Northeast Soccer League – Massachusetts

The Northeast Soccer League (NSL) provides a competitive structure for more than 850 teams from 100 clubs throughout New England, was founded in 1993.

The Northeast Soccer League (NSL) was formerly known as Massachusetts Premier League (aka MAPLE).

In October 2016, MAPLE voted to change the name of the MAPLE league to the Northeast Soccer League (NSL), effective January 1^st, 2017.

The NSL clubs range in size from those with just one or two teams (e.g. Victoria FC, FC Padova, etc.) to very large clubs with dozens of teams will multple team sat each age group (e.g NEFC, Scorpions, etc.).

NSL is affiliated with the Massachusetts Youth Soccer Association, the United States Youth Soccer Association, the United States Soccer Federation and with FIFA.

[US Club Soccer had not really been around when NSL started; they wanted to meet the competitive needs of the private club soccer program in Massachusetts. Since then there are now other programs specifically designed for the much more competitive premier soccer player; in other words NSL is no longer the only game-in-town for the super elite player in Mass. For example, MPS is not a NSL member as they choose to play in the New England Premiership.]

Seasons

NSL games are all on Sundays with the younger teams playing in the morning and older kids later in the day; the Fall season (U10-U14 teams) is about three months long starting the first Sunday after Labor Day. The  Spring season (U10-U18 players) is about seven weeks, ending in June.

Player Development

Player development is the primary goal of all Massachusetts club soccer teams. NSL, a true kids soccer league, believes that healthy competition complements this purpose. Any team can play in the league, and their progress through the program depends solely on their successes on the field.

Structure

Boys and girls U10 through U13 play in the Developmental Division, where the focus is on providing challenge with less of an emphasis on winning and standings. This division is open to all teams who apply, and no standings are kept at all at the U10 level. For U11 through U13, standings are kept, but have no bearing on placement or play within the division.

The higher age groups are where Northeast Soccer League gets more competitive in nature. There are 3 Divisions. Division 1 offers the highest level of competition for boys and girls U14 to U18. These teams typically have state cup aspirations and abilities. Division 2 is made up of teams making their way through the system, vying for a spot in Division 1. Division 3 is open to new teams and teams looking for an opportunity to play their way up to the higher levels. The top teams in the lower levels have the opportunity to move up the following year, while the bottom finishers move down a division.

Pros

• teams play mostly Mass-based clubs so travel is minimal (so why did I do NH last week and Rhode Island the week before that?!)
• well organized, strong communication and good and current information on website; lots of transparency
• clear leveling of competitiveness

Cons

• NSL will most likely be a collection of smaller clubs as the elite and premier clubs move into other leagues
• soon, too, the competition will be marginally better than your local town team; see Town or Club Soccer? Pros and Cons of Each
• there may be less stability in the clubs and many more consolidations
• timing of state cup dictates schedule and shortens the season along with weather in the region