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Making the Team
The beautiful game can get very ugly when it comes to
selecting a team. Even at the recreational level, select teams
are largely chosen before the first try-out even starts. Coaches
select players that were in last years team and the players they
are familiar with. Then, the few open spots are available to all
those that try-out (often 20-50 players). In groups of that
size, a coach may only have a few seconds to view each player.
Often, the word of a parent or other selected player makes the
difference.
At the club level, getting time with the coach may be next to
impossible. Most teams do not announce open tryouts and may only
reserve one or two spots for a specific positional player.
Beyond that, any potential player must unseat an existing player
which may be next to impossible.
At the High School level, each coach takes a unique approach.
Some coaches may try keep a club together to take advantage of
the players familiarity with each other. Others may have a set
evaluation criteria based on individual skills. Other coaches
may try to take as many freshmen as possible expecting to train
them over time.
College recruiting is even more difficult. Unless a player is at
the Premier level or on an Olympic Development Squad, the coach
may never know about them. One way to break the ice is to attend
the coach’s camp. This allows the player to learn the coaching
style and to display their skills. A poor showing at the camp
may eliminate a player’s chance of ever playing for that coach.
Below is the unedited experience of one of our readers.
“I played soccer for four years at Quartz Hill High
School. My first year I made the junior varsity team which
was really difficult. I had been playing soccer since I was
five years old and I started club at the age of twelve. We
had nearly sixty kids trying out for the fifteen open spots
on the team. I quickly found that high school soccer was not
all about skill, but also very political. I was lucky and
was accepted by most of the kids and quickly earned a
nickname of "Harry Potter" because I was fast, scored what
they considered magic goals and of coarse I resembled Harry
Potter. This helped me because the coach noticed the weird
nickname and it must have stuck with him. As a sophomore it
was easier to make the team even though we had a new coach
because I was now a returning player. My junior year we had
yet another coach. I was immediately put on the JV side when
we started tryouts. One of my friends, who played club with
me, was on the Varsity side told the coach to bring me over
to the varsity side. I went on to be the defensive MVP and
all-league defender that year. All because of whom I knew
and who knew me. As a senior I played varsity as well and
earned the coaches award with my fourth coach in high school
soccer. So in my opinion making the high school soccer team
is tremendously dependant on politics. A large pat of it is
getting to know the coach and the other players and building
a trust with them.”
If you have a story to tell, please submit your experience to
AVID
Soccer for possible inclusion. We are most interested
in your college recruiting experience and the tools, contacts
that helped you. All submissions remain the property of
AVID Soccer.
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