It’s hard to believe, but the end of the 2022-2023 soccer year is coming soon! This means it’s time to document the transition from the current soccer year to the upcoming 2023-2024 soccer year.
On the field, we’ll stay in the moment and focus on the here and now. We have more control over our current activities than we do over the future.
Parents will have questions related to the future: age groups, tryouts, coaching assignments and other factors. Details for many of the topics below have not yet been released by NTH. We’ll update this post with more details about the transition as more details become available. You can also ask your coach after any upcoming practice.
Quick links:
- Age groups
- Guest week / pre-tryout camp
- Tryouts: May 22-24
- Coaching assignments
- Fees
- Uniforms
- Academy Team Camp
- Other questions
Age groups:
Our players with 2015 birth years graduate from the Junior Academy program and will be eligible to tryout for the Tophat 2015 Girls Academy program (aka U9). Girls with 2016 birth years will be eligible to return to the Junior Academy Girls program for a 2nd year. Link: soccer age chart
Differences between Junior Academy and U9:
There are some similarities between the Junior Academy (2016) and U9 Academy programs (2015). Here are the main differences with the U9 program:
- Game format: The standard U9 game format is 7v7 including goalkeepers.
- Schedule: U9 game days include more outside opponents, and have roughly a 50/50 mix of home and away games. (Away games are usually in the metro Atlanta area.)
- Tournaments: U9 teams typically play local pre-season and post-season tournaments.
- Ball: U9 (through U12) players use a size 4 soccer ball.
Guest week / pre-tryout camp:
The Tophat Marietta Junior Academy will host “guest week” practices the week of May 8, where prospective players can practice with Academy players and coaches. The guest sessions are available to Junior Academy and Academy prospects who want to check out the program.
There won’t be a pre-tryout camp this year. Current Junior Academy / Academy players will continue to practice with their current age groups through the end of the spring season.
Tryouts: May 22-24, 2023
Tryouts for Tophat Academy programs for the 2023-2024 soccer year run Monday, May 22 through Wednesday, May 24. Check our tryouts page for more information. Tryout locations and times have not yet been posted (as of May 8).
If your daughter will miss tryouts, be sure to notify her upcoming age group’s coach well in advance to review options. Link: coaching assignments
Tryout volunteers needed:
Coaches Ashley (U9 / 2015) and Ward (Junior Academy / 2016-2017) are looking for 1-3 parent volunteers to staff the tryout sign-in tent each night. Roles include greeter, data master (confirming player info on pre-printed registration lists) and artist (marking tryout numbers on players’ arms).
If you’re available to help any of the nights, please e-mail the appropriate coach and include which night(s) you’re available: Ashley Stinson (U9/2015 tryouts) or Ward (Junior Academy / 2016-2017 tryouts).
Coaching assignments:
The Tophat Marietta Academy coaching assignments for 2023-2024 are the same as they we’re for the 2022-2023 soccer year.
Tophat Marietta Academy Girls Groups (2023-2024)
| Academy Program | Eligible Birth Years (2023-2024 soccer year) | Coach | E-mail address |
|---|---|---|---|
| Junior Academy (U7 / U8) web site link | 2016, 2017 | Ward Swain | ward(dot)swain(at)nasatophat(dot)com |
| U9 Academy | 2015 | Ashley Stinson | ashley(dot)stinson(at)nasatophat(dot)com |
| U10 Academy | 2014 | Trey Daniel | trey(dot)daniel(at)nasatophat(dot)com |
| U11 Academy | 2013 | Trey Daniel | trey(dot)daniel(at)nasatophat(dot)com |
| U12 Academy | 2012 | Ashley Stinson | ashley(dot)stinson(at)nasatophat(dot)com |
Fees:
The below info about fees refers to 2022-2023, not 2023-2024. Updates for 2023-2024 fees are not yet available.
Fees for the 2022-2023 Junior Academy program have remained the same since the 2018-2019 soccer year. Link: fees for the U9 and older Academy programs
Uniforms:
Our spring 2023 season is the last season of our current uniform cycle. All new and returning players will need to order new uniforms prior to the fall 2023 season. Link: uniforms
Academy Team Camps:
The link below refers to our summer 2022 team camp, not 2023. Dates for the summer 2023 Academy team camps are not yet available.
Our 2022 Academy Team Camp ran August 1-4 during after school hours.
Other questions:
If you have questions about other parts of the transition, please feel free to send them our way and we’ll address them.