Croton FC takes the issue of head injuries and concussions very seriously. 

If a player is removed from a WYSL game due to a determination that the player showed signs or reported symptoms consistent with having suffered a concussion or other traumatic brain injury, THEY SHOULD NOT RETURN TO THE GAME UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES. This rule also stands for Croton FC practices and when the team competes in tournaments. 

In terms of returning to play, the WYSL rules is as follows:

Return to play in WYSL games. Any player so removed from a game shall not be permitted to play again in a WYSL game or other WYSL-sanctioned competition unless and until such player is cleared by a health care professional to resume play by completing and signing the Return to Play form prescribed by the League.

As such, any player removed from a WYSL game due to a determination that the player showed signs or reported symptoms consistent with having suffered a concussion or other traumatic brain injury cannot return to play unless the a WYSL form is completed by a health care professional and returned to the WYSL office ahead of the game.  

We also ask coaches to immediately report any such injuries to the Club Director.

We sometimes get questions about sideline behavior, and we hope the following is instructive.

The Club encourages parents to come and support their children and the team. Positive cheering and encouragement are welcome.

Our league has a “Zero Tolerance” policy when it comes to referee abuse. Parents should refrain from saying anything negative, critical, or questioning of the referee. Absent an emergency or an injured player that the referee doesn’t see, there should be no situation in which Croton FC parents address comments to the referee during or after the match.  Spectators should never enter the field of play absent an emergency.

 Similarly, coaches should not be critical of the referee. The league has instructed for the liberal use of yellow and red cards towards those that cannot follow the rules. For repeated offenses, coaches can be suspended for matches and the Club can be fined by the league.

 Negative or critical comments should also not be addressed to opposing players, fans, or coaches.

 Historically, this has not been a problem at Croton FC and we’ve enjoyed the wonderful and positive support of our parents. We take this very seriously; not just because of the rules in place, but because of the example we want to set for the kids in the program. In fact, dealing with adversity (for example, a “bad” call) is one of the key parts of development that we hope to see in our players.

Our sister organization, Croton AYSO, runs a recreational youth soccer program in Croton that is wildly successful in providing opportunities to play soccer. There is typically one practice and one game a week in the Fall and Spring seasons.  Most Croton FC players started playing with Croton AYSO. 

As a club program, Croton FC asks for a more serious commitment from players and families in the program. Practice is twice a week, with one being led by a professional trainer. Teams compete in the Westchester Youth Soccer League (WYSL), which may require travel throughout Westchester and parts of New York City for away games. In addition, Croton FC teams train during the winter, and compete in a variety of tournaments during the course of the year. Players in the Croton FC program tend to be passionate about soccer and finding ways to improve their game.   

Croton FC operates primarily on the volunteer labor of our board and coaches. We have no paid employees. This allows us to keep our annual costs to a fraction of some of the teams we compete against.

Although the budget varies by year, approximately 30% of our annual spending goes to fund the professional trainers that run our weekday practices. Another 25% goes to field costs, including indoor training time. WYSL league registration costs and uniforms/team jackets each comprise approximately 15% of the budget, respectively. Another 10% funds tournament dues for teams. The remaining 5% goes towards equipment and miscellaneous administrative costs. 

Croton FC operates primarily on the volunteer labor of our board and coaches. We have no paid employees. This allows us to keep our annual costs to a fraction of some of the teams we compete against, but it means we need parents to step up and assist with league functions. We need you! 

Please email Justin Wagner at crotonfc@gmail.com if you are interested in learning more. Most of the volunteer positions require very little commitment. Among other items, we need help organizing equipment orders, processing player registrations, and building a small social media presence for the Club. 

Competitive youth soccer in the region typically has tryouts in the early Spring for the following year. Among other reasons, we set our tryout dates accordingly, so if players don’t make a Croton FC team, they have the ability to go tryout somewhere else.  

US Soccer organizes youth soccer by birth year and our teams are based on that. This mean that kids in the same grade may not be eligible for the same team. We strive to have a Croton FC team at every birth year. However, in some instances we have been unable to field a team for certain years – in those cases, players in those years may be considered for the team in the age group ahead of them.   

Players in the Croton FC program tend to be passionate about soccer and finding ways to improve their game.   You can find more information about the club philosophy and commitment here. 

Evaluations and the tryout sessions will be led by professional trainers hired by the Club.

Evaluations are based on a player’s skill and ability at the tryout; being on the team the year before does not guarantee any player a spot on next year’s team.

We encourage players to make both tryouts as it gives our evaluators more of a chance to see the individual abilities of a particular player. However, we only require players to attend one tryout to be considered for a team.  

 Program fees have typically been approximately $900 for the year.  Financial assistance may be available for those that need it.  All requisite costs are included in our program fees, including uniforms, WYSL league registration fees, field costs, professional trainers (who run weekday practices), tournament fees, and additional offerings (additional winter training, additional tournaments), to the extent the budget allows.

Our goal is to inform players if they’ve made the team within 3 days after the last tryout.  Please note, players that make the team will be asked to register and commit (including remitting payment) within a few days of being informed they made the team. We do this because if a player is going to decline their offer to join the team, we want to be able to go to the Wait List.