TRYOUTS: RIGHT OR WRONG

1
TRYOUTS RIGHT OR WRONG?

• Glen Buckley
• UEFA A, USSF A, NSCAA Premier Diploma, National
  Youth License
• State Director of Coaching
• NYSW Youth Soccer Association
• National Staff Coach, US Youth Soccer

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As a team sport, soccer is a late specialization
sport.
Player Development

• The time frame for the development of soccer
  players is considered long-term athlete
  development.

• Research has shown that it takes between 15 and
  17 years to become competent to compete at the
  highest level in any sport.

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Why Do We Hold Tryouts?

• Evaluation Process

• Player Development (potential)

• Building a winning team

• Resource Limitations

4
Are Tryouts Appropriate for

• Recreational

No

• Club/Travel

Maybe - At What Age?

• Premier/Select

Yes - At What Age?

• ODP

Yes - Representative

• Professional /
• National Team

Yes
5
Ages of Soccer Growth

• Childhood

4-9 years old

• Puberty

10-14 years old

• Adolescence

15-23 years old

• Adulthood

24-35 years old
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Identifying Potential

• Puberty (10-14 years old)

• evidence of technique

• coordination / athleticism

• application (why are they playing?)

• speed (physical and mental)

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Identification of Talent

• Adolescence (15-19 years old)

• technical application

• tactical awareness (decision-making)

• physical maturity / fitness

• strength / stamina

• psychological strengths

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How Many Fs???

• Finished files are the re-
• sult of many years of scientif-
• ic study combined with the
• experience of many years

Answer 6. 95 of the population will only see
three (3) Fs in this sentence. The word of is
such a common word that our brains have learned
to filter it out.
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Lateral Thinking (outside the box)Longer term
vision

• How many common players are we filtering out
  because we have a preconceived notion of what WE
  believe a player needs to be able to do today?

• Research tells us that cognitive, psychological
  and physical skills develop at different rates in
  young people.

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More Things to Consider

• Age vs. Birthdate

57
School and club start
30
13
May-Aug
Sep-Dec
Jan-Apr
11
More Things to Consider

• Birth Months of Professional Players

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Tryouts for 10-14 Year Olds

• Objective

• measuring a players technical proficiency

Tools

• small-sided games (3v3, 4v4)

• street soccer

• technical assessments

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Street Soccer

• version of a small-sided game

• players organized by numbers

• individual point system

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Technical Assessments

• stations to assess the six skills

• measurement against performance standards

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Technical Assessments

• measurement against performance standards

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Tryouts for 15-19 Year Olds

• Objective

• talent identification and development

Tools

• match play (11v11)

• over the course of 3-4 matches

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Match Play
Things to consider

• range of technique

• quality of opposition

• understanding of role

• quality of decisions

• assertiveness / imposing themselves on the game

• leadership / role model

• ongoing assessment (over multiple matches)

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Summary

• Tryouts not needed for recreational clubs

• 9-14 travel/club, technical assessments

• 15-19 select/representative, match play

• Assess players potential to meet the requirements
  of the game through continued development.

• Observe players strengths and weaknesses to
  perform in various roles.