2015/2016 Season Applications for U15 - U18 Boys & Girls
The Desert Premier Soccer Division of the Far West Regional League is intended for elite teams from
five US Youth Soccer Region IV states. The winner of the Desert Premier Soccer Division is
guaranteed a wild card into the prestigious Far West Regionals in Boise, Idaho during the third week
of June, 2016. That wild card will be awarded to the highest placing finisher in the DPSD that does not
qualify to the FWR through their State Cup competitions.
The FWRL - DPSD is open to teams from Arizona, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and Nevada. This
document is designed to give elite clubs, and their best teams, an overview of the competitive model
that the FWRL Desert Premier Soccer Division will use to award the wild card to the Far West Regionals
in Boise.
The league will have competition in age-gender groups from U12 to U18 in a Premier Division and from
U12 to U17 in a First Division. See the application announcement that pertains to your specific age
group.
Applications will open April 10 and close June 10.
The DPSD will host competition at two levels:
1) The 10-team Premier Division consisting of the five state association State Cup
Champions, the previous year DPSD champion, any National League teams and
remaining teams based on a merit system as described in Appendix A below. These are
the teams that compete for the FWRL DPSD wild card.
2) The 6-team First Division consisting of the five state association State Cup runners-up,
supplemented as in Appendix A below. The winner of the First Division will
automatically qualify for DPSD Premier for the 2016-17 season.
Desert Premier Division of the US Youth Soccer Far West
Regional League is comprised of Arizona, Colorado,
Nevada, New Mexico and Utah State Associations.
7800 E. Orchard Road
P: 972-348-0622
#150 Greenwood Village, CO 80111 F: 303-346-4842
[email protected]
DesertPremier.com
U15 to U18 Competition
The cornerstone of the U15 to U18 competition will be two elite college showcases for the BOYS:


Las Vegas Thanksgiving Classic which has drawn over 100 college coaches in
recent years, November 27-29, 2015 All Premier and First Division teams will play
three games between Friday and Sunday. It is very important to review Appendix B
regarding this elite college showcase.
The Sereno College Showcase in Phoenix, February 26-28, 2016. All Premier teams
will play three games at this event. It is very important for Premier teams to review
Appendix B regarding this elite college showcase.
The cornerstone of the U15 to U18 competition will be one elite college showcase for the GIRLS:

The Sereno College Showcase in Phoenix, February 26-28, 2016. All Premier teams
will play three games at this event. It is very important for Premier teams to review
Appendix B regarding this elite college showcase.
The girls Premier Division will have a stand-alone event in:

NEW MEXICO NOVEMBER 13-15, 2015 LOCATION: TBA.
Additional Premier play dates:

The other three games will be in scheduled based on the needs of the individual agegender groups.
o Utah and Arizona boys’ teams will play September 18-20, 2015 in Salt Lake City
Utah.
o Arizona and Colorado girls’ teams will play October 2-4, 2015 in Denver,
Colorado.
o Games involving teams from states that play fall high school will be played
locally or with another host. Those games will be played in March and April,
2016.
Desert Premier Division of the US Youth Soccer Far West
Regional League is comprised of Arizona, Colorado,
Nevada, New Mexico and Utah State Associations.
7800 E. Orchard Road
P: 972-348-0622
#150 Greenwood Village, CO 80111 F: 303-346-4842
[email protected]
DesertPremier.com
Qualifying teams: The U15 to U18 groups, both boys and girls, will qualify for the DPSD through State
Cup competitions in their home state association.



Premier: The State Cup champion from each of the five states, the previous year DPSD
champion and any national league teams will qualify to participate in the DPSD. Each
age/gender group will be capped at 10 teams. In the event that a champion from any state
elects not to participate in the DPSD, then any of the six state associations may nominate
a team to fill that vacancy. If multiple teams are nominated, the vacancies in the 10-team
group will be filled as in Appendix A.
First Division: The State Cup runner up from each of the five states will qualify to play
in the First Division. Any vacancies will be filled as in Appendix A below.
If in the opinion of the Trustees, no nominated team meets the quality requirements of the
DPSD, then vacancies do not have to be filled.
Format:


Premier: Round robin play will determine the champion and winner of the FWR wild
card.
First Division: Round robin play will determine the champion. The champion will
automatically qualify for DPSD Premier for the 2016-17 season.
First Division play dates: The First Division competition will be held on two weekends – the first will be
a three game weekend at the Las Vegas Thanksgiving Classic on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday
following Thanksgiving, November 27th to 29th, 2015 and the second on March 25th -27th , 2016 at Casa
Grande, Arizona.
Cost:


Premier: $1300 per year which covers all costs except referee fees, which will be paid at
the fields by the teams. This includes the cost of the Las Vegas Thanksgiving Classic
and the Sereno College Showcase. The teams will not pay referee fees at the event in Las
Vegas. The entry fee covers those fees.
First Division: $925 per year which covers all costs except referee fees, which will be
paid at the fields by the teams. This includes the cost of the Las Vegas Thanksgiving
Classic and the Sereno College Showcase. The teams will not pay referee fees at the
event in Las Vegas. The entry fee covers those fees.
Desert Premier Division of the US Youth Soccer Far West
Regional League is comprised of Arizona, Colorado,
Nevada, New Mexico and Utah State Associations.
7800 E. Orchard Road
P: 972-348-0622
#150 Greenwood Village, CO 80111 F: 303-346-4842
[email protected]
DesertPremier.com
Stay to Play: Both the Las Vegas Thanksgiving Classic and the Sereno College Showcase (for Premier
teams) are stay-to-play events.

