What is the Crossfire Premier Soccer Club?
The Crossfire Premier Soccer Club is a full-year, competitive soccer program that competes at the most competitive levels in the State as well as regionally and nationally. Our club is the only Nike Premier Club in the State of Washington and one of only 30 in the US. We offer tryouts each spring to form girls and boys teams ages 10-18. A team consists of 15-18 players for full field 11-a-side soccer (13-14 players for 9-a-side soccer at U11).
Why should I or my child be interested in Premier soccer?
The Crossfire Premier soccer program provides training and development to qualified players to assist them in advancing to play at the highest levels of play available. Many high school and college teams are chiefly comprised of players who have demonstrated their ability through Advanced Development Programs. If your child has progressed through recreational soccer and wants to take their game and skills to the next level, Crossfire Premier Soccer Club can take them as far as they want to go. As an example, Crossfire has more State Champions in the last ten years than any other Association in the State of Washington.
What does the U in "U11" mean?
In the State of Washington, teams are formed based on the players age and not school grade. The U means ’under’ and the players age must be under the number on August 1st. If the player was born on November 25, 1996, they would be U11. See Chart below.
What happens at tryouts?
Our teams are formed through a player tryout process. Each player is assigned a numbered tryout jersey to be worn at each tryout session. Players will be identified by that unique jersey number during the course of the tryout. Players are directed in drills, scrimmages, and speed and agility exercises during the tryout time (expect that there will be some periods of inactivity of players while the evaluators are looking at various smaller groups). Coaching Directors, Premier Coaches, and guest evaluators will base their selections on player skill and athletic ability demonstrated during the tryouts. Players will receive notification of their tryout results after the conclusion of the last tryout session. Results are posted on this website by tryout jersey number. At younger ages there can be as many as five teams formed while at U15 and above there are typically two. Returning players should not wear Crossfire clothing during tryouts.
How long is the season?
Premier soccer can be a year ‘round activity. Teams generally start practicing in April. They generally attend 3 to 4 summer tournaments which may be local or out-of-state (tournaments are typically 3 to 4 days long over a weekend.) The lFall eague season begins the weekend following Labor Day and runs through the middle of December. All U-11 teams enter the Fred Meyer Commissioner’s Cup or the Challenge Cup tournament. U12-19 teams may elect to participate in either the Washington State Youth Championship Cup (most competitive) or the Challenge Cup. Both begin in January and finish with State Final games in March. Crossfire Premier strives to consistently have one or more teams playing in the most competiitive tournaments and divisions (Division 1, formerly called Premier 1 or simply "P1") in each age group each year.
May my child play other sports?
Yes, particularly at the younger age groups. During the spring and summer months especially, we understand that players may have other activities scheduled. During the fall regular season, coaches will expect players to be committed to their soccer team practices and games. This can interfere with the All Star baseball season.
What is the difference between Crossfire Premier and Crossfire Select Soccer?
The terms “Select” soccer and “Premier” soccer are often used interchangeably, although there is a difference in the terms. Our club has both Premier Soccer and Select Soccer programs. Both terms indicate that players must try out and be chosen by one of our coaches to make the roster for a team, unlike recreational soccer where everyone that signs up is guaranteed a spot on a team. The “Premier” designation, which is a top level of play on the state level, is a full year commitment to the club with paid coaches, 2-3 practices per week, 2-5 tournaments per year, state wide travel, and a club expectation that soccer is your primary sport. The “Select" designation, which is a strong top level of play, is a half year commitment to the club and coached by volunteers, has 1-2 practices per week, 1-3 tournaments per year, King and Pierce County travel, and a club expectation that soccer is your primary sport during the soccer (fall) season. Club Select is a good program for multiple sports.
What teams does Crossfire Premier play against?
Beginning with the U-14 season, teams go through a seeding process called the League Placement Tournament (the “LPT’s”) that establish what level of competition that particular team will play at. This round robin style tournament is usually held in the Tri-Cities area over three weekends (the first 3 of June). Teams are seeded at the Division 1 (top 8 in State), Division 2 (second group of 8 teams), Division 3, and WSYDL (Division 4) levels. Every year our most competitive teams travel to elite invitational tournaments in San Diego, Denver, Dallas, Florida, Orlando and as far as Hong Kong, Prague, Spain and Germany. At the younger ages, Crossfire Premier participates in the WSYSA Premier Development League (PDL) where the strongest of the teams from similar clubs from around the state compete with each other in the spring and fall seasons. Crossfire Premier teams play against the strongest teams in the state. It is not uncommon that our U11A and B teams finish at the top of their brackets.
How expensive is Premier soccer?
Premier soccer is more expensive than recreational and club select programs. The registration fee is approximately $600.00 to cover the costs of the longer season, turf field expenses, full referee crews and practice fields. In addition to the registration fee, Crossfire Premier players pay a monthly coaching fee. The total annual costs of the program are divided into 9 equal monthly payments, April through-December. Fees vary depending upon the individual Coaches’ USSF License rating, his or her years of experience, etc. A typical monthly payment is between $175.00 to $225.00 a month. Crossfire Select fees are much less.
Are there hidden costs?
While we wouldn’t call them hidden, there are additional costs associated with the sport. Each player is responsible for the travel costs to tournaments and games. Our most competitive teams travel throughtout the state each weekend. Games in Vancouver, Tri-Cities, Spokane, and other distances may require over night stays. Every other year, the player is required to purchase a new uniform kit that includes home and away jersey, backpack, warm ups, etc. The kit is estimated at $250. Players are also required to have soccer shoes that range from $50 and up. It is not uncommon that a player will have firm ground (for hard grass fields in the summer), soft gound (for the grass fields in the rain, yes we get rain here), and field turf shoes for the all purpose fields or field turf at Marymoor, Perrigo, Grasslawn and others). In addition, teams have team "dues". This money is calculated by the team manager and treasurer and covers the cost of entering tournaments, coach travel, renting additional field time when necessary, etc. This amount depends on the level of the team ("A" teams do more travel and enter more expensive tournaments so their team dues are higher). Team dues are paid first at the beginning of the year team meeting and then typically another payment is due in the fall.
What is the time commitment?
Premier soccer is a large time commitment--but that’s why most players join--because they love soccer! Expect 2 to 3 practices a week that are from 1 1/2 to 2 hours long with the time of the day dictated by the coach and field availability. This means practice times and days can both change so some flexibility is needed. Tournaments are on weekends and coaches often use some weekends for "friendly" scrimmages set up with other Crossfire teams or those teams from neighboring clubs. These are all key factors in developing player skill, team unity, and game strategy so it’s important that every player is committed. During the fall season there is typically only one game per weekend -- on Saturdays for the younger age groups and Sundays for older players. Game times vary and are assigned by the "home" team depending on field availability. In addition, parents are asked to volunteer a minimum of five hours a year of time to the club (such as at our Nike Crossfire tournament) and also help with various duties on their specific team. Managing a Premier or Select team is a big job and it takes a lot of help to make things run smoothly for the best possible experience for the team, but most team Managers will tell you that they treasure the experiences and wouldn’t trade it for anything!
If you have a question that needs to be asked or answered, please forward it to us at please email. Our volunteers will try to respond within the week.
