TRYOUT PROCEDURES

I don’t know what it is about the Spring, but when this time of year rolls around, I often think about soccer trouts for some reason.

Towards that end, I thought that I might inclued a discussion on the tryout procedures that we used in the last club that I worked with back in NH. Using the guidelines listed here made for a pretty smooth tryout season.

At least it provides us all with some more food for thought.

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TRYOUT PROCEDURES / PHILOSOPHY:

Before the Tryout

Tasks: There is much to do even before the tryout begins. The more organized and thorough you are about all these details beforehand, the better.

The Club will:

1. Reserve a field big enough to accommodate more than the expected number of players trying out. Coordinate this with the club’s executive director and field coordinator.

2. The club will gather a table for registration, numbers to pin on to the kids, safety pins, registration forms, pens.

The Coach will:

1. Collect plenty of cones and discs with which to make small “fields”. For the sidelines and goals of each “field”, figure 12 cones.

2. Have extra soccer balls, ice, first aid kits, pinnies for kids who forget two different colored shirts.

3. Provide sheets for the evaluators, which have numbers in a column: 1, 2, 3, etc. down the left side of the page. The numbers should go higher than the expected turnout. If you expect 75, give the evaluators sheets with numbers up to 100. (These numbers match those you will pin on the kids.)

4. Provide clipboards, pens, and extra paper for the evaluators.

We also suggest that the coach draft a short summary of the commitment that the team will require, to be handed out to parents during the tryout. Some people, especially first-time soccer kids and parents, do not understand the investment of time and money which playing on a team entails. For example, an organization might give everyone a page that says:

1. This team will practice two evenings a week, during the week.

2. The team will play every Saturday, 10 times in the fall and 10 times in the spring, and it will go to one tournament each season.

3. The cost to register and get a uniform will be $?.

4. Perhaps a brief statement of the club’s philosophy, and your own philosophy.

5. We also suggest that you copy the parental support letter and player responsibility letter and hand it out to parents.

These can be found at: http://www.expresssc.org/pill1aug05.pdf

On the bottom of this sheet are the name and telephone number of the director of the tryout - or of someone who can answer questions or settle issues later.

People Needed; The club, along with the head coach, will assume responsibility for making sure that the following people are available.

1. A director, who will oversee all the events of the day. This person should not also plan to be an evaluator.

2. Enough player evaluators so that there is one evaluator for every 15 players. Always line up more evaluators than you think you need. One of these people should be able to evaluate the goalkeepers. These can be qualified coaches from inside the club. Help in this process will be given by the club’s Director of Coaching.

3. An adult who is not an evaluator who can deal with minor injuries, get ice, etc.

Publicity Done By The Club : Flyers or notices about the tryouts should go out well in advance, to as many people as possible. Cover schools, the local newspaper, bulletin boards, etc.

On the flyer should be:

1. The date(s) of the tryout, rain date, and time(s). The telephone number to call in case weather is in question. The request: “Please come 30 minutes before the scheduled tryout to register.”

2. A request that the kids all bring: a ball, shin guards, a light and a dark t-shirt, a water bottle. The t-shirt should have nothing to do with the tryout: no last year’s jerseys, for example.

3. Directions to the site.

4. The name and telephone number of a person to call if you have an unavoidable conflict on the tryout day.

At the Tryout Site: Before players and parents arrive: Organize all the material, check the field, goals, and gear for safety.

Before the tryouts begins: Register the players. Be sure that you have the player’s name, parent’s or parents’ names, telephone number, and address and that you note the number which you have assigned the player for the day.

Forms will be provided by the club’s administrator.

At the beginning of the tryout: The director of the tryout (head coach) should call in all the players and parents and:

1_ Introduce herself or himself and explain her or his position.

2_ Introduce all the volunteers and evaluators - or have them introduce themselves.

3_ Explain the process of the day briefly, and offer encouragement to the players.

4_ Send the players off with the evaluators.

5_ To the parents, explain the course of the day - or days, if the tryout involves more than one day.

6_ Explain the criteria and vehicles used for selection:
a. Scouting of games.
b. Past history with club.
c. Performance during the open tryout.
d. Coach’s determination of impact on team chemistry and history.

7_ Get the parents on your side. Explain that there will be many difficult decisions that will be made during this process. Explain that your goal is to be able to place their child in the most appropriate environment, that it is a difficult process that is taken seriously by all involved. That everyone is trying their best.

For example: “For the next two hours, we’re going to watch your kids play. Later today, and over the next several days, we’ll be getting together to share our evaluations and opinions about who will be on the team. Your child and you can expect a phone call from one of us within the next two weeks.”

Or: “For the next two hours, we’re going to watch your kids play. At the end of that time, we’ll call everyone together and announce what the plan will be from here on out.

Here are a few more suggestions:

1. Hand out the Parent and Player Responsibility listed above.

2. Ask if anyone has any questions.

3. Ask the parents to be absolutely sure before they leave that their child or they have registered and left all the relevant information.

At this point, ask the parents to stay apart from the players. It is not a bad idea to have a line of cones and to ask the parents to stay on one side of it.

Finally, assure the parents that you are available to answer their questions at the end of the tryout.

The Tryout Itself: The most important thing to do at a tryout is to discover who the best soccer players are. The most effective way to do that is to have the players play soccer.

Time at a tryout is precious - but it is remarkable how much time some evaluators waste on activities which have nothing to do with soccer. We strongly discourage you from spending time on some of the elements of many tryouts: running races, kicking for distance, juggling, unopposed activities.

