Registration for the Spring 2020 soccer season remains open until further notice.  Registration fees for the spring season are $100 for PreK/K and Grade 1/2 players and $130 for players in all other grades (there is a $350 family maximum).

Due to the COVID-19 coronavirus, the Massachusetts Youth Soccer Association has suspended all soccer activities in the State of Massachusetts until May 4th.  Because of this, the first spring season games will likely be delayed until May 9th at the earliest.  If we are able to start the season on May 9th, we may have to play an abbreviated season with the last regular season games likely to be played on Sunday, June 14th or Sunday, June 21st.  If the NVYSL decides to send any of our D1 or D2 Grade 5/6, 7/8 or 9/12 teams to the Mass Tournament of Champions at the end of June, there will likely be MTOC and NCup playoffs the weekend of June 20th with the state MTOC tournament the weekend of June 27th.  As always, these dates are subject to change based on guidelines from the CDC and other national health organizations as well as guidance from Governor Baker, Mass Youth Soccer and the Nashoba Valley Youth Soccer League.  We will keep everyone updated as we learn more.   

Game times and locations for home games this spring are the following:

Below is the latest guidance from the Massachusetts Youth Soccer Association to all of its member clubs.  As you will see, all soccer activities within the state have been postponed until May 4th at the earliest.  However, they are exploring a number of alternatives to preserve the spring season once it is safe to do so.  We will continue posting updates from them as soon as we get them so that you are informed of the latest status of soccer activities this spring.

Regular Registration for the Spring 2020 Soccer Season Remains Open 
 

Regular registration for players in grades PreK/K, 1/2, 3/4, 5/6, 7/8 and 9/12 is open and will remain open until we get further guidance from the state health officials, Mass Youth Soccer, the Nashoba Valley Youth Soccer League and the Town of Groton.  We will operate with a regular registration indefinitely until we have a determination when or if the spring season will take place and in what form.

Players and volunteers can continue registering by clicking on the Register Now button on the right hand side of the home page at www.gdysc.org or by selecting Register On-Line from the Members menu.  

The spring season is tentatively scheduled to open on Saturday, May 9th and end either June 14th or June 21st.  Any NVYSL postseason tournaments for MTOC-eligible and NCup-eligible teams (Grades 5/6, 7/8 and 9/12 only) will likely be held on Saturday/Sunday, June 20th and 21st.  Division 1 and Division 2 Grade 5/6, 7/8 or 9/12 teams that advance to the Massachusetts Tournament of Champions will play on Friday, June 26th - Sunday, June 28th (if the state decides to go forward with the tournament.   

Grade Groupings

Players registering for play in the Groton Dunstable Youth Soccer Club will be placed on teams based on their grade in school for the 2019-2020 school year.  The grade groupings that players will be placed in are as follows:

PreK/K

Grade 1/2

Grade 3/4

Grade 5/6

Grade 7/8

Grade 9/12

We understand that a few of our youth players might not fit neatly into the grade categories defined above.  As we've done in the past, the GDYSC board will define the waiver conditions and process to allow players to be assigned up or down one level based on their unique circumstances. This waiver policy will be consistent with the GDYSC mission of providing the best youth soccer development experience for all of our players. If the reported grade for your child in their registration record for the 2019-2020 school year is incorrect, this may cause the system to indicate that they are ineligible for the grade grouping you are trying to register them for.  If you have problems registering your child, please reach out to our registrar, David Pitkin at dpitkin@gmail.com  

Registration Fees

For the Spring 2020 season, the registration fees for Grades Pre-K/K and Grade 1/2 players will be $100.  Registration fees for Grades 3/4, 5/6, 7/8 and 9/12 players will be $130.  

Payment

Player registrations need to be paid in full at the time of registration using a credit card.  Registered players that are not paid in full by the start of the season will be removed from any roster they have been placed on until their outstanding balance is settled.  In addition, we do offer a family maximum of $350 per season.  For parents needing financial assistance, please contact the GDYSC Registrar, David Pitkin (registrar@gdysc.org) to request a full or partial waiver of the player registration fees.  For parents who wish to pay by check, please contact both the GDYSC treasurer, Charlie Lippman (cclippma@hotmail.com) and the GDYSC Registrar, David Pitkin (registrar@gdysc.org) to arrange for payment.  There are no fees to register as a volunteer. 

Late Registration

For the immediate term, there will be no late fees on registrations received for Grades 3/4, 5/6, 7/8 and 9/12 players.  We will determine a deadline after which a $25 late fee will be assessed once we know definitively the start date of the season and the deadlines we must meet as a club to register our teams and players with Mass Youth Soccer and with the Nashoba Valley Youth Soccer League.

