Coaches:
17-1 (National) = Chris Lovett
17-2 (American) =
Cost:
17-1 = $2150 (7 or 8 tourneys including USA or JVA Nationals)
17-2 = $2150 (7 or 8 tourneys including USA or JVA Nationals)
Tryouts:
Tuesday, November 16th from 6 - 8:30pm
Please arrive 15 minutes early to check-in and warm-up.
Register for this tryout
U17 General Information
July Invitation Clarification for those
that are curious:
The "July Invite Rule" put in place this year
pertains to "home clubs" only. Home clubs had until July 21st to
officially invite players back for next year if desired. Acceptance of
an offer was to be due by July 31st. This would lock the players spot
for the next year. The July rule is best for entire teams that want to
stay together and for top players who would be potentially recruited by
another club and want to stay with their current club. That helps a
team build its core and takes some unknowns out of the air so the rest
of you can make competent decisions. This year we have seen clubs
stretch for early commitments even from the 2nd or 3rd teams in their
club. It is an undesired consequence that many people feel pressured to
accept a spot on a team that they know little about or when they wish to
test the waters elsewhere. That is not the intent of the early
signing period. The region asked that clubs making invites disclose
the coach, fees, expected schedule, and certainly which team they are
being invited on. The July rule will likely be negatively received this
year due to the surprise of it's arrival and the degree to which it has
been used. I expect that the rules will continue to be tweaked
as the region tries to keep clubs in line as far as recruiting goes.
While things have sped up, much will be known
and players should be able to navigate the waters more easily since they
know their options. The main positive will be that clubs will take
a large breath and slow down during the high school season since
they have offered many of their spots to their current players already.
The July Rule has nothing to do with players from
other clubs. If a player is looking to switch clubs, they are
allowed (at any point during the year) to inquire about another club
teams but no official acceptance is possible until November.
Conversely, clubs can not seek out players and can only respond to
inquiries. If you are being emailed, approached, or otherwise
"recruited" by another club representative, I'd like to know about it.
It is illegal and this new rule was put in place to try and limit the
recruiting of players off of other teams by taking them "off the board"
in July. An unintended consequence of this rule seems to be the
desire to fill as many teams as possible now which is why JO open gyms
have suddenly popped up in July for the 1st time ever. That will
hopefully be
adjusted moving forward so we don't overwork players in July. Many rules have been debated in an effort
to keep JO's separate from the high school season. The July 'Home
Club Rule" is one such rule and is certainly a
work in progress.
How the July Rule affected
our club at the U17 age group:
We officially invited 1 player to this year's
team during the invitation period.
General Recruiting Rules:
Clubs can not cold call or "recruit" players
to play for them. I know a few other clubs are holding open gyms
right now with the intent of finding new players but any players
"found" can not sign a contract and are not bound to any team until
after the November tryout period when they officially pick a
team. Elevation will not be holding open gyms in July and we will
not be seeking out new players. We will respond to inquiries about
our teams made through our website or by phone about any open
positions or our tryouts as usual. Ohio
Valley Region Player Bill of Rights
