Arlington Travel Tryouts

[Anonymous]

My son (11 yo) wants to try out — he’s not being recruited and we’re aware of the dynamics but still want to help him prepare to have the best experience possible trying out. Any input on what to expect? I see two try out dates- are we expected to show up to one or both? Thanks!

[Anonymous]

What’s his playing experience? By 11 a lot of the boys have been playing soccer for 5 or 6 years, at least 3 of which were in travel. Your son will have to really stand out to break into anything higher than the lowest team. Consider whether you want that experience. The lowest teams tend to have the coaches and players who care the least, but you’re still spending a bunch of money. If your son is passionate about soccer you might be better off trying out at a smaller club that is convenient for you.

[Anonymous]

Just go to both tryouts. This is a good year to join a club because of the age change every team is starting over. Keep in mind pa1 and 2 have already been selected so those kids won’t be at tryouts. It should be pretty obvious after first tryout how your kid compares to others.

[Anonymous]

He has been playing ADP and doing well but by no means the top of his team. He is hardworking and motivated, and mostly we want him to feel good about his tryouts even if he doesn’t make the team. (We know it is competitive to do so!)

[Anonymous]

Not sure how many kids will be there- my overall advice is to wear something bright to get noticed, like neon socks or something. Don’t chase every ball, pick battles. They are looking at this age for smart players. Be aggressive and don’t back down on 50/50’s.
Give your kid all the love and support you can.
Last thing, if he wants to play, ASA is not the only club out there. A lot of other places to play. Clubs are just a platform. Don’t expect much development, at any club.
Signed, parent of first team player at asa.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:He has been playing ADP and doing well but by no means the top of his team. He is hardworking and motivated, and mostly we want him to feel good about his tryouts even if he doesn’t make the team. (We know it is competitive to do so!)

Also, after each tryout, go talk to one of the coaches if you can just to get some feed back and express how interested you are in joining one of the teams. Part of their job is doing the tough work of sorting through who will commit to the program -vs- who is just there looking and would have no real intention of joining the program.

[Anonymous]

just FYI - don't expect much. Definitely go to both sessions, but the usual MO at arlington is for the kids to be divided up before the even step foot onto the fields. the kids from good teams at known clubs will be sorted onto the "good" field and everyone else will get pushed down to the other field. It should be apparent which is which and once you're sorted out to the crap field your odds of making one of the top 3-4 teams is 0% and making any team is about 30-40%. You can't take it personally because its how they always run their tryouts.

We have had better experiences at smaller clubs, but if you're dead set on playing in college that's hard to do from the less known clubs.

[Anonymous]

Not OP, but what smaller clubs would you recommend?

[Anonymous]

FPYC
ABGC
BRYC
VYS

Don’t be afraid to call clubs if you missed tryouts- ask them to see if you can be evaluated for a team.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:just FYI - don't expect much. Definitely go to both sessions, but the usual MO at arlington is for the kids to be divided up before the even step foot onto the fields. the kids from good teams at known clubs will be sorted onto the "good" field and everyone else will get pushed down to the other field. It should be apparent which is which and once you're sorted out to the crap field your odds of making one of the top 3-4 teams is 0% and making any team is about 30-40%. You can't take it personally because its how they always run their tryouts.

We have had better experiences at smaller clubs, but if you're dead set on playing in college that's hard to do from the less known clubs.

My kid started on the lowest field and progressed to the A team scrimmage. He received an A1 offer. I just had to correct the statement above and debunk this myth.

That is not to say their process is good. It is a mess. That first field was like a 10 v 10 in like on a 1/8-1/4 of the field. It felt like Hunger Games once I finally figured out the format and watch my kid progress. My kid is a high level player that other Arlington coaches have been trying to poach for a while but I wanted to test their processes as a big club and have my kid come in blind without anyone knowing.

My kid was developed at a small club. I would follow the leads above. You will get way more attention and playing time at a small club than the 3rd team or below at Arlington or any of the major MLS Next or ECNL clubs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:just FYI - don't expect much. Definitely go to both sessions, but the usual MO at arlington is for the kids to be divided up before the even step foot onto the fields. the kids from good teams at known clubs will be sorted onto the "good" field and everyone else will get pushed down to the other field. It should be apparent which is which and once you're sorted out to the crap field your odds of making one of the top 3-4 teams is 0% and making any team is about 30-40%. You can't take it personally because its how they always run their tryouts.

We have had better experiences at smaller clubs, but if you're dead set on playing in college that's hard to do from the less known clubs.

My kid started on the lowest field and progressed to the A team scrimmage. He received an A1 offer. I just had to correct the statement above and debunk this myth.

That is not to say their process is good. It is a mess. That first field was like a 10 v 10 in like on a 1/8-1/4 of the field. It felt like Hunger Games once I finally figured out the format and watch my kid progress. My kid is a high level player that other Arlington coaches have been trying to poach for a while but I wanted to test their processes as a big club and have my kid come in blind without anyone knowing.

My kid was developed at a small club. I would follow the leads above. You will get way more attention and playing time at a small club than the 3rd team or below at Arlington or any of the major MLS Next or ECNL clubs.

Just another humble DCUM brag…

[Anonymous]

We had a great experience at PAC for a small club, but it’s very coach dependent there because they have a coach-for-life model there where you keep the same coach until you go to college or the team breaks up as kids age.

My kid played for Suli Williams and I attribute ever single bit of soccer growth to him even though we moved clubs several years ago for recruiting reasons.

[Anonymous]

Went to the fist try out tonight. Chaotic! How many kids make any team? He’s u12.

[Anonymous]

Would love to hear more about people’s experiences tonight. U12 Q4 moving down (repeating U12) and thought he would get more eyes and options this year. But my son’s field wasn’t really watched and he noticed.

[Anonymous]

My son said they will send an email this week letting kids know if they are invited to join, invited to come to the next try out to show more, or asked to try again next year. I assume they just cut the bottom 1-2 fields from the try out straight out, extend offers to the top 1-2 fields, and the rest get another chance?