Pierce Slutzky Memorial Thanksgiving Cup

Saturday, November 30, 2024 |  Schreiber High School

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Announcing the Second Annual Pierce Slutzky Memorial Thanksgiving Cup

  • Date & Times

    Saturday, November 30, 2024
    9am - 5pm

  • Divisions & Format

    Boys & Girls  - U6, U7, U8, U9
    4v4 Format  Small-Side Fields

  • Location:

    Schreiber High School,
    101 Campus Drive, Port Washington, NY

  • Cost

    $200 per team, prior to November 1, 2024
    ($225 starting November 1, 2024)

THANK YOU TO ALL OF OUR 2024 PARTICIPANTS!  
WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU IN 2025!

 

The Port Washington Soccer Club is proud and honored to announce a new event being introduced to the region this upcoming Thanksgiving weekend, after running it as a mostly-internal club event in 2023. 

It's the 2024 Second Annual Pierce Slutzky Memorial Thanksgiving Cup - a special soccer event aimed at our younger players in the U6-U9 age groups.  While many clubs host tournaments aimed at older groups and competitive travel teams, the PWSC has developed an exceptional intramural/recreational soccer program in recent years, and we want to provide the younger, recreational players with a fun, festival-like event to enjoy soccer for a few hours over the holiday weekend.

Photos from our 2024 Thanksgiving Cup

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2024 Tournament Details

  • Existing PWSC Players should be on the lookout for emails advising how to register for the event.
  • Local, non-PWSC players should contact the club for information on participating in the tourney.
  • Contact the PWSC at information@portsoccerclub.com with questions or for individual player registration.

Clubs may enter teams into the Boys’ and Girls’ U6, U7, U8 and/or U9 age groups, with a suggested target of 6 players per team to maximize playing time in the short 4v4 games.  Brackets will be formed in each division, with each team playing 3 games of 24 minutes each (two 12 minute halves).

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Event Focus

This event is targeted for younger players that don't often have the opportunity to participate in a tournament-like event, in part due to the 4v4 format suggested by US Soccer's latest guidelines for U6-U8 players.

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ENYYSA Sanctioned event

The tournament is approved by Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association, and is a sanctioned event.  ENYYSA member clubs may register teams, so long as all players are existing/insured players, either through travel soccer carding or through ENYYSA recreational insurance.

Important note for coaches & directors

Coaches or directors from clubs may enter their teams through our registration links. They can add their club players to tournament rosters at a later date, once rosters are finalized from participating players.  We do ask that clubs only register teams they are certain they can fill rosters for.  The PWSC needs all players to be entered into the tournament system’s rosters so that all parents can complete the necessary waivers to participate.  We do not intend to use any such data for any other purposes.

Schedules: The master schedule is posted below.  All schedules have been loaded into the LeagueApps platform we are using for the registration of this event, and all coaches and players should have access to the schedules on the app.

The format of the event for our U6-U10 players and teams will be generally as follows, with modifications as deemed appropriate or necessary (see below for printable images and suggested formation):

  • The PWSC will form brackets from registered teams.  Teams may only have players from the same club, no multi-club teams will be permitted.
  • Games will be played as 4v4 format, with 5'x3' goals, and no goalie.  This is the prescribed format from US Soccer for these ages, and this small-sided format ensures the most touches on the ball for each player.
  • Each team will play in 3 games, and each match will be 24 minutes (two 12 minute halves, with a 2 minute halftime.  If games do not start at the sound of the horn, the game will be shortened, as no game can go past the designated time slot.  Each game slot is 30 minutes, and each team will have a 30 minute break between each game (see schedule above).  Players should be at the designated small-sided field ready to start playing at least 5 minutes prior to the scheduled start time, to ensure complete games.
  • Size 3 balls will be provided and used for all games.
  • Substitutions are unlimited and may be done at any time, without stoppage of play.
  • Kick offs, free kicks, throw-ins, goal kicks and corner kicks are used to start or restart play (Kick-ins and/or dribble-ins are also acceptable).  The goal is not to slow down the game, so formalities of restarts will be balanced with game flow, realizing many players may not yet understand the technicalities of restarts.
  •  Goal kicks and corner kicks should be taken in the general vicinity of the respective goal or corner. 
  • All free kicks are indirect (which means another player must touch the ball before it enters the goal).
  • Opponents should be at least 10 feet away from the ball on all restarts.
  • No penalty kicks.  Infractions near a goal will result in an indirect kick from outside the immediate goal area. 
  • No goalies or use of hands.
  • No offside.
  • Scores will be kept during each game by staff at each field (recorded with no more than a 5-goal differential).  This is for FUN, and the players should not feel ANY pressure regarding winning.  We just want them to compete and be relaxed.
  • Games will be refereed by high school and college volunteers.  
  • Parents may watch from the sides of the field or the bleachers (at Whitney Turf) during games, but only one or two coaches may be on the players’ sidelines for each team.  Any parents who become disruptive will be asked to leave the playing area (although their player may continue to play).

