

This year, we will be registering all Grade 2-Grade 8 players for the spring season run by the Westside Soccer Club directly with Somerset West.  The club will form teams, assign players and pay the team fee directly to Westside.  Coaches will no longer need to do this themselves.  The new process is just like our regular fall registration.  Coaches should pre-register for the spring via this Google Form. 

Somerset West must provide Westside with our list of participating teams in early March, so our regular registration period will end on February 10.  Time is of the essence so if you are interested in playing, please register as soon as possible.  Once we have a clearer picture of the spring season, we will notify all registered players with details and give families the option of not participating if they are not comfortable with the plans.  If you decide to cancel, you will not be charged.

Somerset West will be running our own spring Microsoccer program based at Somerset Meadows Park this year.  Exact details on this program are being determined but we are excited to add this opportunity for our kids.  Please stay tuned for more details from our microsoccer coordinator.

In deciding whether there will be a recreational soccer league this spring, Westside has let us know that there will be 2 primary determining factors.

1. COVID infection rates for Washington County low enough for students to return to classrooms. 
2. Sufficient fields available through either THPRD or BSD.

Other things to know about Spring Season

1. Creative solutions will likely be needed to get the season to work.  Examples are combining grades, combining genders, reduced team sizes, splitting the season into two smaller seasons, etc. 
2. All COVID protocols will be in place for all practices and games.  Face coverings will be required at all times.  Practice and game attendance by parents and other spectators will be guided by OHA risk level.  Current OYSA policy is no spectators – only coaches and players are allowed on the fields for both practices and games.

We know that kids want to return to the soccer field, and we will do our best to make that happen.  However, we must balance the desire to play soccer with the health of our community.  Updates will be published regularly as we approach the time for the spring season.

When registration opens this weekend, we will let you know.  We appreciate your patience and flexibility.

Thank you, 

Somerset West Soccer Club Board

Due to the continuing pandemic, our parent league, THJSL, has determined that league games cannot be safely conducted and has cancelled the fall season that was due to start on September 14.  While the league has indicated that clubs could potentially run their own internal programs this fall, the SWSC board believes we cannot do it safely and in full compliance with public health and other government guidelines and has decided to cancel our fall soccer activities including all practices.

Our commitment is to the health and safety of our families.  Given the continuing community spread of the COVID-19 virus, the move of BSD to a full online model until at least November 13, lack of field availability from THPRD, and the large geographical area encompassed by our club (6 elementary school areas from Lenox to Springville to Elmonica), we don’t feel it’s in the best interest of our soccer families to return to group activities at this time.  We understand that this is disappointing to many people (including ourselves).; however, the top priority for us needs to be to support whatever is needed to keep our families safe and to enable our kids to get back to a physical school presence (even if just hybrid) as soon as possible.

All registrations for the current season will be cancelled and no registration fees will be charged.  You may receive a notification from Affinity, our online provider, when your cancellation is processed.

We encourage everyone to continue practicing and playing soccer within your families whether it is in your backyard or at a neighborhood park.  We are fortunate that soccer requires only a ball to play and can be done almost anywhere.  Please make time to help your kids get exercise and practice their skills – you don’t need to be a coach! 

There are some local programs and many resources available to help.  Here are a few:

• THUSCETEERS – for 5-9 year-olds, Friday evening camp-style program being held at the THPRD rec center on Walker Road
• Westside Timbers Development Program – for 6-9 year olds, camp-style program

• US Youth Soccer U6-U8 Practice Activities (Kindergarten-2^nd grade)
• US Youth Soccer U10 Practice Activities (3^rd-4^th grade)
• US Youth Soccer U12 Practice Activities (5^th-6^th grade)
• “The Baffled Parents Guides” (Coaching Youth Soccer, Coaching 6-and-Under Soccer, Great Soccer Drills, Coaching Girls’ Soccer, Fix-It Drills for Youth Soccer) – available on Amazon or at Powells Books

We look forward to seeing everyone as soon as a safe season can be held, whether it be in the spring or next fall.  Please take care and stay safe.  If you have any questions, please let us know via an email to Stu (president@somersetwestsoccer.org) or Jan (registrar@somersetwestsoccer.org).

