Division III
Traveling House and Advanced House

Traveling House Teams

Ballistic United fields an outstanding Division III program. Ballistic Traveling House teams are composed of players with above average skill who may not wish to play at the Division I level. Team selection for Traveling House teams focuses on building competitive teams within a particular age group. For U9 through U16 there is a first and a second team if sufficient qualified players come to the tryouts. These teams are formed by individual player selection. When there are two Traveling House Teams in an age bracket, Ballistic will, as much as possible, form age-pure Traveling House teams to offer players the opportunity to play with a core group of players for a number of years. As an example, for U10 there would be a U9 team and a U10 team. If an age group has very strong talent representation at the tryouts, a third, mixed age team may be formed at the discretion of the Director of Coaching. Ballistic Traveling House teams play in the CYSA District III playing league (the Al Caffodio or AC Traveling House playing league) and in tournaments primarily in Northern California. Traveling House coaches are a combination of experienced parent volunteers and experienced non-parent Ballistic coaches. Each Traveling House team works with a professional trainer who assists in the development of the individual players and the team. The coaches, trainers, players and their parents are dedicated to the development of good soccer technique and tactics, good sportsmanship, hard work, meeting new people, expanding their soccer experience and having fun.

Advanced House Teams

With the growth of youth soccer in Pleasanton, more players are capable of competing at the Division III level than can be accommodated by only two or three Traveling House teams in the younger age groups. Therefore, at the U10 level and, if there are sufficient players at Division III tryouts, at the U12 and U14 level, BUSC offers an Advanced House Program for players who are capable of playing at the Division III level but who do not make a Traveling House Team. Advanced House teams are formed as balanced teams using BUSC’s tryout rating system. The Advanced House Program offers in-town play in a BUSC Advanced House playing league as well as the opportunity to play in Division III tournaments. Advanced House teams, like Traveling House teams, work with professional trainers who assist in the development of individual players and team.

Season

For U10 through U14 teams, training starts in July and gets serious in August. During the school year training sessions are usually held 2 days per week. The District III Al Caffodio Traveling House playing league and the BUSC Advanced House season start in September and goes through November. Tournaments for U12 through U19 start in late July and are normally held once a month through December. Jamborees for U10 are held from August through November. There is a District III Tournament of Champions for the leading Traveling House team in each age group from each District III club during December. The playing season ends for U12 through U14 with the Chevrolet Association Cup tournament, which starts in January.

For U16 through U19 teams, training starts in July and gets serious in August. During the school year training sessions are usually held 2 days per week. The District III Al Caffodio Traveling House playing league fall season starts in September and goes to mid-November. Tournaments start in late July and are normally held once a month through November. There is a District III Tournament of Champions for the leading Traveling House team in each age group from each District III club during November. Training sessions cease during the winter high school soccer season and resume in late February. The playing season ends with the Chevrolet Association Cup tournament, which begins in late March.

Commitment

Ballistic United Division III does not require the level of commitment required for Division I play, but it does require a high level of commitment. The competition is with and against teams of excellent ability, which also represent the best players in some smaller communities. Players selected for a Ballistic United Division III team must expect to work hard individually at home and at team training sessions to improve their level of play. Traveling and Advanced House teams are for players who want to be challenged to grow in their soccer skills and love of the game. Parents must also devote a significant time, effort and energy supporting their player, their team and the club.

Tryouts

Tryouts for Division III teams are held in the Spring. All players wishing to try out for one of these teams must attend at least two daily Division III tryouts for their age group from Monday-Thursday. Division I tryouts are held that Saturday and Sunday. Division III final tryouts and team selection for Traveling House teams are held the following Saturday and Sunday.

Coaching and Professional Training

Quality coaching and professional training are major benefits of Ballistic Traveling and Advanced House. Traveling and Advanced House coaches are individuals with experience coaching soccer, and the professional trainers are some of the most dedicated, trained and experienced in Northern California. Ballistic brings the best training resources in the East Bay and beyond to the players in our program. The Director of Coaching recruits qualified coaches and recruits and contracts professional trainers to work with the players. The Director of Coaching and the Board of Directors of BUSC set training fees for the program.

Travel

The Al Caffodio Traveling House playing league is made up of teams from Danville, San Ramon, Dublin, Pleasanton, Livermore, Newark, Fremont and at some age levels Union City. There are usually 12 league games of which half are played in Pleasanton. The Advanced House playing league plays in Pleasanton only. Tournaments are held throughout Northern California. The coach determines the number of tournaments and their location. Ballistic United philosophy is that quality is better than quantity. Traveling House teams will generally play 24 to 30 games per season. Advanced House team schedules will vary depending on the number of tournaments that each team chooses to enter.

Uniforms

Players on Division III teams separately purchase a higher quality shorts, socks and uniform tops than Division IV teams, but are reimbursed the registration fee amount for the standard club items.

Cost

With professional training and limited travel it costs more to support the Division III than the Division IV program. Parents of Division III players are responsible for covering the additional costs of this coaching, training, uniforms/equipment and travel. Specifics on cost for the year are available at the Division III tryouts.