The Thanksgiving weekend used to be a quiet weekend, where you could relax and reflect, without having to worry about your spring soccer season.
But, things change. Quickly. Over the weekend, almost every single one of our spring tournaments that do not yet have a sanction form posted (state associations, are you listening???) and have not yet opened their dates to 2008 received several emails from coaches, similar to:
What are your 2008 dates?? I am planning my spring season now and need to know to be able to lock down our spring tournaments with my parents before the holidays kick in.
Our Advice: Your soccer tournament is a 365/24/7 event, so treat it like one. The day after your tournament, you should be thinking about next year. If you are a spring tournament, your absolute, drop-dead deadline now is Thanksgiving weekend. If your web site is not open for business by then, you are simply not in business. (We’re not sure what the fall deadline is, but almost guaranteed it is way before June 1st in most markets.)
If your US Youth state association is holding things up by having sanctioning meetings in December or some other end of the year meeting, and your event is in May, SCREAM AT THEM! The market is changing and soccer tournaments are becoming more competitive. They need to adjust their practices to meet YOUR needs. You can always look at US Club Soccer.