Teams should wear matching uniforms or shirts, preferably with an alternate color (or pinnies) in the event of color conflicts.  Numbers are not required.  Players are welcome (and encouraged) to wear multiple thinner layers under their uniforms as well as hats/gloves if appropriate.  We held the event in 2023 on a sunny day with temperatures in the low 40’s, and many players were actually comfortable without much more than shorts and t-shirts.  We want them to be comfortable, but also agile enough to compete.  Players can wear the same cleats on the turf that they wear on the grass fields, or regular sneakers are also allowed.  All players should wear shin guards.

The Port Washington Soccer Club has teamed up with
NYCFC to inspire greatness.

How it works:

  • All tournament teams will receive the opportunity to unlock a post-match meet and greet with the purchase of 20+ tickets.
  • Tickets can be purchased at $40 per ticket.
  • NYCFC representatives will contact your designated team manager to coordinate your outing and reserve matchday experiences.
  • All championship teams will receive a congratulations message on the video board at halftime of the NYCFC 2025 home opener.

Additional Benefits:

  • All participating teams will be entered into a raffle for the prizes listed below:
    • 4 Delta Sky 360 Suite Tickets
    • NYCFC Autographed Item

The PWSC owns two Veo 3 cameras, which will be situated at Fields 6 and 12 for the event, and will be livestreaming for most or all of the event (until batteries run out!).  If your team is scheduled to play on one of those fields, you'll be able to view and/or share the livestream with families through the club's Veo Live link (this link only works on mobile devices, and requires downloading the Veo Live app and creating a Veo account to view): https://veolive.page.link/cvSo.

 

The restrooms and cafeteria inside Schreiber High School (both near main entrance) will be available to Thanksgiving Cup participants.  See the location map near the bottom of the page for exact location.

We will also have two trucks at the event, stationed in the narrow lot along Campus Drive, next to the Whitney turf field welcome tent - Buzz'd Coffee and Dom's Italian Deli Chicken Finger Truck (best chicken fingers on LI!).  Here are their menus:

Eligibility: U6-U9 (Birth Years 2019-2016) boys and girls players from any ENYYSA member clubs, so long as the players are either (i) carded for travel soccer or (ii) registered for insurance with an ENYYSA member league (e.g., LIJSL, CJSL, etc.) – we will require confirmation from participating clubs that all players satisfy one of these two requirements.  All teams will need to upload medical release forms for each rostered player.  Players may only be rostered to one team.

The entry fee for each team is $200 registering by October 31, 2024.  After Oct 31, 2024, the registration fee will be $225 per team.  Clubs registering 6 or more teams will receive a $25 discount per team (all teams will pay the regular fee upfront, with refunds/adjustments once team counts are finalized).  When registering, you must pay in full to finalize your application.  Registration fees are non-refundable once paid, unless the PWSC determines that it cannot place a team into a full bracket.

Existing PWSC Players should be on the lookout for emails advising how to register for the event.

For ENYYSA member clubs, please use the link below to register your teams.

Either a club coach or director should be the registrant, and may register multiple teams, either separately or all at once.   ENYYSA club affiliation required, as this is a restricted event.

You may enter teams with or without rosters during registration, and may manage and modify team rosters after registration, in the LeagueApps system we are using for this event.  Additional coaches and staff members may also be added to your teams after registration.

Click Here To Register

Team Acceptance: The PWSC reserves the right to accept or reject any application in its sole discretion.  Any rejected applications will be fully refunded.

Inclement Weather Refund Policy: Should the tournament be canceled in its entirety due to weather conditions, teams will receive an 80% refund of their registration fee.  Tournament officials will make any such determinations of cancellations in their sole and exclusive discretion.

The PWSC is a volunteer-run nonprofit organization.  Our dedicated volunteers make it possible for 1300+ kids in the community to participate in soccer each year.  If you are interested in volunteering for this event (setup, coordination, refereeing matches, etc.) please reach out to the club at information@portsoccerclub.com.

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Permission to host form

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USYSA Medical Release Form

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Location & Directions

The event will be held on the two large turf fields at Schreiber High School on Saturday, November 30, 2024.  We will have 12 small-sided (20 yards x 30 yards) fields with our high-quality 5'x3' goals set up on the two turf fields, to allow us to play up to 12 matches simultaneously!

Players are welcome (and encouraged) to wear multiple thinner layers under their uniforms as well as hats/gloves if appropriate.  We want them to be comfortable, but also agile enough to compete.   Players can wear the same cleats on the turf that they wear on the grass fields.

The Club's Connection to Pierce

With permission from his parents, the club has named this event after Pierce Slutzky, a long-time player in the club who passed away in 2019.  The club has continued to honor Pierce's memory through a club scholarship for high school seniors in his name (click here for details and more about Pierce), and we also include a gold ribbon logo (which you may recognize from many cars in town) on all of our soccer balls in his memory.  On a special note, many of Pierce’s former PWSC teammates will be refs at the fields during the event.

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