We hope that you and your families are continuing to stay healthy and positive through this unique COVID-19 environment that has become our new normal. US Youth Soccer (USYS) announced that they have delayed their return to activity date until May 15, 2020. As a result, Alabama Soccer Association (ASA) extended its suspension of soccer activities to May 15, 2020.

As a member club of both USYS and ASA, all North Alabama SC and Huntsville FC on-field activity will also remain suspended through May 15th.

Competitive and Recreational Spring Seasons are CANCELED
Due to the uncertainty associated with the COVID-19 situation and the ever-changing schedule for a return to soccer activities, ASA canceled its spring state league season and the D1 and D2 State Cups. Unfortunately, we must follow suit and cancel the North Alabama SC and Huntsville FC competitive and recreational spring season including our second largest annual fundraiser - the Spring Classic tournament.

What Does this Mean for Our Club and Our Families?
Canceling the spring season never crossed our minds when we stepped onto the pitch in February. Like many of our families, we are working to navigate these uncharted waters and tackle the unique financial and operational challenges that have been presented during these unprecedented times. 

Many of our families have asked about spring club dues. We are committed to our families and are preparing to apply each player’s spring club dues as a credit to their club account. Once applied, this credit can be used for any club program including summer camps and all competitive, recreational, and junior academy soccer programs for the fall 2020 or the spring 2021 season.

Our goal is to credit each player with as much of their spring club dues as possible - in some cases, this is expected to be 100%. As a non-profit small business that is supported by hundreds of families, local business sponsors, and fundraising, we are encountering many of the same burdens that others are facing in our small business community. 

The easiest way explain our position is that our club has two types of expenses: operational and programming. Operational costs are year-round expenses associated to support staff, insurance, office lease, utilities, website, etc. and are incurred regardless of season. Programming costs are seasonal and directly associated to our players playing soccer: field usage fees, player registration fees, player insurance, team coaches, etc. Some of these costs may be recovered or prorated, some may not.

To achieve our goal to credit each player with as much of their spring club dues as possible, we are working with our partners to recover as much of our spring season programming expenses as possible. We have also taken steps to offset operational expenses and provide assistance to our coaching staff by taking advantage of grant programs offered through the CARES Act. Please understand the process to recover spring programming expenses and calculate each player’s credit will take some time. Our team is working to have all player credits applied by May 15, 2020.
 
We also understand that each family is facing their own challenges during these unprecedented times. If you need a refund of your spring club dues in lieu of a credit, please complete a refund request at Spring Refund Request.

Please contact us at admin@northalabamasc.org with any questions.

Tryouts and Evaluations
ASA has rescheduled tryout and evaluation dates based on a return to activity on May 15th. Tryouts for 13U and older age groups are scheduled for a June 1, 2020 start with evaluations for 9U-12U age groups scheduled for a June 8, 2020 start. These dates will adjust if the return to activity date changes.

Tryout and evaluation registration information will be communicated by April 27, 2020.

Train at Home Program
In a separate communication we introduced our Train-at-Home program. The program kicked-off today and is designed to keep our players active while they are staying safe at home. This program introduces a Skill-of-the-Week with progressions that our players can practice and master at home. Learn more at  our NASC Train at Home web page and visit our YouTube channel at NASC YouTube to view the posted skill videos.

We are also planning to host Zoom meetings to allow our coaches and players to stay connected. The first Zoom meeting will be held on April 29^th. Zoom meeting information will be communicated separately.

Summer Camps
We are still planning on a full summer camp season that includes our:

• FREE Director’s Pre-Tryout Skill Camp
• Henry Mpagi Summer Soccer Camp
• Summer Soccer School Camp
• Keeper Camp

Full details – including dates and registration information – will be communicated by April 27, 2020.

WPSL
As of now, May 29, 2020 remains the start date for the WPSL season. Our WPSL home opener will be Saturday, May 30th at 5:00 PM vs. the Chattanooga Lady Red Wolves. The WPSL continues to monitor the COVID-19 situation and will provide another update within the next two weeks.

Our club is 100% committed to our players, families, and coaches and is working diligently to be prepared to return to play when we are given the “all-clear.” We value everyone in our club and remain thankful for our strong, understanding, and supportive soccer community during this crisis. We cannot wait until we are able to celebrate soccer’s return with you.

We would also like to say a special thank you to our medical professionals, first responders, and frontline service workers that are helping to keep us safe and allowing us to shelter-in-place.

Please continue to stay safe and stay home to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Thank you for your continued support, patience, and understanding.

North Alabama SC and Huntsville FC