Spring 2027 Competitive Soccer >>

The Strikers FC Bitterroot Competitive Program provides players with a fun, challenging, and development-focused soccer experience while competing against clubs from across Montana. Players receive professional coaching, structured training, tournament competition, and opportunities to continue growing within the Strikers FC player pathway.

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Bitterroot Competitive Travel Teams are for Age Groups U9-U17 >>

Formal Tryouts are for players in the U11-U17 age groups (boys and girls). Tryouts will be held November 9- November 12 at the Daly Elementary School Fields. Trying out does not require a commitment for the season. Once placed on a team, families will have the opportunity to accept or decline their placement.

 

Tryouts cost $10-This covers the cost of tryouts for the club. (light rentals). 

U9-U10 players will not participate in Formal Tryouts - they will follow a different approach with an Intent-to-Play (ITP) Registration and will be organized into teams following winter indoor training in January.  Registration will open for U9 and U10 players soon and all players must be registered by January 1st.

New Age Groupings: This fall, Strikers FC teams transitioned from Birth Year to School Age groupings, in line with the U.S. Youth Soccer nationwide mandate. Age groups are now based on the school year using an August 1 – July 31 cutoff. Players will register and try out in their assigned school-age group. To confirm your player's age group, visit USYS Age Categories Defined. For full details, please see our Birth Year to School Age Transition Plan.

Before you begin the registration process, please have the following items ready:

-clear, RECENT, passport-style photo of your child's face

-your child's birth certificate or passport (digital)

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If your child wants to be guaranteed a spot on a U11-U17 Bitterroot Spring Travel Team, they must register for and attend their Group Tryout Night or register and let us know why they can't make it to tryouts.

These tryout nights help us determine which teams we will form and what players fit on each team. While our goal is not to cut players, these sessions are essential for building balanced, competitive teams and identifying if any players might benefit from playing up or down an age group or another year in Micros, etc. We cannot guarantee what teams can be created until we see players at tryouts and know how many players are interested.

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We aim to form as many single age group teams as possible, but there may be times we have to join two age groups together to form healthy teams.  We will assess these needs after tryouts.  Outside of this need, to support stability and fairness during this transition year, Strikers FC as a whole is minimizing play-up requests. These requests will only be considered in certain situations: roster-health exceptions, and players whose grade level does not match their designated USYS age group who would like to play with their classmates, we also assess each child born in August as that is the cutoff month and we want to make sure those players are placed correctly. Please refer to Section 5 of our Birth Year to School Age Transition Plan for full details. This is the plan for Missoula Strikers players and we follow suit as much as we can. 

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If you can't attend team selections, please register anyway and click on the "I need to make up my tryout" box.

 

Schedules & Details: >>

There is a $10 fee per player to cover costs for the tryouts this season.

By registering for a Team Selection night, you are not registering for a travel team.

Before players are asked to accept their team placement, families will receive detailed information, including:

• Training schedules and time commitments

• Tournament and travel expectations

• Coaching assignments

• Team fees

We will host a parent info night after team selection nights to go over all Spring Travel Team details before you register.

 

ALL Tryouts will be held at DALY ELEMENTARY FIELDS

Find your dates and times on our tryout schedule:  The groupings for tryouts do not signify how we will divide teams.

Monday, November 9 - Daly Elementary

• Boys U11/U12: 5:00–6:20 p.m.

• Boys U13/U14: 6:30–8:00 p.m.

Tuesday, November 10 - Daly Elementary

• Girls U11/U12/U13: 5:00–6:20 p.m.

• Girls U14/U15/U16: 6:30–8:00 p.m.

Thursday, November 12 - Daly Elementary

• Boys U15/U16/U17: 5:30–7:00 p.m.

 

Not sure which age group your player is in? This is our first spring under school-age groupings, which use an August 1 – July 31 cutoff. You can confirm your player's group here: USYS Age Categories Defined.  You can also email in reply to this email us and ask us for help.  

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More Details >>

Check-in: Check-in opens 20 minutes before the session starts.

What to bring: Cleats, shin guards, a water bottle, and warm layers, it will get cold as it gets dark.

 

Trying out is not a commitment. Registering and attending tryouts does not lock you into the season. When placements go out, every family can accept or decline their placement.

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Optional parent meeting: During the tryout session for each age group, Director Lindsay will hold a short question and answer parent meeting (15 minutes) near check-in. It's a good chance to ask about the school-age transition, our programs, or anything else on your mind.  

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We will hold a larger meeting before you accept your players placement with all of the spring details.

Weather: We will assess field conditions by 2:00pm on tryout days. If anything changes, we will email all registered families and post an update on our socials.  We will have lights on the field for all evening tryouts, but plan for cold evenings!

After tryouts: Placement emails go out by December 1st. Families must accept or decline by December 30th, 2026. We will finalize rosters after that, with a goal of January 7th.  Once a week indoor practices will begin the week of January 11th.

 

Bitterroot Strikers FC Spring 2027 Travel Program Overview >>

Playing in Bitterroot Strikers FC’s Travel Program requires a meaningful time and travel commitment. We are excited to have your player join one of our teams!

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Training: >>

All Bitterroot travel teams begin indoor training in January, practicing at least once per week in Hamilton. Starting in late March, practices increase to two (U9 and U10) or three times (U11 ad older) per week as teams prepare for MYSA League play in April.

Games:

Families can expect games nearly every weekend during the spring season (usually 6-8 weekends of play with tournaments and league games) — typically two matches per Saturday in cities across Montana. While we work to schedule as many games as possible in Missoula, Stevensville, or Hamilton, some travel to Polson, Helena, or Kalispell, etc will be required. Please note that league schedules are managed by the Montana Youth Soccer Association (MYSA), so while we can make requests, we do not have full control over locations or match times. We are requesting that Bitterroot teams play in the same location as each other as much as possible this spring.

Tournaments:

Each team participates in at least two weekend-long tournaments during the spring season. Most teams finish play by early to mid-June.

Winter practice schedules are typically available by early-December.  Game schedules are usually released by MYSA in early March.

 

How Your Registration Fee Is Used >>

Expense Cost:

• Club Administration & Operations: $50

• Tournament Registration: $120

• Head Coach Travel & Per Diem: $105

• Coaching Wages & Payroll Taxes: $170

• Porta Potties & Field Preparation: $20

• MYSA Registration & Insurance: $38

• MYSA Referee Fees: $10

• Team Equipment: $18

• Team Manager Support: $20

• Hudl Team Fee: $11

• PlayMetrics & Credit Card Processing: $14

• Actual Program Cost: $576

 

Although the actual cost to operate the program is approximately $576 per player, Strikers FC is able to reduce the player fee to $480 through volunteer coaches, fundraising efforts, and club support.

 

Financial Assistance >>

Scholarships are available for families who qualify.

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If applying for a scholarship:

1. Complete the scholarship application found during registration.

2. Wait to receive your scholarship award notification.

3. Return to complete your player registration after your award has been issued.