The link below is for players that are interested in joining the team. Filling out the form does not commit you to joining the team and does not commit the team to offering you a position. We do need this information for all interested players and will get back to you quickly after reviewing the submitted forms.
What is the WPSL? WPSL is the second highest national tier of Women Soccer in the US and is the largest female soccer league in the world. Youth and college athletes who aspire to get to the highest national level and possibly play soccer professionally usually play in the WPSL to get the exposure to be tapped for the higher level. The most recent USWNT had 12 players who developed in the WPSL including super stars like Alex Morgan, Megan Rapinoe and Rose Lavelle.
I'm not currently a college player, so should I not consider the WPSL? While the majority in the league consist of highly skilled female players from collegiate, international, and stand-out prep athletes at all prestigious division levels, we at Rochester United decided in the 2022 season to prioritize recruiting local talent to provide the best opportunity to players from our community in southeast Minnesota. Our 2022 team included many local high school players and also adult players who are not in college. The results and the deeper community connection were excellent that we are eager to continue to do this in future seasons mixing a handful of top national talent with a majority of local talent regardless of their age.
What is the time commitment and travel involved in being on the Rochester United WPSL team? Our WPSL league runs from mid May to early July. Our Northern conference consists of nine teams, seven of which are from Minnesota (Twin Cities and Mankato area), one from Fargo ND and one from Sioux Falls SD. During our roughly 8-weeks-season our team practices most weekdays and has games once or twice per week, half at home in Rochester and half away.
If I'm a youth player interested to play on the team. Do I need to be off any other youth club team and be released by the other club to be able to play for Rochester United WPSL team? Technically no. WPSL is a separate entity from youth soccer. So, technically, you can be with a youth club and play with them all year and still play for Rochester United in the WPSL season without needing to be released from the youth club. However, given the time and physical demands of the WPSL season we expect players to dedicate 100% of their focus during the 8 weeks from mid May to early July to the WPSL league. Attempting to juggle both teams in the same time period will not give your body enough rest and recovery, make you more prone to injuries and will degrade your performance with both teams. We understand younger players' attachment to their youth teammates so if it is possible for you to continue to play with them outside the mid May to early July time frame of our WPSL season we would be fine with that.
Are there tryouts to join the team? Right now we have no plans to hold tryouts. We would like interested players to connect with us ASAP through the Interest form above or through our social media. We will then connect and come to watch your games in high school, college, adult leagues or footage when possible.
Will there be Winter training? We will offer some winter training to interested local players but that will not be connected to being on the WPSL team.
I am not a local player. Can I join the team? And if so, would the club assist with my accommodation in Rochester during the season? Yes. When you connect with us and we determine you are a good fit and that you play a position we can't fill locally, we were usually able to place non local players with host families and assist with accommodation and transportation when needed.