Thanks for your patience throughout this challenging time.  We will continue to update our webpage and social media sites as we get more information on plans for a season in the future.

Your Somerset West Board

We know practices were originally supposed to start next week but our fall recreational soccer season is still on hold due to the Covid-19 pandemic.  Soccer practices and games are only allowed once an area has entered Phase 2 and that has not happened in our Portland metro counties. 

We also know that some of you have seen soccer teams on some of the THPRD turf fields.  These are competitive teams operating under the very restrictive “camp” guidelines (cohorts of only 9 players/1 coach for example) and is all that is allowed in Phase 1.  THPRD and BSD grass fields are notavailable at this time.

Our club is working closely with our parent league (THJSL) and finalizing Return to Play guidelines if we are able to practice/play.  We appreciate your patience and hope to have more information after the THJSL board meeting next week.   We are continuing our policy of not charging the player registration fees until we have definite word on the fall season.

If you have concerns and have decided that you do not want your child to play this fall, please send an email to registrar@dsomersetwestsoccer.org to have your registration removed and we’ll plan to see you in the spring or next fall.

Our regular registration period ends in just a few days on June 30.  Registering now ensures your player a spot on one of our fall teams.  We know there are still many questions about soccer this fall, but we need to be ready quickly if we are able to play.  We will be putting together our draft teams soon and anticipate that with a reduced number of teams, will be less able to accommodate late registrations.  In addition, after our regular registration period ends on June 30, our registration fee for Kindergarten-8th grade players will rise by $10.00/player.

Because of the uncertainty related to the current pandemic, we are continuing our policy of not charging our families the registration fee until we have more clarity on the fall season.  We are working on Return to Play guidelines with our parent league (THJSL) and the other clubs in our area.  We hope to have a draft of these ready in the next several weeks.  We are also working on a consistent refund policy.  Note that, once we enter Phase 2 and can move forward with the season, all registered families will be given the option of not playing and will not be charged.

Earlier this week, OHA updated their Phase 2 guidance and moved soccer into the list of sports for which practices/games can resume with appropriate measures to ensure the safety of the players, coaches and families during the continuing pandemic.  While the situation remains fluid and we are unsure when Washington County will enter Phase 2, our parent league (THJSL) is working on both the club organizational plan and the Return to Play guidelines that will enable us to start when THPRD is able to make fields available to us.  All the clubs in our area will be following the same guidelines and requirements.

As soon as the plan and documents are in lace, we will let our SWSC families know so they can review them and ask any questions they have.  Until that happens, registration fees will not be charged.  We do ask that, if you are planning on playing or coaching this fall, to please register ASAP as this will help us get everything in order so we are ready to move forward when the time comes.

Thank you for your patience as we work through these challenging times.  If you have any questions, please let us know at registrar@somersetwestsoccer.org.

Registration for the Fall season is now open.  However, because of the current pandemic and the uncertainty about restrictions that will be in place during the fall, we are updating our registration process.

Players:  Players should register online as usual.  Please go to www.somersetwestsoccer.org and click one of the Register Now buttons to be taken to the Affinity site to complete the registration (this part is the same as in previous years).  Please use the same username/password you used previously.  If you don’t remember them, send an email to registrar@somersetwestsoccer.org for help.

The change this year is that your credit card will not be charged when you register.  Players will remain in a pending status until we have confirmation that the Fall season will take place.  When that happens, we will accept all players and your credit card will be charged at that time.  If the guidance from our governor for the fall does not allow the season to be held, we will simply cancel all registrations and no charges will be made. 

Please register ASAP. Even though no charges will go through, this will allow us to create our teams outside the online registration program, identify grades/genders where we need to potentially recruit coaches, and be ready to quickly move ahead if/when we get the word that the fall season is a go.

We realize that finances may be a challenge for some families this year.  If that is the case for you, we ask that you first contact the THPRD Family Assistance program who may be able to cover some/all of the registration fee.  If THPRD assistance is not available, please send an email to registrar@somersetwestsoccer.org to request a club scholarship.  We will provide you instructions on how to register in that case.

