• Intown Program: Kindergarten through 4th grade. One game on the weekend and one practice during the week for grades 1 - 4 (no practices for kindergarten but clinics offered). All games held in Andover against same-grade players. No tryouts held, everyone makes a team.  Teams comprised of mixed ability & experience, all in the same grade group. Intown Program is coached by parent volunteers.

• Travel Program: Currently offered for Grades 5th through 8th grade. Two practices during the week. Games on Saturdays against other teams/towns in the Essex Country Youth Soccer Association (ECYSA). Different from our Intown Program in that Travel teams are established based upon ability, with assessments occurring towards the latter part of each Spring Season.  There are no cuts, everyone is placed on a team based upon their ability. Travel Program is coached by parent volunteers.

• Andover Premier Program: In partnership with Seacoast, Andover Premier is a local ‘club-light’ experience designed for players that want to gain more experience & competition, but perhaps not quite yet ready for a full club commitment (examples of clubs: Aztec, Seacoast, NEFC, FC Stars, Bolts). Players tryout to be selected for the Premier Program and play on birth year teams, currently 2015 thru 2012, and have the ability to play up in another age group. Games are played on Sunday’s so players have the ability to play In-Town or Travel AND Premier. Practices held 2x during the week in Andover. Andover Premier is coached by Seacoast staff and competes in The NECSL. 
   

Fourth Grade Travel Program

• Given the growing interest from our community around introducing competitive travel soccer to ASA earlier than 5th grade, and based upon our research on offerings from our neighboring soccer associations, we are pleased to announce that a 4th Grade Travel Program will be offered starting in the Fall of 2024!
• For the first year of this program (Fall ’24àSpring ‘25) we will have one boys team and one girls team. 
• These teams will compete against other towns in the Essex Country Youth Soccer Association (ECYSA). 
• Team selections will follow ASA’s ‘Travel Soccer Assessment Process’ – a fair and unbiased selection process leveraging coach evaluation and at least one in-person assessment day.
• ECYSA 4th Grade Game Format: 7 vs 7, with Goalkeepers, 2x 25min halves
• We look forward to growing this program in the upcoming years. 

1. Other towns in ECYSA offer competitive travel soccer starting in the 3rd grade, will ASA offer this in the future?
   • ECYSA does indeed offer a 3rd/4th grade travel program. Our research found that a number of towns do start in 3rd grade, while other towns structure it as a mixed 3rd / 4th grade option, and then others offer just 4th grade. In most cases, the structure depends on the size of their organization. We look forward to making this new program successful in year one and expanding in the near future. 
2. Player selections for the inaugural Fall’24 season are tryout based with assessments occurring in the Spring of 2024 -- what if my son/daughter is not registered in ASA Intown during the upcoming Spring Season? 
   • Assessment dates will be published online, and all eligible players will be allowed to participate (see ASA Program Eligibility posted online). For consideration for 4th Grade Travel, we do strongly encourage players to participate in the upcoming Spring’24 season as coaches’ evaluations are part of our assessment process. 
3. My son/daughter is a member of Andover Premier (or plans to tryout for Andover Premier), how does 4th Grade Travel differ from Andover Premier?
   • Andover Premier is a separate offering to 4th Grade Travel.
   • You can play both Andover Premier AND Fourth Grade Travel. 
     • Note: many players selected/registered for Andover Premier continue to play ASA Intown or ASA Travel
   • Think of 4th Grade Travel as being similar to our current 5th to 8th grade offering, where top players will likely play both Travel AND Club/Premier
   • Just like our current Travel Program, 4th Grade Travel will compete against other towns in the ECYSA. Andover Premier competes against club programs in The NECSL. 
4. Are there any differences between the new 4th Grade Travel Program and the current 5th – 8th Grade offering?
   • The key difference is that there will only be 2 teams established for the new 4th Grade Program (one boys team, one girls team), starting in Fall’24 season.  Tryouts to be held in the Spring’24 season. 
     • FYI – as a comparison, some of our groups in the current 5th – 8th Program have upwards of 10 travel teams competing in ECYSA
5. Can my son/daughter still play in the 4th Grade Intown Program if he/she gets selected and chooses to play on the new 4th Grade Travel Team?
   • No, if a player is selected for 4th Grade Travel, they must choose between playing Intown or Travel
   • This differs from Andover Premier where players can play both Premier AND Intown/Travel