Refund Policy

Any refund request received after the start of the season will not be honored unless the player has a valid medical reason. Refund requests prior to those dates in their respective seasons will be subject to a $20 processing fee.  This fee represents the sum of the non-refundable fees that we may have to pay Mass Youth Soccer, the Nashoba Valley Youth Soccer League and PayPal.

Uniform Ordering

If your child is in need of a uniform for the spring season, it must be pre-ordered and paid for by credit card on the online uniform ordering site at www.gdysc.org.  Look for Shop on the Home Page.  All uniform orders must be received by April 15th to guarantee receipt by the start of the season.  All purchased uniforms can be picked up at Greco Graphics, located on 14 Hadley Street in North Billerica. They are open on Monday from 8AM to 8PM, on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from 8AM to 5PM and on Thursdays from 8-6PM.  They can be reached at 978-663-9122.  If you would prefer that your uniform be shipped to your house, please select this option when you make your purchase.  There will likely be an additional shipping charge of $5-10 to have the uniforms shipped to your house.  Finally, Greco Graphics will likely be having two uniform pick-up sessions in Groton prior to the start of the season, times and places to be determined.

If your child will be playing Pre-K/K or Grade 1/2 soccer in the fall, a reversible maroon/white GDYSC jersey is the only uniform requirement.  If your child will be playing on a team in any of the older grades and does not have a uniform or needs a larger size uniform, they will have to purchase a jersey, black shorts and black socks.  Jerseys, shorts and socks can be ordered on-line.

Mass Youth Soccer Adult Registration, CORI Processing, Concussion Training and Certification, Safe Sport Abuse Training and Certification

The State of Massachusetts, Mass Youth Soccer (MYSA), and the Groton Dunstable Youth Soccer Club now require Adult Registration, CORI security background checks, Concussion Training and Certification and SafeSport Abuse Training and Certification for all adults working with children in our program.

NEW REQUIREMENTS

Prior to the start of the Spring 2020 season, all adults involved in the Groton Dunstable Youth Soccer Club must be registered with Mass Youth Soccer on a new website that has been dedicated for our members called US Soccer Connect, powered by Stack Sports.  It can be accessed by going to http://grotondunstable.mayouthsoccerconnect.org. To start the process, you will have to first register and create an account as a member of the Groton Dunstable Youth Soccer Club.  Once your account is created, you will be required to complete a CORI security background check, take the latest CDC Concussion Training and Certification Course (and upload the certification to your member page on the Groton Dunstable Youth Soccer Club section on the Mass Youth Soccer site), and take the Safe Sport Abuse Prevention Training course (and upload the certification to your member page on the Groton Dunstable Youth Soccer Club section on the Mass Youth Soccer site). The background check and both training and certification courses must be completed before you will be provided with coaching credentials from Mass Youth Soccer to participate in any volunteer activities related to the GDYSC this fall.  The total amount of time you should allot for completing all of this training is 4-5 hours, so please do it as soon as possible.  If you registered with Mass Youth Soccer on US Soccer Connect prior to the Fall 2019 season, there is no need to register again.  Also, if you completed the CDC Concussion Training and Certification course and the Safe Sport Abuse Prevention Training course and uploaded your certificates to your member page on the GDYSC section of the Soccer Connect site, your requirements for the spring season are complete.  If you have not completed the two trainings and uploaded your certificates to your member page, please do so prior to the start of the spring season.

ADULT REGISTRATION:

Some tips about completing these items: 

• Be sure to use your legal first and legal last name

• You will need to have a color headshot photo on the device you are using that can be uploaded.  Editing tools are available within the system for cropping and resizing. 

• The selected photo must be a CLEAR, HEAD Only picture of you with NO others in the picture, no sunglasses, no hats, and sufficiently well lit to clearly see your face.

• Our organization name is: Groton Dunstable Youth Soccer Club

• You will need your driver’s license number and expiration date

• Please use the same email address in all systems including our gdysc.org League Athletics website

Once you have completed the Adult Registration process and the Registrar confirms you are a GDYSC volunteer, you will receive an email from US Soccer Connect containing the link to access the CDC Concussion Training and Certification course and the Safe Sport Abuse Training and Certification course.  The links for both will also be available in your Adult Registration account. 

Specific Instructions:

Adult Registration Process

1. Register as a volunteer on the GDYSC website at www.gdysc.org.  Click on the green Register Now button on the home page and scroll down to the volunteer registration section.

