We offer training from U7 through U18.

Valeo teams compete in ‘Premier’ Leagues (such as the New England Premiership (NEP) or National Premier Leagues (NPL)). The goal of each team is to reach the National Youth Soccer championship. 

Training at Valeo is year-round.  The training year runs from July through June of the following year. 

There are 4 distinct training segments throughout the year: 

Summer, Fall, Winter, Spring.  The club training for each age group tends to be age-specific and season-specific: 

U7 through U9:  This age is purely developmental.  There is 1 training session offered each week and there is no match play.  The focus here is on developing a familiarity with the soccer ball.  This is the age of creativity.

U10 through U14:  Training is mandatory 2 times per week with optional skills sessions throughout the year.  Competitive match play tends to be during the Fall and Spring seasons.

For ages U10 through U12, training is still strongly developmental.  Though basic tactical concepts are introduced at this age, creativity is still the strongest focus. There is League play for each age group.  For ages U13 thru U14, advanced tactical concepts are now entering the curriculum. While state match play is the primary focus, the teams begin getting exposure to regional and national competitions.

U15 through U18:  The focus here is on preparing players for the next stage in their soccer career, either college or professional play.  Training for these age groups does not happen in the Fall – High School teams take precedent. The goal is to get each player quality national and regional exposure through tournament play. 

The Winter and Summer training segments focus on development.  There are a variety of programs offered that include functional training (i.e. Striker, MidFielder, Goalie specific), individual development, and speed/agility/strength training. While there is no formal league play during winter and summer seasons, teams will enter tournaments and other local leagues (eg. Futsal), and may compete in the Valeo Indoor League. 
 

Valeo teams tend to play in 1 of 2 ‘Premier’ Leagues available; NEP and NPL. Additionally, some teams may compete in Regional EDP leagues. Matchplay usually occurs on Sundays, but may also be played on Saturdays. Matches can be held anywhere in the state and sometimes in bordering states. 

U10 through U12.  Competitive match play occurs during the Fall and Spring seasons. The U10 and U11s play an 8v8 format on a smaller field with smaller goals. The U12 age group competes in the 11v11 format on regulation size fields.    

U13 through U14:  Competitive match play occurs during both the Fall and Spring seasons using an 11v11 format.   

U15 through U18.  Given the high school teams’ required commitment, Valeo does not compete in league matches for this age group in the Fall. Therefore, for this age group, Valeo’s League play is limited to a Spring season.

The Fall season (younger teams) begins the week after Labor Day and ends sometime in mid-November. There are typically 9 matches in the Fall. The Spring season (all teams) begins late March or early April (depending on snow conditions) and generally runs through the week prior to Memorial Day weekend. There are typically 7 matches in the Spring.

The Valeo coaches will determine the playing time and positions.  In general, we strive to get all players no less than 33% of the time on the field during match play over the course of the season. 

Valeo teams compete in leagues that have teams from the New England region (generally, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New Hampshire).  

Matches are split between Home and Away venues.  

Our primary home field is a turf field located at our facility at 125 Wells Avenue in Newton, Massachusetts.  Other home fields are all located within the Metro West Region (for Boston based teams).

Away matches can be held anywhere within Massachusetts and the adjoining New England state areas

Yes.  We enter our teams into different tournaments depending on the age group.  Some are League/Affiliate sponsored, some are competitive in nature and are sponsored by other clubs.

Participation in tournaments depends on how your team places during spring league play. The winner of this tournament is unofficially the State Champ for that age group. 
For U13 and older, MA Youth Soccer, an affiliate of US Youth Soccer, holds a state tournament (any team that has played in a qualifying League tournament may compete in this tournament). Qualifying single-elimination rounds are played throughout the year. The goal in MA is to make it to the final 8 after the end of the qualifying rounds. The final 8 compete in a round-robin (2 groups of 4) the weekend after Memorial Day to become the state champion. Winners of each state’s age/gender champion (these are official state champions) qualify for their regional tournament. (USYS splits the US into 4 regions. We are region 1.) Each of the 4 regional age/gender champions compete in the national championship. Winner of this championship is deemed US Club National Champ.  

On the competitive side, for U14 and younger, we tend to enter 3 tournaments throughout the year. These are Labor Day, Memorial Day, and an early spring Ice Breaker tournament. These tend to be local to Massachusetts but can extend into bordering states. For U15 and older, we do not participate in the Labor Day tournament but will look for winter tournaments that can be out-of-state and require significant travel commitments. This older age group will also do spring Ice Breakers and the Memorial Day tournaments.