SOCCER
Elvaton Soccer - Spring 2024 Registration is Open!
Welcome to Elvaton Soccer: Elvaton Soccer offers youth programs for recreational and elite/select/travel level players in Anne Arundel County, Maryland. On the field, our goal is to develop confident and creative players through fun and competition. Through soccer, we seek to develop players and coaches who will lead on the field and in their communities.
Our Programs: Elvaton Soccer offers three levels of programming: Elvaton Soccer School, Elvaton Elite (sometimes called County/Premier/Select/Travel), and Elvaton Rec Soccer. Practices and home games typically take place at Elvaton Park at 311 Dogwood Rd, Severna Park/Millersville, MD.
Elvaton Elite Soccer is our most competitive program designed for dedicated players seeking to practice and play at increasingly higher levels of competition. Players in the Elite program typically play soccer year round and often desire to progress to the high school, college, and/or professional level. Elite requires a higher level of commitment in time, effort, and training, and teams will play against similarly competitive teams from other soccer clubs. Key program features:
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Teams formed based on playing level and play in leagues commensurate with their playing level.
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Practice 2-3 times per week during the season
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Play 1-2 games per weekend against other select/travel/elite teams in the area. Most teams will play in the Anne Arundel County with our most advanced teams playing in the Elite Development Program / USYS National Leagues.
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Average of one professional-coach run skills training session per week
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Fall season: Late August to early November
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Spring season: Mid-March to early June
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Winter/Summer: optional team and training activities
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Spring Cost: $400 plus uniforms
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Costs include all field permits, league fees, referee fees, team equipment, end of season team party, and professional trainer costs
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Costs not included: additional team social activities, outside tournaments (coach/team discretion)
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Team uniforms will be purchased separately through the uniform store after team formation and will consist of a home jersey, away jersey, team shorts, team socks, and a reversible practice jersey.
A note on “Travel Soccer:” While this level of soccer is often called “Travel,” our program seeks to minimize travel because it’s not necessary: travel drives up costs exponentially, puts players in cars and hotels when they could be playing, and is a major contributor to player and family burnout in sports.
Elvaton Rec Soccer is devoted to the enjoyment and development of soccer players without travel or an emphasis on high level competition. Rec is a seasonal commitment (Fall or Spring) with no requirement to play in both. Coaches are typically parent volunteers. In the 8-10 week season, teams will practice once per week on a weekday and play one game each weekend against other Elvaton Rec players/teams in a clinic format or in the Anne Arundel Youth Soccer League. Elvaton Rec players also have the option to attend an additional fun and fast-paced skill-building session with a professional coach each week through Elvaton Soccer School.
Elvaton Soccer School: Elvaton Soccer School is ERAs professionally coached program designed for the player looking to learn and grow in skill as fast as possible. Our program focuses on building bravery, creativity, and leadership through soccer. This is the perfect program for players who are not ready for the Elite commitment but want to experience all that ERA Soccer’s development curriculum has to offer. Through our team of skilled professional youth soccer coaches and our unique, player-centered development curriculum, players will build the dribbling, shooting, and combination passing skills to be a great individual and team player. Our fast-paced and game-based practices are fun and develop players better than any other approach. Sign up individually or with friends and get started today. Since players progressively develop through our curriculum, Elvaton Soccer School is a primary pathway into the Elvaton Elite Soccer program.
The Spring ESS session will begin in mid-March and run until the end of May as follows (times will adjust slightly to permit longer sessions with the later sunsets in May)
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8-10 year olds: Tuesdays: 5:30-6:30
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11-13 year olds: Tuesdays: 6:30-7:30
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5-7 year olds: Wednesdays 5:15-6:15
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8-10 year olds: Wednesdays 6:15-7:15
Coaches / Parents / Groups / Volunteers: Have an existing team or group of friends and looking to play together? Looking for other ways to volunteer? There is always a role for anyone looking to create joyful memories for our players. Email the Elvaton Soccer commissioner at elvatonsoccerleague@gmail.com.
Our Approach
For a child to reach their potential in any activity, they need to find joy in the activity and enjoy the process of learning and growing for many years. Behind every “natural,” “prodigy,” or pro is a real-life story of a kid with an obsession with the sport so strong that it led to hours of practice and playing outside of any professional environment. For these reasons, Elvaton soccer focuses on making the playing environment fun, player-centered, and built around play that will grow the love of the game and keep players in the sport. This means having a “NO LAPS, NO LINES, and NO LECTURES philosophy,” where players learn the game by being put in challenging game-like situations as much as possible. Players will have a ball at their feet and a competitor in front of them more than any other approach. Coaches and trainers are there to teach the game and create an environment where taking chances is encouraged. Making mistakes are a part of the game and are seen as a mechanism to learn and improve, not as something to turn into a negative.
Our training is modeled after the methods used to develop the best players in the world, combining aspects of Brazilian street soccer and futsal and the best of the Dutch and Spanish professional development academies to maximize individual and team skill development while building a life-long love of soccer. All programs feature an emphasis on building a foundation of dribbling, 1v1 moves under pressure, shooting/finishing, combination passing, and defending skills. Players immediately apply those skills in highly competitive 1v1, 2v2, 3v3 matches or skills games. Because our players are developed to be exceptional dribblers, shooters, and combiners, they will be prepared to shine in high school / college / Olympic Development / pro team tryouts.
Follow Elvaton Soccer on Facebook for program announcements: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100095052777581
Questions? Suggestions? Contact the soccer commissioner at elvatonsoccerleague@gmail.com