Coaches:  We need to use a two-step process for coaches this year.  Online registration through Affinity will not open until we have confirmation the fall season is a go.  However, we do need to know who will be coaching/assistant coaching as soon as possible.  For this reason, we have set up an alternate preliminary registration form to complete which will give us the information we need for creating teams and a practice schedule.  Please go to this location and complete the form there as soon as you can.  If/when the season is confirmed, we’ll open up the regular registration site and you’ll need to register there.  This will include completion of the state background check.

In the meantime, it will really help is you complete the required online Mandatory Reporting and Concussion training programs while we are waiting on confirmation on the fall season.  This year, all coaches need to complete the 90-minute online SafeSport Mandatory Reporting training if you did not do so last year.  Note that this is different from what most coaches did last year – it is a new mandate from OYSA, our state association.  If you did complete the full SafeSport training last year, you will only need to do a 20-minute refresher this year.  Full instructions for completing both courses (the Concussion one is the same as previous years) will be posted on the Coach page of our website and will also be sent via email to all previous coaches/assistants.  Once you have completed the courses, please download and send your completion certificates to our head coach (coach@somersetwestsoccer.org) and registrar (registrar@somersetwestsoccer.org).

Thanks in advance for your help and patience as we navigate these challenging times.  We hope everyone is safe and healthy.  If you have any questions, please let us know.  Here are some emails to use:

General questions:  Stu Frische – president@somersetwestsoccer.org

Registration:  Jan Steinfeld – registrar@somersetwestsoccer.org

Coaches:  Brad Gennings – coach@somersetwestsoccer.org

Microsoccer:  Jennifer Sfetku – micro@somersetwestsoccer.org

Your Somerset West board

We received notification on March 23 that the Westside Soccer Club has cancelled their outdoor spring season.  With the fields closed until early May, they did not see a viable way forward to complete a 7 game season.

Please note that any new players that registered will receive refunds of their club registration – we should be able to do this through the registration program but we are waiting on final instructions from our state folks on the process. If you registered directly with Westside, they are also working through their refund process and will send more information in the next few days. If you have already paid your coach for your share of the spring team fees, we have asked them to return this payment to you.

Note that no decisions have been made yet related to the Fall season. We will keep our website and Facebook page regularly updated as the registration date (May 8 this year) gets closer and decisions are made

BSD has a brand new Community Resources Fund set up to help Beaverton families. To make a donation to the Beaverton Schools Community Resources Fund, visit https://or-beaverton-lite.intouchreceipting.com/,

Thank you very much!

Per the THPRD Website, all THPRD and BSD fields are now closed until April 26. http://www.thprd.org/district-information/coronavirus-update

At this point, WSC will be review the options, if any, for Spring Rec Soccer League.

Please allow some time to do this and get back to everyone. I will provide an update as soon as possible.

Thanks

Bill K

Here is the latest info on the Coronovirus situation as it pertains to spring recreational outdoor soccer.

What we know at this point from our partners is:

• – OYSA has cancelled competitive youth matches through April 1
• – All THPRD facilities and permitted fields are closed March 14 through March 31
• – BSD has closed schools and all school activities through March 31

With THPRD and BSD closing all the fields through March 31, we will not be able to begin practices on Monday, March 30.  At this point we are planning on a minimum one week delay to the start of the spring season.

A decision about the actual start of practices and games will be made based on where things stand on April 1.    

We wanted to provide an update regarding the status of the upcoming spring soccer season, scheduled to begin the week of March 30. Currently, we are awaiting advisement from Oregon Youth Soccer Association (OYSA) and Tualatin Hills Park and Recreation (THPRD) as to where our leagues fit into Governor Brown’s coronavirus gathering guidelines.

We have all been inundated with event and activity cancellations over the past 24hrs, however no decisions have yet been made with regards to the spring soccer leagues. Once a determination has been made, we will be sure to communicate any changes and/or necessary precautions as required. Updates will be sent via all-club e-mail and also posted here.

Thank you for your patience and continued support of Somerset West Soccer Club.

Our spring leagues don’t begin for a few weeks, so we have a bit of time to make the correct decision.

Registration is closed for the current Fall, 2019 season.  If you have any questions, please send an email to registrar@somersetwestsoccer.org.