Legality of a Select Contract

I am not an expert about going Select (although this website can make one into an Expert lol).....

I was wondering about the legality of having minors sign contracts.  As it has been expressed to me, when your DD goes Select, they sign a contract...that states in theses similar terms:
1.  Contract for 11 months
2.  Financially liable for the cost whether she gets play time or not
3.  DD cannot play for another team unless get a waiver
4.  Coach/Club does not have to grant a waiver to play for another team
I'm sure there are way more than those listed above....but those are the big ticket items.

So my questions are why do the courts allow such restrictions on 10 Yr olds?  If a 10/11 yr old makes a bad choice/decision...should they penalized for an entire year?

Is it like the NFL or other major sports program that have kinda thier own legal system? And unless there is a violation of crime, assualt etc etc etc.....the court system stays out of it?

I know outside of NTXSoccer, there are a ton of restrictions concerning minors and them entering binding contracts.....so i was just wondering.

The contract is not between the club and the minor. The contract is between the adult and the club on behalf of services to be provided to the minor.

Parents sign the contract too, the minors signature means nothing. When Kobe Bryant joined the Lakers he was 17, his parents signed the contract.

They're binding.

The parents sign the contract. Rest assured, the club isn't expecting Little Mia to pay for their services.

If a coach accepts a player from another team to practice or to play a game without a waiver, he/she is subject to sanctions as well.

Noob wrote:The contract is not between the club and the minor.  The contract is between the adult and the club on behalf of services to be provided to the minor.  

If that would be the case...then the contract is 50/50.....
50% Parents (Financial Obligations)
50% Children (the ones actually play soccer)

It is that part the children playing soccer is what i was wondering about....not the financial obligations.

SocDad wrote:I am not an expert about going Select (although this website can make one into an Expert lol).....

I was wondering about the legality of having minors sign contracts.  As it has been expressed to me, when your DD goes Select, they sign a contract...that states in theses similar terms:
1.  Contract for 11 months
2.  Financially liable for the cost whether she gets play time or not
3.  DD cannot play for another team unless get a waiver
4.  Coach/Club does not have to grant a waiver to play for another team
I'm sure there are way more than those listed above....but those are the big ticket items.

So my questions are why do the courts allow such restrictions on 10 Yr olds?  If a 10/11 yr old makes a bad choice/decision...should they penalized for an entire year?

Is it like the NFL or other major sports program that have kinda thier own legal system? And unless there is a violation of crime, assualt etc etc etc.....the court system stays out of it?

I know outside of NTXSoccer, there are a ton of restrictions concerning minors and them entering binding contracts.....so i was just wondering.

The restrictions on playing for another team, the playing year, etc. have little to nothing to do with the contract.  Those are NTX Soccer rules.

The contract is primarily a financial instrument to attempt to bind the parents to pay the club.

It is not a 50-50 deal.  The kid has zero contractual obligations. It is not like a pro contract requiring the athlete to pay -- the parents have a payment obligation, period.  There is no contractual requirement that the kid practice or go to games, but the parents must still pay, unless they get a release.  By signing the contract, it is the parents who have effectively obligated the kid to that club (and presumably most parents of 10 year olds are helping them make such choices).  The restrictions on team/club/waivers/release/etc. are NTX rules, designed to stifle in-season recruiting and other shenanigans (or at least that is how it works up here).

tschlurker wrote:It is not a 50-50 deal.  The kid has zero contractual obligations. It is not like a pro contract requiring the athlete to pay -- the parents have a payment obligation, period.  There is no contractual requirement that the kid practice or go to games, but the parents must still pay, unless they get a release.  By signing the contract, it is the parents who have effectively obligated the kid to that club (and presumably most parents of 10 year olds are helping them make such choices).  The restrictions on team/club/waivers/release/etc. are NTX rules, designed to stifle in-season recruiting and other shenanigans (or at least that is how it works up here).

Ok i get the club contract obligations......I have no problem with that end of it.

So I'll direct my attention to the other question and that is about the waiver to play on other teams.....and the ability of the Club to DENY that waiver.  I can see how shenanigans can occur with out a signed waiver.  But isn't this playing "Keeper of the gate" by the club/coach (no pun intended).

Couldn't playing "keeper of the gate" and not allowing the waiver have shenanigans built in to it?

