3M  SOCCER LEAGUE  -- for Middle and High School Recreation players:

In 2006, the Manalapan Soccer Club, like many other local soccer clubs recognized there was an attrition of recreational soccer players in the older ranks. In order to rebuild the interest and give the older players wanting to play on a recreational level, the club decided to reach out to other  local clubs with a solution. Many of the local clubs were faced with the same dilemma of not enough kids within their own club but wanting to find a place for them to play..

Mike Hammer, former President of Manalapan Soccer, contacted other local clubs. The Manalapan Soccer Club Board of Directors along with the East Brunswick and East Windsor soccer clubs formed the the 3M Soccer League (derived from the three NJ counties -Mercer, Monmouth & Middlesex- whose communities have participating clubs) was formed. It started out with high school age boys. Then Mike along with Jeff Wurmbrand a long time MSC board member, proposed and added the girls to the league.  What started out as just 3 towns looking for a place for their older kids to play has grown tremendously to the point where last season we had 29 teams, representing 6 towns, in both a boys and girls league. Additionally the league has expanded into two divisions for the boys and two for the girls, the two groups Juniors (u13 – u15) and Seniors (u16 – u18) allow the clubs  to offer a place for our  Middle School and High School age children who are not playing travel soccer to continue to play, until they graduate High School.  Many parents have actually thought that after u12 their children were finished with soccer. 

The interest and participation in the league continue to grow each season. While this is a rec league, the fact that teams are playing opponents from other clubs gives them the feeling of a travel team and different opponents to play.  Each club maintains its own registration and expense structure, including uniforms and referees. In addition as it has grown the league has formalized its rules and regulations into a written rules that all the participating clubs adhere to.

There is no question that the feedback from the players and parents has universally been positive as many parents have said that if it were not for this league their child would not be playing any longer. Manalapan Soccer Club is a proud member of the 3M league and what it offers for the older recreation soccer players.