To express the task of the evaluators most concisely: they are looking for players who control the ball well, who are positive and effective with it, who read the game and understand what’s going on, who are soccer athletes, and who are sharp, assertive, and ahead of the play. To express the reverse: they are also looking for players who do not control the ball well and who give it away all the time, who do not seem to grasp what is happening, who are slow, lethargic, and static, and who do not fight for the ball and stay “in the game”.

So, tryouts should maximize the time that kids are playing soccer:

Warm-up should consist of some technical work with the ball, perhaps a passing or dribbling activity, and some stretching - no more than 10 minutes. Here you are to observe how players are able to deal with the ball (Can they control it, can they get their head up when the ball is at their feet, do they move well with the ball?), and what their approach to training is (Are they focused, serious, engaged?). Then, on to soccer. The goalkeepers can go off with an evaluator for some technical exercises, but they must be observed in the goal, in their role as goalkeeper, as much as possible. The BEST way to do this is to have them play in a small sided game (ie: 4v4 > 7v7)

The other players should be put into small teams of four or six and asked to play a short game, perhaps 8-12 minutes long. After this time, the teams can be reconfigured and new opponents introduced. Evaluators should be alert here and try to break up clusters of players who obviously have played together before - on last year’s team, at a club, etc.

The size of the field can be manipulated by the evaluators. Under-12 players playing 4v4 could be on a field about 40 yards by 30 yards; Under-14 players playing 6v6 on one 50 by 40. Goalkeepers can join the game at any point.

The players can play through four 12 minute games, with mixed teams and different opponents, and then play a big game (8v8 to 11v11) for up to 45 minutes.

This process will readily show who can attack and who can defend, who has skill and vision, who is soccer-fit.

The Evaluators: Evaluators should strive to look sharp - to be dressed like soccer coaches. Nothing which they have on should suggest any other soccer “loyalty” than that which involves the tryout.

Evaluators should commit themselves to watching carefully and using every minute. It will be relatively easy to identify the best and the worst players. The difficult part will be to observe the differences between the large mass of “good” players who will be the majority of those present. Be intent on making sure that you observe ALL players equally. Remember, each parent is watching. Some even will have a stop watch running.

The director - or an assistant to the director - should organize evaluators so that each player ends up with at least two evaluations. For example, if an evaluator stands at one field where players are playing 4v4 for 12 minutes, she or he will evaluate eight players. In the next 12 minutes, two new teams come over, so now she or he will evaluate eight more, while someone else is evaluating the eight who just left this field. Then during the “big game”, evaluators should agree among themselves to watch certain groups. “I’ll watch the blue 11, you watch the yellow 11.” - and another evaluation takes place.

Evaluators should watch and take notes constantly; they should always face the field and avoid falling into trivial conversations with fellow evaluators. Every moment is vital!

For each player observed, the evaluator should write a comment. One means of recording is to use a shorthand number system followed by a one-liner. For example, the numbers could correspond to:

10 Extraordinary player: Would indicate a probable state team player, at a state team tryout would indicate a probable regional player, etc.

9 Outstanding player: should be dominant and a leader at this level.

8 Excellent: should be one of the best on the team.

7 Very good: sure to make the team and make a strong contribution.

6 A good, solid player at this level.

5 “Average player”: the low end of acceptable level for the team.

4 Just misses the team because ________________.

3 Not good enough at this point because _________________.

So at the end of the tryout, there might be hundreds of entries on evaluators’ sheets which looked like this:

Player 27 3 not very athletic, slow, always lost the ball.
4 slow, skills poor, not active.
4 control poor, not involved, slow.
or:

Player 81 8 excellent skills, scored several nice goals, fast!
7 obviously knows the game, solid skills.
8 skillful, sharp, aggressive, assertive.

Then it’s an easy process to collect the evaluators at the end of the day and look, line by line, number by number, at their assessments. The evaluators should be able to explain to anyone not selected for the team why he or she was not chosen, too - and this system insures that you can speak authoritatively, if briefly, about each player.

Feel free to make an occasional comment to the group. (Blue team you need to try to get players wide). Perhaps give them suggestions during the breaks (Let’s try to keep the ball a bit more)

Make sure that players get to play more than one position. Try to allow them to play in their preferred position. Perhaps get them together and say, Let’s have all the backs stand together here, midfielders here, forwards here. Then assign them evenly to each team that is formed.

At the End of the Tryout: The head coach should call together all the players and parents and thank the players for their efforts and the parents for bringing them and supporting them. The director should then be explicit about what is next: a letter in a couple of weeks, a call within 10 days, etc. Explain what the organization of the players on the teams will be. (We will have one A team, and two B teams. Or, We can only have one A team at this level. Or, We are planning to have one A team, and one B team, but, we are hoping to put together another B team if the numbers work out.)

Inform them all if there will be another tryout, and what the process from here on out will be. (We will let you know within two weeks what team you will be on.)

Thank them all for coming and trying their best.

Ask all the players who are invited back to keep their gladness to themselves for the moment, then read off the numbers of those who are invited back.

In general, be sensitive to disappointment among players - and their parents - if they do not make the team. (Think about the word “cut” itself.) No one should leave a tryout feeling overlooked, defeated, as if they have “lost”, or as if someone has passed judgment on their worth as a person.

Offer congratulations to those who will be notified that they have made the team. Encouragement to those who will not make the team. There are many ways to express perspective and encouragement: for example, the gold medal-winning Norwegian skater Johan Olav Koss has admitted that he was “far behind” other skaters until he was 15 years old.

After thanking everyone and dismissing the players, the director should be available, with as many evaluators as possible, to answer questions or address issues for players and parents.

At the very end of the day, the director should be sure that she or he collects and keeps all records AND evaluation sheets and notes.

Take every effort to inform the players as quickly as possible.