2. Go to http://grotondunstable.mayouthsoccerconnect.org 

3. Click on the Register Now next to the green checkmark

4. Set up an account with email and password

5. Once you have created an account, you can then start the Adult Registration process

6. On the Registration Page – enter all the information – click Sign In button

7. Click on Register Now on My Member Account Page

8. On the Registration for Recreational Adult Volunteer/Coach Registration page, start filling out the information requested.  Make sure you fill out all required fields

9. Click Continue to Photos

10. Choose a photo file from your saved files on your device and upload – the system may prompt for a username and password.  If you get that, click cancel and try again. Choose a high resolution file and crop picture to get full headshot. Do not have any other people or animals in the photo.

11. Click Continue to Waivers

12. Read authorization for background check and then provide SS# and create an e-signature and click on Next Waiver

13.  Read request for Criminal History and click Next Waiver

14. Read Adult Participant Agreement, Part 1 – click Next Waiver

15. Read Adult Participant Registration, Background Check/Disclosure – click Continue to Review button at the bottom of the page

16. You will come to a Registration Summary Page – make sure information is correct and click Confirm Registration button – close advertisement for fundraising if you see that

17. Click on Return to Member Account on top of page

18. You should come to a page that shows that your CORI registration is complete

Concussion Training and Certification Process

1. Click on Concussion Training Certification “Learn More” button on your Mass Youth Soccer GDYSC Member Portal Page

2. Click on the “Start your Training” button - also below that is an “Upload Certificate Training” Button that you will need to click once your training is complete.  Do not forget this step because we will need to see your certificate that you completed this training preferably on the website

3. Click “ Login and Register” and create a new account in CDC Heads Up Training – click Login Register Button (whistle)

4. Get to User Account page and create an account

5. As part of this process, you will get an email from DUIPInquiries@cdc.gov.  If you don’t receive this email within 2-3 minutes, check your spam folder.  

6. Click on the long link in the body of the email

7. Click on “Launch Training”

8.  Play video – after that Click on Next to take the Training Pre-Test

9. Once you have played all the videos, completed your training and passed the test, please: a) fill out the Certificate by adding your name, b) save your certificate on your hard drive, and c) download and save the FULL Certificate (you can also do the wallet but you NEED the Full Certificate on your computer).  Once saved, you can then upload it to your Member Page to confirm completion. Make sure you are logged into your Member Page. This process is a little unclear, so if you have difficulty please reach out to Jim Gmeiner at or David Pitkin at dpitkin@gdysc.org.  If for some reason you don’t immediately upload your certification, you will need to re-log into your Member Account, and then click on “Learn More” next to the Concussion Training Certification. That brings you to the page that sent you to the CDC Concussion training…but this time click “UPLOAD CERTIFICATE” A new small window should open which says “Concussion Document”. Please upload the PDF,…click on the “UPLOAD” Blue Line and upload your FULL Certificate. It should appear in that new window. Once that happens, click on the X in upper right corner. Go back to your Member Account main page and refresh your browser. There should then be a Blue Check mark next to the Concussion Training Certificate.

Abuse Prevention Training

1. Start by clicking on “Begin Training” button on your Member Account Page on the Groton Dunstable Youth Soccer Club Portal 

2. Click on “Begin Safe Sport Training” button

3. Come to an Add Membership Page – Click Save

4. Begin Registration for a new account

5. Confirm your email address in the link that is sent to you from Safe Sports.  If you don’t get an email within 2-3 minutes, check your spam folder ( in some email clients you can’t click on links in spam, you will have to move it and mark the email as not spam )

6. Start the training by clicking on the video link button

7. When you have completed all of the training modules, complete your certificate, save it to your hard drive and upload it to your GDYSC Member page. A note about up loading… Once the Certificate appears in the new small box which opens when you go to upload, click the X in the upper right corner of the box and the Certificate will be saved to your account. Go back to the main Member page and refresh the page. A Blue check mark should appear indicating completion.

Other Items of Note

1. Your CORI background check should be completed in 7 days or less

2. If you get lost, the CORI Adult Registration Process can be found at http://grotondunstable.mayouthsoccerconnect.org 

3. Completion of all of these trainings and certifications takes 4-5 hours, so please give yourself ample time to complete them prior to August 26th because we are hoping to release rosters to coaches and allow practices to begin on Monday, September 2nd which is the Monday for the season’s first games.

4. If you have to stop you can re-start at any time by going back to http://grotondunstable.mayouthsoccerconnect.org and then logging into the incomplete training, by creating the accounts your progress is saved along the way.

5. No coaches will be allowed to interact with their teams until they have been CORI certified and completed both training certifications, and no Coaching Credentials will be released to coaches until these are complete

6. All coaches must wear their Coaching Credentials at all times during practices and games or they will be asked to leave the field of play.  This is not meant to be punitive but as a proper safeguard for all of our players

For more information, refer to:

Massachusetts Youth Soccer Association Adult Registration

Important and Essential Information - June 28th, 2019