Latest Updates
+ Click here to view the dates & locations for the 2024-25 national events.
League Information
- 2024-2025 USYS Great Lakes Conference Calendar
- Fall 2024 USYS Great Lakes Conference Promotion & Relegation Guide (13U-14U)
- Fall 2024 Great Lakes Conference Brackets
- Fall 2024 USYS Great Lakes Conference Scheduling Meeting Information (13U-14U)
- Fall 2024 USYS Great Lakes Conference Team Availability Sheet (Sample Doc)
- USYS Great Lakes Conference Game Day Reminders (Team)
- 2024-2025 USYS Great Lakes Conference Calendar
- Spring 2025 USYS Great Lakes Conference Promotion & Relegation Guide (13U-19U)
- Spring 2025 USYS Great Lakes Conference Scheduling Meeting Information (13U-19U)
- Spring 2025 USYS Great Lakes Conference Team Availability Sheet (Sample Doc)
- Spring 2025 Division Brackets
- Editing Registration, Locating Account#, Viewing Balance
- Changing Payment Method and Changing Credit Card On File
- Clubs Building and Sharing Fields in GotSport
- Updating Team Contact Information
- Locating Team Contact Information
- Roster Building for Clubs Admins
- Roster Building for Team Admins
- Team Pre-Game Tasks
- Team Post-Game Tasks
- Submitting a Schedule Update Form
- Register Your Team in GotSport
- Clubs Gaining Access to and Managing Club GotSport Accounts
- GotSport State Association Contact List
Contact Cynthia Cervantes with any questions regarding the Great Lakes Conference for the processes covered in the above instructions.
- Guide to Hosting Conference Games
- Local Site Coordinator Checklist
- Great Lakes Conference Team Check-in Form
April 4-6, 2025 | Sandusky, OH
Click here to access the dedicated Sandusky Event Weekend homepage.
All event information, forms and resources will be available on the event homepage.
April 25-27, 2025 | Rockford, IL
Click here to access the dedicated Rockford Event Weekend homepage.
All event information, forms and resources will be available on the event homepage.
Q: When is the application deadline for the upcoming season and how do I access the application link?
A: The Team Application period to participate in the 2024 Fall Season 13U/14U (Boys and Girls), opened in April 2024 and closed on July 2024.
The Team Application period to participate in the 2024 Spring Season 15U-19U (Boys and Girls) age groups will open in July 2024 and close in September 2024.
The Team Application period to participate in the 2024 Spring Season 13U and 14U (Boys and Girls) age groups will open in July 2024 and close on November 2024.
Q: How do I locate team contact information for teams in my division?
A: Click here to view a short walkthrough on locating team contact information on the GotSport public pages.
Q: How do I add myself as the contact person for my team and get emails from the Conference?
A: The coaches and managers on a team’s Conference roster is who displays as the contact person for a team and who will receive emails from the Conference. For steps on how to add a coach or manager to a Conference roster, please click here to view a short walkthrough.
Q: How many players can be on our team?
A: Teams may utilize thirty (30) players during the course of a season in accordance with League Rules and Policies. A maximum 22 primary players can be on the Team Roster with additional use of a Club Pass Roster shall be utilized in all age groups. Club Pass players may only come from within a team’s club, provided that the player is a US Youth Soccer member. All rosters shall be submitted to the league through the GotSport platform.
Q: Can I remove players from my roster?
A: Once a player is on a conference roster, such player is frozen on such a team’s pool of thirty players for the remainder of the Conference season. Players may only be removed, prior to the team’s first game of the season, by the approval of the League Manager.
Q: What is the time frame to make adjustments to my roster?
A: Any roster modification for weekend games must be made and sent to Cynthia Cervantes via email before 2 PM CT/ 3 PM EST on the Friday before the weekend games. There are no exceptions to this. Any modifications sent after this deadline will not be accepted.
Q: Can a player play for multiple teams on the same day?
A: Club pass players cannot play for two teams on the same day. However, a goalkeeper may be listed on up to two Conference team match day team lineups per day from the same club, with the written consent by the conference league manager. A goalkeeper may not play on more than one team in the same gender age group and is subject to the same standards as club pass players.
Q: How do I make changes to the schedule posted online?
A: To submit ANY schedule update/s after initial schedules have been posted online, you will need to submit a Schedule Update Request. To submit click on the appropriate Schedule Update button in the Schedules & Results section of your conference homepage.
Click here for a walkthrough on how to submit.
Q: Why does it say “Please Submit Schedule Update Form” next to my game on the public schedule?
A: This is because the game could not be scheduled in GotSport based on the information provided to the league. The venue/field given was either not created in GotSport at the time, or no time/field was provided. The host club will need to submit a schedule update using the link on located in the Schedules & Results section of your conference homepage to get the game details placed correctly on the schedule in GotSport.
