Recreation/Academy Soccer Program (Ages 3–11 | U4–U12)

Western Branch Soccer Club’s Recreation and Academy program is designed for players ages 3 to 11 (U4–U12). This is the ideal level for kids who are just starting out or simply want to play for fun—regardless of experience or ability. Recreational soccer emphasizes enjoyment, development, and teamwork in a low-pressure environment where kids can learn, grow, and play with their friends.

Why Soccer?
Soccer is one of the best sports for young children. It’s simple to learn, highly active, and incredibly fun. Especially for younger players, the recreational level keeps kids engaged while helping them build confidence, coordination, and a love for the game.

Practice & Game Locations
Most games and practices are held at Jolliff Middle School. However, some coaches may choose to practice at alternate nearby locations, as WBSC has access to other local school fields as well.

Focused Player Development
The early years, especially between U8 and U13, are critical for learning technical skills—such as dribbling, passing, shooting, and ball control. As players progress into 11v11 play around U13, training begins to shift toward tactical development: understanding positioning, teamwork, game strategy, and decision-making.

To support this development, WBSC has partnered with Elite Soccer Academies/Camp of Hampton Roads, Inc. to help lead weekday practices. These experienced coaches bring structured, age-appropriate training to our players, with a focus on individual growth and team play.

Coaching Structure

• U4, U6, and U8: Practices are led by Elite Soccer coaches, with parent volunteers assisting. On Saturdays, parent volunteers take the lead during games.

• U9 and older: Practices on Mondays are led by Elite Soccer coaches with support from parent coaches. On Thursdays or Fridays, parent coaches take over practices and manage Saturday games.

This collaborative model allows parent volunteers to learn from experienced coaches while ensuring players receive quality training throughout the week.

The Recreation/Academy program is for ages 3 to 11 years old (U4 to U12).  Recreational soccer is where the kids play for fun regardless of level.  For those just starting out in the game, and for those who simply want to play with their friends, recreational soccer is the perfect level.
 

Kids this age are the impressionable ones that need to be learning the technical skills.  Especially, U8 up to U13 is when they should be learning the technical skills.  Around U13 when they are playing 11v11 and on a full size field the teaching should focus on the tactical side of the game - this includes reading and understand the game, your position, your teammates capabilities and the other teams strengths and weakness and how to exploit them, etc.  So WBSC can offer this type of training to our players we have partnered with Elite Soccer Academies/Camp of Hampton Roads, Inc. to provide coaches for practices.  We will still use parent volunteers to assist at the practices and be the leader of the team during the games on Saturdays for U4, U6, U8.  We will still use parent coaches for U9 and older.  These parent coaches will assist the Elite Soccer coaches at practices on Monday and then coach Practices on Thursday or Friday and the game on Saturdays.  This will allow for these parent volunteers/coaches to also learn from the Elite Soccer coaches.

For age specific information, please visit the tab with the age group you are interested in.

Monday:	U7 / U8	5:30-6:30pm	Practice twice a week for 1 hour
	U9 / U10	6:30-7:30pm	Practice twice a week for 1 hour
	U11/u12	6:30-7:30pm	Practice twice a week for 1 hour
Wednesday:	U3 / U4	5:00-5:30pm	Practice once a week for 30-45 minutes
	U5 / U6	5:30- 6:30pm	Practice once a week for 1 hour
	U7 / U8	6:30-7:30pm	Practices twice a week for 1 hour
Friday:	U9 / U10	5:30-6:30pm	Day and time may vary based on coach's and field availability
	U11 / 12	5:30-6:30pm	Day and time may vary based on coach's and field availability

Season Game Schedule: 

U3–U8
WBSC schedules all games for our in-house recreational teams (U3–U8). The season includes 7 scheduled Saturday games, with a minimum of 5 games guaranteed. We build in make-up dates at the end of the season to help ensure at least 5 games are played, weather permitting.

All games will be held at Jolliff Middle School with start times at:

• 8:30 AM

• 9:30 AM

• 10:30 AM

The full season schedule will be sent via email approximately one week before the first game.

U9–U12 (Inter-Club Games)
For U9/U10 and U11/U12 age groups, WBSC coordinates game scheduling with other local clubs. These games will take place at Jolliff Middle School and Churchland, with game times varying based on field availability.

As scheduling requires collaboration between clubs, game times and locations will be shared as soon as they’re finalized. We appreciate your patience as we work to provide the best possible schedule for all teams.