Did my kid blow the tryout?
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Anonymous
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I feel crazy posting about this, but it’s been bugging me so here goes. Last night DC went to a tryout at a club that would be a step up from their current situation. They had attended a training session with the club and definitely held their own. More importantly they liked it better than current club. The first tryout consisted of some drills followed by scrimmaging on small fields. DC did well enough on the drills I think, but then in the scrimmages DC was standing around a lot asking for the ball to be passed to them. The kids had decided postions among themselves and DC was playing up front. They didn’t run back to help on defense despite being more than capable because they were staying in position. The kids on defense kept losing the ball because they weren’t passing.
I know I really shouldn’t care, but I am baffled as to why DC did not go after the ball more and wondering if this ruins their chances. DC has been to tryouts before and I thought they understood that waiting for passes is not really the right thing to do. Will a coach understand that DC was trying to stay in position to receive the ball, or just think DC is lacking effort? If they did well in the drills, does that balance out their performance in the scrimmage? All the kids were bunching up like it was a little kid game and DC was getting frustrated. They play a more possession based style at their current club. Just kind of bummed for my kid if this chance to get into a better situation is lost because they didn’t play more aggressively. |
Anonymous
| yes, you should probably move out of state |
Anonymous
lol |
Anonymous
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Have your kid go to the next tryout, not just 1 session.
The small sided scrimmages are used to identify the kids who 'want the ball more' and pursue it constantly. Tell your kid to keep going after the ball, ignore their position, play offense, play defense and get after it!!! That is the only way they will stand out and be one of the ones chosen in the small-sided scrimmages. Some kids think they have to play a set position, but that only works against them in small-sided scrimmages. Tell them to be vocal, tell them to work hard for the 10-15 minutes they are in the small sided game. Their job is to get noticed as a new face in a sea of already established and known players. Sounds like they were just nervous. They will likely do better after the 2nd tryout. Heck, no one usually breaks into a new club at a decent level after 1 tryout. |
Anonymous
OP, I’m sorry about your experience. Depending on your kid’s age, sometimes they aren’t always consistent or focused. If your kid was able to show enough, hopefully they can get invited back to another session. If not, you can always ask the coach to go to another practice, where your kid might feel more comfortable and/or engaged. Sorry for your experience. Good luck, try to enjoy the process. |
Anonymous
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The tryout process is terrible. There are so many factors that go into who is selected. Many of those factors have nothing to do with how well they perform at the tryout.
If this is an existing team the coach will already have a pretty good idea who is going to make it before the tryout even starts. Tell your kid a tryout is different than playing in a real soccer game. In a game, there are positions, passing and setting up your teammates is a good thing. The goal is to help the team any way you can. In a tryout the goal is different. It’s not one team vs the other. It’s everyone on the field competing against each other. The goal is to stand out. This is difficult for some kids because it’s counter to everything they’ve learned about playing soccer. They need to be more selfish. Unfortunately tryouts favor a certain type of player - aggressive, selfish, athletic, offensively minded. Consider this year a learning experience. Next year, contact the coach before tryouts even begin and ask if he can join some practices. He’ll get a fairer look and already be known come tryout time |
Anonymous
| First, you are watching your kid's every move and the coaches are not. Alot has to go very wrong or very right for a kid to be noticed at these cattle calls. Second, few get picked through a blind tryout. Let them know you are really interested and want to attend a practice. That's not just for their benefit of seeing your kid among their own but also for you to see how the run a practice. You may think it's a better situation until seeing the practice and the families. Surprises often emerge. Grass not always greener. |
Anonymous
| It’s so dependent on the age and what they’re looking for. Yes they want to see aggression. But back when DS was young and trying out for u9, the coach actually provided feedback that what he liked about DS was that he understood his position and passed the ball. He also called for the ball. It goes to show that not all coaches use the same criteria. DS is much older now and has played on all different types of teams and so I would offer this advice. Be high energy. Communicate loudly. Be aggressive. Always thank the coach. Go to practices ahead of tryouts so the coach knows you. But even if you are a great player who has a great tryout, sometimes you just won’t get an offer because cattle call tryouts mean coaches miss a lot. Also, sometimes the coach is really only looking for a few key positions if the group is older. You can’t take it personally. There is always another team. |
Anonymous
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You are better off asking if you can attend to practice then going to open tryouts.
Just relax let the coaches make their decisions and give you feedback. A coach only needs 5 minutes to watch a player to see if they are at the level of the rest of the team. If they can pass and receive, have some decent 1v1 skills, a minimum amount of speed and athleticism, and they've been coached before, you're probably okay for further consideration. Players leave the team every year and they need to replace them. |
Anonymous
| OP, I’m sorry this is stressing you out. But honestly, this is why you go for a walk or read a book during tryouts. |
Anonymous
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The tryout days are a mess and kids don't get a fair shot. All the coaches already have the kids they want and most just leave 1-3 spots open for new kids who might stand out. The problem is they try and do this all by scrimmages and it's trash. They should force all the kids to do 10-12 different technical skills then move them into 3v3 or 4v4 or 5v5. Then for the second half they can begin 9v9. It's a mess and honestly unfair.
Also not all coaches will allow a new kid to practice with them prior to tryouts. |
Anonymous
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I think it’s unfair to say kids don’t get a good shot as a blanket statement. They absolutely do; maybe one or two fall in that category but 90 minutes times at least two nights and the kids should have ample opportunity to show their ability. As someone else said a good coach can tell quickly who can play. Sometimes it’s hard to show your best ‘side’ if you’re out in as a forward but usually play center back or something but in general I think 180 minutes should be enough time. That said they may not like your kid at club A but club B
loves him. Not all teams and coaches are right for all kids, which is a good thing honestly. The bad part of this is finding the right place for your player, which can be hard. |
Anonymous
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No shortage of bad advice in these parts
Coaches must read these things and die laughing |
Anonymous
Care to provide some good advice? Genuinely asking. |
Anonymous
Not PP Don't go to tryout attempting every trick and skill move you know or try dribbling through everyone on the opposing team |