The Las Vegas weekend requires a separate tournament entry, but no additional cost.
Over 100 college coaches attended this event in 2014, and with the addition of Far West
Regional League DPSD, the organizers expect it to grow for 2015. Please see Appendix
B.
The Sereno event does not require a second tournament entry, but you must register your
team through their hotel stay-to-play system. More information will follow on that.

Registration
Register at www.desertpremier.com . The “Register Now” button, to register you will need your
GotSoccer team’s user name and password.
Our goal is to make a schedule as fair as possible for teams from every state association that can
participate. Please do not sign up for the league if you cannot meet all of the required dates above
that apply to your team.
Travel
We make every effort to consider travel costs in scheduling. The highest priority for scheduling will be
competitive fairness, but cost control for teams will be a very important consideration. That being said,
the FWRL is a regional league. You must be prepared to travel two or three weekends to participate in
this league. Travel is mandatory, and the penalty for failure to meet your schedule is severe. Do not
take this commitment lightly.
Friday games
The Desert Premier Division is committed to creating a quality competitive environment and, as such,
will schedule one game per day whenever possible. On most three-game weekends, we will play a full
schedule on Fridays. On occasion, some groups will play two games on Saturday.
Desert Premier Division of the US Youth Soccer Far West
Regional League is comprised of Arizona, Colorado,
Nevada, New Mexico and Utah State Associations.
7800 E. Orchard Road
P: 972-348-0622
#150 Greenwood Village, CO 80111 F: 303-346-4842
[email protected]
DesertPremier.com
Referees
The FWRL handles the selection and assignment of referees, but the teams are responsible for payment
at each game. Referee fees per game are $100 for U12, U13, 14; $110 for U15, 16; and $130 for U17,
18. Each team is responsible for one-half of the fee, to be paid in cash to the center referee before the
game begins. A few small bills (ones and fives) are always welcome as the referees have to divide the
fee into three parts.
Important note regarding referee fees: The teams will not pay referee fees at the event in Las Vegas at
Thanksgiving. The league will pay those. Teams will pay the referee fees at the Sereno College
Showcase.
Hosting Far West Regional League Games
The Far West Regional League Desert Premier Soccer Division will host the consolidated weekends, but
teams are expected to pay for any fields for locally played games. Please note that college coach
attendance is a very high priority for the FWRL, and that priority is best accomplished by multiple fields
in one location. This is the reason that we have consolidated venues in Phoenix and Las Vegas.
Appendix A – Selection of Teams for DPSD
After the automatic qualifiers for DPSD are determined and have accepted spots, a committee of nuetral
members, not associated with DPSD states, will determine teams to fill each bracket based on the
following:
1) The DPSD runner-up from the previous season will be placed in Premier.
2) Remaining spots in DPSD Premier will be awarded using a merit system, based in order
on performance in US Youth Soccer national events (NCS and National League), then
US Youth Soccer regional events (FWR and FWRL) and performance in state association
State Cup.
3) Remaining spots in DPSD First Division will be awarded by the same committee using
the same criteria, from remaining applicants.
Desert Premier Division of the US Youth Soccer Far West
Regional League is comprised of Arizona, Colorado,
Nevada, New Mexico and Utah State Associations.
7800 E. Orchard Road
P: 972-348-0622
#150 Greenwood Village, CO 80111 F: 303-346-4842
[email protected]
DesertPremier.com
Appendix B: Stay to Play at both Showcases
The Las Vegas Thanksgiving Classic
All U15 to U18 teams, both First Division and Premier, will play in the Las Vegas Thanksgiving Classic.
This strong and growing college showcase annually draws more than 100 college coaches for the three
day event.
Some key information for the LVTC:
1) This is a stay-to-play event. Teams accepted to DPSD Premier or First Division must
complete the LVTC registration form. More information will follow. The hotel prices
for this event are vetted by a member of the DPSD committee and will be in line with the
prevailing hotel rates in Las Vegas that time of year. The hotel links will be forwarded to
the team upon registration with the event.
2) DPSD will play full length games at the event.
3) LVTC will pay the referees, so the teams will not pay at the game site.
4) U15 teams may play two games on Friday or Saturday, and if that is the case, U15 teams
would not have a Sunday game. All other groups will play one game per day, Friday to
Sunday.
The Sereno College Showcase
These are regular DP games played at the Sereno event. Teams will pay the referees as usual, play full
length games, and play one game per day when possible. It is a stay-to-play event, but hotel prices will
be monitored for fairness.
Desert Premier Division of the US Youth Soccer Far West
Regional League is comprised of Arizona, Colorado,
Nevada, New Mexico and Utah State Associations.
7800 E. Orchard Road
P: 972-348-0622
#150 Greenwood Village, CO 80111 F: 303-346-4842
[email protected]
DesertPremier.com