There is summer training but I don’t know that it’s open to freshmen. I thought it was only for returning players.

Tryouts are the first full week of August for Fall sports typically and practice starts immediately after that. You have to have an up to date physical in order to try out - no exceptions.

If you have questions about any of that after reviewing both the MCPS and school’s athletic websites (two different sites - the latter is school specific), try to get a hold of the athletic director.

It’s kind of a busy time in sports right now so you might have a tough time. Easiest thing I find is email.

Good luck.

OP here, thanks PPs.

I can't speak for the NEC schools, but my kids' school definitely had summer practices run by the seniors.

At the end of this year, try to find out if there will be any interest meetings for current 8th graders.

Anonymous wrote:You should talk to a parent of an older student in that sport. They can tell you about unofficial summer practices. Usually run by seniors. Coaches can’t.

+1 And if your DD knows kids currently on the teams, she should talk to them and let them know she plans to tryout. Hopefully they will then keep her in the loop on the non-official practices.

My child plays soccer, and there is a lot that happens over the summer and in the offseason at his school. There are pickup games organized by the team captains and a day camp run by one of the assistant coaches shortly before tryouts. DS had an upperclassmen friend who looked out for him and made sure he was invited to all the pickups. This may vary by school and sport, but at ours, the upperclassmen will definitely let the coaches know which of the incoming freshmen they rate.

Tryouts for fall sports are before school starts.

You should talk to a parent of an older student in that sport. They can tell you about unofficial summer practices. Usually run by seniors. Coaches can’t.

We are new to mcps, coming from private. My DD is going to a NEC school and wants to do soccer and basketball. Do the schools have any programs over the summer before tryouts? I feel like I heard something at one of the open houses but there was a lot of info to take in between the 3 schools. What about programs they can take to get acclimated to school and be prepared over the summer?