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With more than 850 thousand boys and girls across the US participating in high school soccer, this European game is quickly becoming one of the most popular sports for young people around the nation.
During the last decade, the number of high schoolers involved in this sport has been exponentially increasing, bringing thousands of new players, and their parents into the game.
Those new to the thrills of this sport might wonder when does the playing start and end, and they should look no further for the answer:
Generally speaking, the Autumn high school soccer season starts in late August or early September, lasting until November.
The Winter soccer season for high schoolers lasts from November to February. The Spring season starts in early March and lasts until late May or early June.
Depending on the state, the US high school soccer season start and finish can be variable, however. Previously, the particular states’ tradition, availability of facilities, and climate were the main factors in determining when the season starts.
For this season, they had to adjust and accommodate for unforeseen circumstances.
When a High School Soccer Season Starts
We are all painfully aware that 2020 is no “business as usual type” of year.
Severely disturbing all our lives in numerous aspects, COVID-19 has also affected the schedules for high school soccer, forcing 18 US states to modify the season beginnings and 8 of them to cancel Fall competitions.
Read on to find out when are some of the major US states planning to start the high school soccer season:
Arizona
Arizona decided to return to the regular fall season, which started on August 31st for the 2020 Fall season practices.
The competition started on September 16th. Once everything returns to normal, the Fall competition should start as always, in early August.
Colorado
High school soccer in Colorado is usually played in the Fall. However, this season’s games will be starting in Spring, on March 1st. Both boys and girls from this state will, hopefully, be competing.
Connecticut
Connecticut high school soccer players played their first games of the 2020 season on September 24th, more than a month later than usual. Typically, the beginning of August is when the season starts.
Illinois
While soccer is typically played at the beginning of the school year in Illinois, this year, it will be moving to February 15th for the male teams. Females will be playing starting May 3rd.
Massachusetts
Typically starting in early August, this year’s Massachusetts Fall high school soccer season began on September 14th.
Michigan
After canceling the soccer season, Michigan decided to reinstate it, with high schoolers playing the first soccer games of the 2020 season on August 20th. This is a 15-day delay compared to the standard starting date.
Minnesota
Minnesota is another state that started just a few days later than usual; instead on August 5th, high school soccer games in Minnesota began on August 17th.
New Mexico
New Mexico was the first state to cancel the Fall soccer season. Moving to the Winter schedule, the season should start on February 15th, 2021.
New York
After canceling their sports activities for the Fall of 2020, the state of New York changed its mind, scheduling the high school soccer season starts for January 11th.
Boys will be playing then instead of early August as they played before. The girl’s soccer schedule remains unchanged; the start of the season should be March 1st.
Oregon
Oregon high schoolers will start kicking the ball across the field on March 8th for the 2020/21 season. Both the boy’s and girls’ soccer seasons were pushed from starting and the end of September.
Rhode Island
Rhode Island’s high school season was approved to have its first games played on September 21st. This is an insignificant change from the previous years, when the season typically started on September 14th.
Utah
Utah canceled their 2020 spring season, which is the time when male high schoolers play soccer in this state. However, the ladies’ teams started playing as scheduled, on August 4th.
When a High School Soccer Season Ends
The majority of US high school soccer championships would have ended by now or would be in their final stages if we were unaffected by the virus.
However, due to the late starts, the season-end schedules had to be moved. Here are some of them:
Arizona
Starting on September 16th, the high school soccer season in Arizona is expected to last until the beginning of December. The championships began on November 4th.
Usually, the season will have ended by then, but due to the unforeseen circumstances and the measures introduced due to them, both the players and the coaching staff, as well as the players, have had to go through long periods between games.
Colorado
High school soccer season in Colorado usually ends during the last week of November. Due to the shift to the Spring of 2021, this year it is expected to end on May 1st.
Connecticut
Connecticut high school soccer teams finish this Fall’s season in early to mid-December. As with the majority of states, before the pandemic, Connecticut games started in early August, lasting until the last week of November.
Last year, the finals for both the boy’s and girls’ championships were played on November 23rd.
Illinois
Having pushed the boy’s Fall soccer season from the start of the school year to the Spring schedule, Illinois expects for it to last until May 1st. Girls will be playing soccer in Illinois until June 26th.
Massachusetts
Massachusetts is another state that expects its high school soccer season to end in early December due to the COVID restrictions and delays. Otherwise, the season would have ended by the end of November.
Michigan
Having a head start over most of the states on this list, the finals for the 2020 Fall season in Michigan were played on November 7th.
Minnesota
The 2020 high school soccer season in Minnesota has ended on October 24th. This is one of the few states that has decided to speed up the high school soccer competition.
New Mexico
Having moved to the Winter schedule, the New Mexico high school soccer season is expected to have its final game played on April 17th. The championship is expected to start 5 days earlier.
New York
The state of New York scheduled their last year’s finals for November 14th. This year, they are expected to be played in early March, if the championship doesn’t get canceled.
Oregon
Beginning in the Spring instead of the Fall, the soccer season in Oregon high schools is expected to end on May 2nd. Usually, the last week of November is the time for the soccer finals.
Rhode Island
The soccer season in Rhode Island should end like every other year; during the last week of November.
Utah
Before the pandemic, Utah high school soccer season ended on May 23rd.
The boys didn’t get to play soccer this year. As the girl’s season started as scheduled, their finals were played on October 26th.
How Many Months is a Soccer Season?
Typically, a high school soccer season lasts around 3 months, starting in early September and running until the last week in November.
The majority of states play for this long, as they start the competition in the Fall. Those who choose the Spring season to play, usually play a bit less.
The Spring season is commonly reserved for girls’ soccer, while boys play during the Fall. Here are some season length examples from previous years:
- The high school soccer season in Florida lasts for 118 days (3 months and 26 days)
- The high school soccer season in Texas lasts for 106 days (3 months 16 days).
Now that the COVID-19 measures are in place, the season is expected to last 20% longer than usual in most states. Some of them, such as Minnesota, have decided to go the other way and speed up the competition.
How Many Games are in a High School Soccer Season?
Each school that participates in a state’s competition plays around 10 regular-season games. No team can play more than 12 games during the regular season, official rules state.
Those who make it through the season have a few more games to play. The finalists will typically have played 15 games during the season.
Conclusion
Commonly being placed behind basketball and football, as well as track and field, soccer is far from being the most popular sport among American teenagers.
However, more and more of them are starting to appreciate the game as one of the best ways to learn how to depend on teammates, build character, and develop in both the physical and the psychological sense.
In this text, in addition to learning when does the high school soccer season start and ends, we learned that, even with the toughest of unforeseen circumstances, the sport prevails.