3rd grade is the first year of 'travel' soccer. DS Soccer teams practice once-per-week and play league matches against teams from other towns once-per-week, practices are arranged by volunteer coaches to work with their schedules and they will work with the teams' parents to find a time that works best for as many players as possible. 

Teams are formed to allow the players to develop optimally with and against players of similar ability. Based on our club's mission statement and philosophy, this is the first year that teams are "tiered" as opposed to "balanced". The teams are formed using coach evaluation sheets from previous seasons and input from the DOC. While we have a default structure based on the number of teams (4 Teams AABB, 3 Teams ABB, 2 Teams AA), the coordinators, in coordination with the DOC and President, will have the option to make modifications to the default structure for particular cohorts based on the data.

We believe in exposure to as many coaches as possible and spend a great deal of time providing opportunities for coaches to be educated in soccer matters and also try to rotate coaching exposure where possible for the children to benefit from varied styles & methods. Following that philosophy, balanced teams will be "reshuffled" from one season to the next. We do not consider parent requests for a particular coach for their child.

Players, coaches and families are encouraged to understand the Club Identity and coaches are encouraged to use the support of the 3rd grade Curriculum.  

Location(s):   

All practices and some home games will be held at Laurel Farms, Sherborn. Away matches are played at nearby towns in Metrowest. Practices may also be run at Chickering School, Dover.

Dates:  

Fall season runs from early April to mid-June. Fall runs from early September to mid-November

Day(s)/time(s):  

Games will be on a Saturday, with times to be finalized once the towns confirm field availability.  Though there can be exceptions, the normal game times are listed here