Lakers Travel Soccer Tryouts Set for May
Registration for tryouts for new and returning Lakers Travel Soccer team players interested in competing in the 2017-18 season is currently open. Tryouts are a two-day process and all prospective players must attend both days to be eligible for this league. Tryouts for boys will be May 9 and May 12; for girls, tryouts are May 22 and May 23. High school girls tryouts are May 14; high school boys tryouts are held in the fall.
Teams play in fall, winter, and spring and travel throughout the Chicagoland area. Players are trained by a professional training staff from Future Pros.
"Our teams play in accordance with U.S. Youth Soccer, FIFA laws of the game, and IYSA" said Brad
Thomas, the Recreation Supervisor who oversees the park district soccer programs.
This fall the boys teams will move to the Young Sportsmen's Soccer League. The boys currently play in the Northern Illinois Soccer League. Girls teams will remain in the Illinois Women's Soccer League.
Thomas said a total of about 340 players in the under 8 age group through the under 18 age group are in the program. There are currently 19 boys' teams and 10 girls' teams.
"It's the most popular sport in the world," said Thomas. "In a lot of other countries, cultures can be based around soccer."
Thomas said the sport requires a minimum amount of space to play. Soccer also is a good way for children to build relationships with each other and their coaches, he said.
Thomas said teams travel all over the Chicagoland area and beyond, sometimes visiting locations such as the North Shore, Rockford and other cities towards the Wisconsin border. Younger players' games tend to be scheduled in closer proximity to Glen Ellyn, Thomas said.
There is a mandatory pre-season camp in August. Dates will be announced later. Future Pros also is offering several Advanced Soccer Skills Training classes during the summer. Classes will concentrate on developing foot skills, shooting, attacking and defending.
There is no deadline for tryout registration. For more information about Lakers Travel Soccer, please visit www.gelakers.com, the league's recently redesigned and enhanced website.