Privacy policy

This policy explains how MDS Academy (Major Development Soccer Academy, "MDS", "we") collects, uses and protects personal information through mdssoccer.com and our program registrations. We run youth soccer and futsal programs in Bergen and Monmouth County, New Jersey. Contact us at info@mdssoccer.com. The privacy policy for our MDS Pulse team app is here.

Information you give us

• Registrations: parent/guardian name, email and phone; the player's name, date of birth, gender, age group, club, kit size and session choices; emergency contact details; and any medical notes, allergies or medications you choose to share so we can keep the player safe.
• Documents some programs ask for, such as a birth certificate, headshot or signed liability waiver.
• Coach applications: contact details, coaching background, availability, résumé and licence documents.
• Messages and sign-ups: what you send through our contact forms, and your email if you join our mailing list or ask to be notified about a program.

Payments are handled by our payment providers (Stripe and Cheddar Up). We receive confirmation of payment and limited details such as the amount and last digits of the card, but never your full card number.

Information collected automatically

• Analytics: we use Google Analytics to understand how the site is used (pages visited, device type, approximate location, how you arrived).
• Advertising: we use the Meta (Facebook) Pixel to measure our ads and show relevant ads to people who've visited the site. When a registration is paid, our server also tells Meta (Conversions API) so ad results are counted accurately. We may also share registered families' email addresses and phone numbers with Meta in hashed (scrambled) form, so we can avoid showing our ads to families who are already registered and reach new families with similar interests. Meta uses this only to match and measure, and you can opt out of targeted advertising at any time (see "Your rights").
• Email engagement: our program emails record whether they were opened and which links were clicked, so we know which updates are useful.
• Touchline (website help desk): Touchline is an automated help desk. Questions you type and its answers are stored without your name (only a scrambled code derived from your IP address, used to prevent misuse) so we can improve our information. If you ask it to pass a question to our team, add you to a notify list or send a club enquiry, the name, email and details you give are sent to MDS staff (with the conversation) or saved to our mailing list. Your messages are processed by our AI provider, Anthropic, to generate answers. Please don't type sensitive personal or medical details into the help desk.

Our programs are for young players, but registrations are completed by parents or guardians. We collect information about a child only from their parent or guardian, and only what we need to run the program safely. We don't knowingly collect personal information directly from children under 13 through this website; if you believe a child has sent us information, contact us and we'll delete it.

Parents and guardians can ask to review, correct or delete their child's information at any time by emailing info@mdssoccer.com.

• To register players, run sessions, group players by age and ability, and keep them safe (including medical and emergency information).
• To take payments, send confirmations and receipts, and manage payment plans.
• To contact you about schedules, changes, weather cancellations and safety.
• To answer your questions and review coach applications.
• To send program news and launches if you've signed up (you can unsubscribe at any time).
• To understand and improve our website and measure our advertising.
• To meet legal, insurance and safeguarding obligations.

We don't sell personal information. We share it only as needed to run our programs:

• With MDS coaches and staff who need it to run sessions safely.
• With service providers that work on our behalf: Supabase (secure database, file storage and website services), Stripe and Cheddar Up (payments), Resend (email delivery), Anthropic (the AI behind our Touchline help desk), Google (analytics) and Meta (advertising measurement and audiences, using hashed contact details).
• With venues, insurers, medical responders or authorities when required for safety, emergencies, insurance claims or by law.

• Google Analytics and the Meta Pixel use cookies and similar technologies. You can block or delete cookies in your browser settings, opt out of Google Analytics with the Google Analytics opt-out add-on, and manage Meta ad preferences in your Facebook ad settings.
• We honor browser Global Privacy Control signals as a request to opt out of targeted advertising.
• Every marketing email includes an unsubscribe link.

You can ask us to confirm what personal information we hold about you or your child, give you a copy, correct it, or delete it. New Jersey residents also have the right under the New Jersey Data Privacy Act to opt out of targeted advertising, sale of personal data and profiling, and to appeal our decision on a request.

To make a request, email info@mdssoccer.com. We'll verify your identity and respond within 45 days. If we decline a request, you can appeal by replying to our decision; if you're unhappy with the outcome you may contact the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs.

We keep registration and payment records for as long as needed to run programs and to meet accounting, insurance and legal requirements, then delete or anonymize them. Medical notes and uploaded documents are kept only as long as they're needed for the program. Mailing-list emails are kept until you unsubscribe.

We use reputable providers with encryption in transit, access controls and secure storage, and we limit access to people who need it. No system is perfectly secure, so please contact us straight away if you think your information has been misused.

We may update this policy and will change the date at the top when we do. Questions or requests: info@mdssoccer.com.