Lawrence Youth Soccer is open to Lawrence PK – 12th Graders** All players in Grades 1 through 8 will practice twice weekly and play in either Essex County League games or In-City League games on Saturdays during the fall and spring. (full uniform provided after registration and payment). Kindergarten & Pre-K age groups are a Saturday-only program with planned pop-up weekday activities (t-shirts provided). All Lawrence Youth Soccer programs have a seasonal (fall, winter & spring) fee of $40.
**High school is spring-only league play.
For youth who qualify for the Lawrence Youth Travel Soccer Teams (criteria will be emailed based on evaluation and past participation), those games are within the Essex County Youth Soccer League. ECYSA will provide a game schedule before the season starts. Families can access the schedule through our Google Calendar (See above) or our league’s website www.ECYSA.org. Your Coach-Mentor will also share through What’s App, the communication system we use to share info regularly, in addition to Constant Contact and email!
*** Important!! We work to accommodate all age-appropriate players who register on a set number of travel rosters (i.e., Grades 3-12). Still, in many cases, the number of players who end up registering exceeds league-secured roster spots & sizes, which can now not be changed. That means a second and, in some cases, a third team for in-city league play will be formed, with players benefiting from just as much play, mentorship, and practice time. Scrimmages/ tournament play to be provided, and in-city players WILL benefit from Beyond Soccer’s off-the-field, sports-based youth development support like tutoring in our new Academic Overtime space, Fuel-4-Performance classes, team-building events, and outings.
For Travel Soccer Teams (see criteria based on evaluations and past participation), games are in the ECYSA. See HERE!
Director of Soccer Development
Chris, the oldest of 9 siblings, began playing soccer at age 5. By age 8, he fell in love with the game. He credits soccer and those who pushed him to stick with it over the years with being constant positive influences in his life, always steering him in the right direction.
Coach-Mentor, Esme Inirio
Learn what it means for a former player to be a Coach-Mentor! She led the Grade 3/4 Wolves this fall ’24.
Lead Supporters!
Thanks to the New Balance Foundation, we are rocking Lawrence Youth Soccer in awesome New Balance jerseys!
Starting in 2024, thanks to Good Sports, our In-City League players have rocked new jerseys!
A NEW HOME FIELD!! As our program continues to grow while being challenged without enough playing space (like John Kane Park’s inconsistent access & regular closures due to poor conditions), an excellent silver lining for the program is that Lawrence Youth Soccer now benefits from a new state-of-the-art turf field. That’s because of Lupoli Companies’ transformative project along the Merrimack River at the Pavillion at Riverwalk. There aren’t any parking issues either, as the field sits on a 1,200-car garage. Also, Beyond Soccer’s current office and enrichment space overlooks the field! We also accessed the field last winter, plus for spring and fall play every Saturday from 8 a.m. – 12 p.m., plus Monday and Wednesday evenings for practices all year long.
History
Since the inception of our first girl’s travel team in 2007, the Wolves, Lawrence Youth Soccer has connected thousands of Lawrence youth to its teams. We started this program because Lawrence kids deserve more opportunities to travel “beyond” the City limits and interact with kids from different communities. Furthermore, we didn’t want to be the only Essex County community without a league. Today, we support between 9 and 12 travel teams per season! Yes, COVID-19 disrupted some of that progress, but we are back, proudly competing in the ECYSA, which means home and away matches every weekend. We also sponsor U-18 (high school) boys and girls teams in the spring. We believe it’s important to continue finding ways to support and connect teens as they matriculate our programs.
Successes
Our teams have had a lot of success in the ECYSA league. A handful of teams have even qualified and competed for the Essex County Youth Soccer Tournament of Champions in the Spring, including the Lawrence Strikers and Lawrence Rebels!
Below is the Spring 2019 Lawrence Rebels Team, led by committed Coach-Mentors Bruce and Adam, after they won the ECYSA League Championship at the Pingree School! Although winning isn’t everything, being on the sidelines, watching kids compete, and succeeding on the playing field feels pretty good. However, if you’re a Beyond Soccer fan, YOU know we like the off-the-field leadership, health, and academic success, too!