Q: How do we get referees for our game?
A: For all one-off and club-hosted games, teams must contact their state referee assignor. The Referee Assignors Contact List is located in the referee information section of your conference homepage.
Q: How much do we pay referees?
A: US Youth Soccer Leagues Program Conference games will use a 3-man referee system. Each team is responsible for one-half of the total referee fees per game and payment is to be made in cash prior to each game as follows:
13U and 14U: $85 per game per team; a total of $170 ($70 to Referee and $50 to each AR)
15U and 16U: $95 per game per team; a total of $190 ($80 to Referee and $55 to each AR)
17U and 19U: $105 per game per team; a total of $210 ($90 to Referee and $60 to each AR)
Q: Who submits the GotSport Game Card?
A: ALL match scores must be entered and game cards uploaded by the WINNING team. In the event of a tie, the team listed as Team A on the schedule should be the team that enters the score and paperwork. This MUST be done before leaving the facility.
Click here for a walkthrough on how to submit the score and official match card.
Q: I was able to enter the score for our game but I did not get a copy of the GotSport Game Card. What should I do?
A: You will need to contact the referees that filled out the game card to see if they have it. If you don’t have their contact information, contact the referee assignor that assigned those referees to your game. Also contact the opposing team to see if they have the missing paperwork.
Q: How do I book a hotel for a Conference Hosted weekend?
A: There are housing links located in the Conference Hosted Weekend section on each event weekend page. Not all weekends are Mandatory Stay to Play unless noted. This is clearly labeled on the website.
Q: Our team is planning to play in a Showcase Tournament. There are teams we are planning on playing that are currently in our conference division. Are we able to make these Showcase matchups count as our conference games?
A: Yes, but the first thing you need to do is make sure that you confirm with your opposition teams that they wish to play these matches as league games. Following that, you will need to contact the showcase director to make sure that they are aware that these matches are going to be played as conference matches. All showcase games must use the same rules as the league.
If all are in agreement, then we allow the Showcase games to count as conference games because the showcase has confirmed that all matches will be played under league conditions and rules. You will need to ensure that you have all of the correct paperwork with you at the match. The showcase will likely have their own paperwork too, but can ONLY submit official league match paperwork with the score following the match, so make sure all of this is in order.
Q: We are playing in a Showcase Tournament and that schedule has been posted by the tournament. Who is responsible for adding that to the Conference Website schedule?
A: Any time a team schedules a match in an external event, it is always the responsibility of the teams to send this in through GotSport. This is typically done by the HOST club (as listed on the schedule). At the scheduling meetings we specifically asked for one team to always be listed as the host in external events, for this reason. If this was not recorded, either team can send in this schedule update, but it must be updated on the schedule as you will still generate GotSport cards for these matches and they must have the correct match information on them
About the Conference
The US Youth Soccer Great Lakes Conference consists of teams primarily from Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, New York West, Ohio, Pennsylvania West, and West Virginia.
The Great Lakes Conference operates league play for boys and girls teams in the 13U, 14U, 15U, 16U, 17U and 19U age groups.
Boys and girls teams in the 15U-19U age groups play their games primarily in the spring.
Boys and girls teams in the 13U and 14U age groups play in both the fall and spring.
- The highest level of play for each age group takes place within a Premier I Division.
- Each age group may have one or more Premier II Divisions that provide top-finishing teams with promotion opportunities to the Premier I Division for the ensuing season.
The Great Lakes Conference is one of 13 Conferences within the National League that offer team-based competition, meaning each team earns its place into the appropriate level of play through its play on the field. The 13 Conferences share national connectivity via the National League Quarterfinals, which provide a platform for the top 10 percent of teams from the 3,500+ teams playing in the conferences to come together and compete for an opportunity to continue on the pathway toward the US Youth Soccer National Championships.
The conferences provide teams with two pathways that help teams work their way toward advancing to the USYS National Championships.
- National League Pathway – Conference teams can qualify for the National League Quarterfinals and have an opportunity to ultimately advance to the National Championships. In order to do so, they must:
- Qualify for the National League Quarterfinals by finishing as one of the top teams in the highest level of its conference in the previous seasonal year.
- Compete at the National League Quarterfinals and earn advancement to the National League Semifinals.
- Compete at National League Semifinals and finish in a qualifying position for the USYS National Championships.
- Regional Championships Pathway – Conference teams can qualify for their respective Regional Championship to have an opportunity to ultimately advance to the National Championships. In order to do so, they must:
- Finish as one of the top teams in the highest level of its conference to earn a spot in the Regional Championships at the end of that same seasonal year.
- Win the Regional Championship to advance to the USYS National Championships.
Contact
Great Lakes Conference – League Manager
Elliott Spruell – espruell@usyouthsoccer.org
Leagues Coordinator
Cynthia Cervantes – ccervantes@usyouthsoccer.org