Welcome to the Gray Ducks

There are two ways into the club, a seasonal form or direct outreach. Once you've been offered a spot through review or consultation you will be expected to pay for the spot in part or in total before you're confirmed. Each league has different onboarding nuances, however we use an app called Spond to connect all our players and teams in one central space. Our 7v7 players for example will also need to sign CSCsports waivers as that is the league we play in, and use the team code "soccer" to confirm their roster spot. Our app is sometimes used for match invites, but sometimes we use the league's portal, it really depends on how far in advance we get the schedule. All leagues except 7v7 coed and men's give us the full schedule up front for the season. Missing a game is okay, you just are expected to communicate it in advance where possible. 

All of our league teams and programming requires shin guards, and socks covering them in full, as well as footwear conducive to the playing environment. Flat shoes are uncommon, street shoes are not permitted. Turf cleats are common for turf venues, and outdoor cleats can commonly be worn indoors on turf too. Molded cleats are required for grass leagues. Need equipment? Locally you can often find shoes at the Eagan Outlet Mall or order online. Some leagues do not permit jewelry, contact us if you have visible permanent jewelry for guidance on which leagues to join.

The cost to play can vary greatly based on the league provider, and in the winter you can expect to pay over a 30% premium due to space costing more. Outdoor coed and men's leagues will typically cost $70-$90 ($6-10/game), and indoor would be $110-$150 ($12-$16/game). Women's league will cost $85-$200 depending on the format and whether it is MWSL or MPRB. Participation in leagues affiliated with US Soccer, such as the Minnesota Women's Soccer League will cost more due to additional referees, premier fields, and greater uniform requirements. And a player pass is required for the MWSL above team costs. Uniforms are optional for our teams except for the 11v11 women's league teams.

If you are seeking the highest echelons of soccer, you're on the wrong page. We're ordinary adults playing organized soccer for fun and fitness, and personal development. League play is best for persons who have formal playing experience as a youth through those who played college soccer and are now seeking to still play, yet playing as an adult should not be overly serious. 

If you have never played before, we recommend finding a local pickup soccer group via meetup.com, gosoccer.org or pickup soccer facebook groups to kick the ball around and learn. 

At the end of the day, no one here is making money playing soccer and we want to be sensitive to injuries as we also do not want people to incur medical bills. Have fun, play hard, and be safe.

When signing up for a team, the location or range of locations will always be shared during registration. There are very few leagues that just play at a single location, only in the summer and fall is this typically available. Pay close attention, and join a team on the day, level, format and location set that fits your abilities to attend. There are very few leagues that are conducive to public transportation, though the ones that are exist primarily May-Oct months. 

We do not typically offer practices, and when we do, they are optional. Adult sports are difficult to organize practice for, as people are very busy, and they often have just find the time in their week for the game itself. And it seems most just want the glory or purpose of a game itself vs practicing. Each player and team is empowered to host activities on and off the field as they desire. You can join our pickup soccer group here on Facebook. 

All of our teams are merit and equity based. No one is permitted to play full games on our teams regardless of their merit, unless it is a coached team in a high level or tournament play. Players are expected to play multiple roles throughout the game and season, except for goalkeepers. Typically center defense, center midfield are a routine rotation of our strongest skilled players. Someone who only wants to play forward is not a desired teammate, as we need persons to be willing and able to play several positions. We strive to be fair to all, and ask players to measure their effectiveness in roles. Play where you're effective. Effectiveness means stopping the attack on D, passing consecutively through the middle, and scoring and creating opportunities on the attack.

The only league that requires a uniform is the Minnesota Women's Soccer League, to which we order two shirts with numbers that costs under $28 in total per player. All other teams have assigned colors, to which you can wear your own shirt of that color. Or you can purchase a Gray Ducks shirt. Our club primary color is royal blue, with secondary colors of light gray, neon pink and tournament orange. 

The rules vary by each league, and are provided to each player when they join a team. The most common rules are:

7v7 Rules are Here for Coed and Mens Teams within CSC

11v11 Mens Rules are Here  within MPRB

11v11 Coed Rules are Here within MPRB

6v6 Coed & Womens Rules are Here within Soccer Blast 

11v11 and 7v7 Women's rules are available at www.mwsl.org

If you identify as female, we do have beginner level teams in the MWSL. However we do not have beginner level league teams for coed or men's league. We instead host open soccer throughout the summer and at times other parts of the year as an opportunity for persons seeking to try out soccer or learn the game to play. Leagues by nature are competitive, especially in the inner ring of the metro. You're encouraged to try GoSoccer.org or other pickup style of play to develop your skills. If you'd like to organize and host pickup soccer play, we can assist you with the tools to organize.

Our teams vary in every way, including age except ALL players must be age 18 or older due to liability and safe sport legislation. Some leagues may require players be 19 or another age or older. Our teams with younger players tend to also have younger players, and we also have introduced a Legends playing level to help corral players in age groups of 30/40/50/60 in hopes that provides some more opportunities. We eventually will field teams in the MSSL, and in the meantime there are leagues for coed set up as over 30 for women, and over 35 for men. For women's soccer, the lowest levels do tend to have older women in it, but due to the size of the league there is not an age specific level. 

YES! We are home to straight players who identify as allies to the lgbt community. Our club is very inclusive of different orientations, gender identities, races, ethnicities, and even religions and non-religions. If you believe racism, homophobia, transphobia, xenophobia and misogyny do not belong in soccer or society, you are a good fit for our team. We screen and monitor for discriminatory aggressions, and it will be cause for removal from a team if necessary.

The leagues we play in are rooted in the binary, so persons identifying as "men" or "women" play in those respective teams, and non-binary persons would be best included in all gender coed teams. Leagues do not restrict men's spots, however women's spots are restricted to female identifying persons (including cis- and trans). We would never seek to put you in a position where you're uncomfortable or would be misgendered. Feel free to contact us to discuss this further as we recognize everyone's the challenge and barriers that exist. We are proud to say though that we've long had non-binary players on our teams playing as their authentic selves and spoken to and of with accurate pronouns.

We have a plethora of options to reach us:

- click the chat bubble on your screen

- email ryan@grayduckssoccer.com

- text or call 651.317.9262

- Message us on Facebook or Instagram @grayducks