SocDad wrote:

tschlurker wrote:It is not a 50-50 deal.  The kid has zero contractual obligations. It is not like a pro contract requiring the athlete to pay -- the parents have a payment obligation, period.  There is no contractual requirement that the kid practice or go to games, but the parents must still pay, unless they get a release.  By signing the contract, it is the parents who have effectively obligated the kid to that club (and presumably most parents of 10 year olds are helping them make such choices).  The restrictions on team/club/waivers/release/etc. are NTX rules, designed to stifle in-season recruiting and other shenanigans (or at least that is how it works up here).

Ok i get the club contract obligations......I have no problem with that end of it.

So I'll direct my attention to the other question and that is about the waiver to play on other teams.....and the ability of the Club to DENY that waiver.  I can see how shenanigans can occur with out a signed waiver.  But isn't this playing "Keeper of the gate" by the club/coach (no pun intended).

Couldn't playing "keeper of the gate" and not allowing the waiver have shenanigans built in to it?

The possibility of "shenanigans" exists on both sides, parents and clubs, and over the years, I've seen plenty of both. However, there is an appeal process through NTX should the club coach refuse to sign a release.

While it is true that the club can deny the release to another competitive team (you can always get a release back to rec), on the other side of the fence, the club can NOT just cut your kid mid-year and replace them with another kid.

1.  Contract for 11 months (quote)

July 1st to June 30th actually, stop the myth that it is eleven months

Fun facts:

1. You can quit at anytime and pay the club nothing. Of course all coaches talk, and you will have a black cloud that follows you just as you would if you stiffed your credit card company and applied for a new line of credit. However, the club will seldom come after you for the money.

2. You can ask for a release at anytime and North Texas will grant it to you. It will be a recreational release, but you can still practice and guest play in tournaments with other select teams since you are officially out of contract.

3. The playing year as defined on the contract is from July 1st to June 30th (12 months). In June you are able to start practicing with other teams. It is considered a free month. You cannot guest play unless your coach gives you a guest release. If your coach will not give you one, you can ask North Texas to grant you a guest release and they will generally grant it to you.

4. There is nothing in your select contract that is legal. Likewise you are not entitled to take legal action against it, nor will your club take legal action against you. It is an acknowledgement that you understand the rules that allow your daughter to play select soccer in North Texas. If you choose not to follow the rules you jeopardize being able to participate. Know the rules.

Just like everything else in select soccer, it is all political. The only part of the contract that would actually hold up in court is the financial obligations...that said, it costs more for the club to hire a lawyer to sue you than they would get from forcing you to pay, especially when most clubs get at least a significant portion of the money on signing day.

If you are not sold on your club at the time you are presented the contract, or you are really put off by the "no playing for other teams" stuff, it sounds as though you are not in the right place.

True, a coach can deny a guest release or a transfer. If you ask for a guest release, be prepared to not have a contract next year with your current club. If you ask for a transfer, the coach can also deny it. You can fight this by appealing to NTX soccer, and if your case meets certain criteria, they can approve the transfer - note, this takes months and hearings, and by the time its all said and done with, its usually time for a new contract anyway, and your dd now has the black cloud as referenced by a previous poster.

My recommendation to you is...if you find out after signing (fall season) that its a bad situation, just work it out with the coach that you stop paying and stop attending practices and games for the rest of fall season. During the winter break, quietly get a rec release, and start attending other practices and tournaments with other teams in the spring. Don't worry about missing the regular season games. Then sign with a new team the following July.

fun fact. The only contract that matters is the one with NTX soccer that locks you in to a competitive roster. Not the one between you and your club.

Agree with both. Sound advice from 10s, and true statement from go99.

Armanji wrote:Fun facts:  

1. You can quit at anytime and pay the club nothing. Of course all coaches talk, and you will have a black cloud that follows you just as you would if you stiffed your credit card company and applied for a new line of credit.   However, the club will seldom come after you for the money.

2. You can ask for a release at anytime and North Texas will grant it to you.  It will be a recreational release, but you can still practice and guest play in tournaments with other select teams since you are officially out of contract.

3.  The playing year as defined on the contract is from July 1st to June 30th (12 months).  In June you are able to start practicing with other teams.  It is considered a free month.  You cannot guest play unless your coach gives you a guest release.   If your coach will not give you one, you can ask North Texas to grant you a guest release and they will generally grant it to you.

4.  There is nothing in your select contract that is legal.  Likewise you are not entitled to take legal action against it, nor will your club take legal action against you.  It is an acknowledgement that you understand the rules that allow your daughter to play select soccer in North Texas.  If you choose not to follow the rules you jeopardize being able to participate.   Know the rules.

1 Not True
2 True
3 True
4 Not True. Been to court and it is a legally binding contract