What age is Junior Menace for?
Junior Menace is geared toward children ages 3 to 9. The program is for boys and girls of all soccer abilities, from the beginner to the advanced player. Participants are divided into smaller groups based on age and ability.
What's the cost? What comes with registration?
Registration for Junior Menace is $60 for ages 3-4, and $110 for ages 5-9. In addition to a fun experience, each participant receives a Junior Menace T-shirt that they can wear to each practice and a ticket to a Des Moines Menace home game for the 2023 season!
Refunds: Des Moines Menace youth programs do provide a full refund minus a $10 cancellation fee. Cancellation must be made 10 days prior to the program start date. No refunds will be given when the program start date is less than 10 days. The only time we offer full refunds is if the Des Moines Menace has to cancel the program or if it's due to medical reasons that your child cannot participate.
What can participants and their families expect?
We strive to provide the best youth-soccer experience in our community, promoting a healthy, active lifestyle while encouraging the children’s enjoyment of the game.
Environment: Coaches will try to create a fun atmosphere for players to meet new friends, develop their skills and be challenged with other players from around the metro.
Curriculum: With the guidance of our professional coaches, we base our program activities on a curriculum provided by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA). This curriculum focuses on skill development at age-appropriate levels.
Structure: Players will come one time per week to Junior Menace for seven weeks. We have built-in make-up days as part of this year's schedule in case of inclement weather.
Who are the Junior Menace coaches?
Licensed soccer coaches lead the program, with coaching support from high-school and college players. Starting in the second half of our Spring season, Menace players will be available to coach.
When is Junior Menace?
Junior Menace is available in the fall, winter and spring. The program is held in the evening, to accommodate most families' schedules.
Ages 3-4 meet for 30 minutes, followed by a 60-minute session for children ages 5-9.
Why is Junior Menace not available in the summer?
The program takes a break during the summer months, when the Menace organization focuses on week-long soccer camps. Hosted at sites around the Des Moines metro and across central Iowa, these camps are run by players from our men's team (members of Iowa's premier soccer teams).
Please click HERE to learn about our summer camps.
Where is Junior Menace?
Locations vary based on the season. Please take a look at the schedule (listed at the top of the webpage) to see the current locations. Directions to each location is listed under the "Directions" tab.
How do I sign up for Junior Menace?
Please click HERE to register online.
What do participants need to wear?
In addition to shorts/athletic pants and a t-shirt or Junior Menace jersey, we encourage participants to wear shin guards, soccer socks, and cleats (outdoors only) or comfortable shoes.
What else should participants bring?
Please bring your own soccer ball each day. If you don't have a soccer ball, you can purchase a Menace ball when you sign up, and we'll have this ball ready for you at check-in on the first day.
3-4 year olds - size 3 ball
5-9 year olds - size 4 ball
It is important that each player stays hydrated. Each day, participants should come with water or something to drink.
What if the weather doesn’t cooperate?
In the event of inclement or unsafe weather, Junior Menace will be cancelled for that day. We will try to not cancel a day of the program, but sometimes have to due to excessive rainfall, poor field conditions, unsafe travel conditions (during the winter session) or lightning. If you are not sure if there will be Junior Menace on a given day, please visit Menacesoccer.com/JuniorMenace for updates posted on the top of the homepage.
If a day of Junior Menace is cancelled, we will do our best to hold a make-up session.