Youth Soccer - Tryouts/Rosters/Minimum Playing Time etc

[TKBC]

I dont expect roster changes. I expect a club to have integrity. When I watch the tryouts from the sidelines and the d1 coach tells me that he told his players not to show well and the executive director is talking numbers of players over the quality of those in attendance then something is wrong.

Teams should be determined through a method of ongoing evaluation during the season. Rarely, if ever done. Tryouts are an ancient practice that should go the way of the dodo bird (except for the kids that are unknown - give them a fair trial by putting together a group of them in an open trial, or if there's only a couple just invite them to your regular practice). But takes a lot of resources!

Over the years have had many kids email and say "can I join your team?" I say, yes, you can come tryout for 2 sessions. I tell them if I know at the 1st session they aren't good enough I will tell them, and if I know they are clearly good enough at the 1st session I would tell them that too. The benefit to this assessment method is that kids see very quickly if they are good enough or not by competing directly against the kids they are trying to join.

 

[TKBC]

I don't expect significant change but i do expect change. As it is many clubs are starting development teams at U8 unless you are selected at U8 assume little change in the roster , forget about having any chance in later years?
Kids change, there likes change, there body changes, and as such so should top teams, players drop below standard , players who didn't make it before have improved , etc..

@ TKBC like your idea for tryouts.. Starts perhaps at BCSPL, Surrey United had 70 kids at U13 open tryouts so i am told. so 16-18 make the team that leaves some 52 to go to Metro tryouts, plus another 20-30 that didn't attend BCSPL tryouts or are from other clubs and it easy to see where the large numbers come from.

For U13 as I don't think the numbers are as large after U13... Each partner club to BCSPL should be able to identify 10-12 kids to send to the tryouts,so in the case Of SU that is 10-12 from SU , GAC and LU, there is 36, open tryouts for non partner clubs , say max 30 , trim that down to 10-12 to be invited to main camp. Now up to 48 at main SPL camp ,that becomes 16-18 for BCSPL team, remainder are invited to main Metro camp ( in the case of SU , Langley United and Surrey Guildford United ) so some kids are from Langley they don't come to Surrey Guildford, so say 20-25 kids go to main Metro , then have open tryouts that you pull another 10 -20 from . 2 tryouts with the combined 30-40 kids, with maybe 2 invite only tryouts. Challenge is do clubs have the time and resources to double the tryouts.. either way these larger tryouts with 60+ kids there is no way every kid is being watched, they have an idea who the top 20-30 kids are and those are the kids being watched. Watch how they group the kids and then watch the coaches and you will see a pattern of who is being watched more closely.

back to original point , my main concern is too many kids getting over looked or left behind because they didn't make a top team in U8. There needs to be fluid movement both up and down.... True evals would dissolve current rosters and rebuild them based off results of the eval...and yes good clubs are evaluating year round...so if a kids is sick or out of town they don't get passed on...

It's not my idea. It's just an idea I agree with. BCSPL trials for u13 should be completed in the u12 season by the BCSPL coaches watching games, TD's watching games, then inviting a limited number of players to a trial. This is a huge time commitment but you will get a better idea of which kids should be looked at BCSPL than you would at an open trial. Maybe you find that the very talented kid has a terrible attitude for one reason or another, but there's this other less talented kid with an amazing work rate. Odds are it's the less talented kid that will go on to have a good "youth career". Every pro can tell you about the kid growing up that was way better than they were, but because they had a great attitude they went pro and the very talented kid with a lesser attitude didn't (unless you are Messi, LeBron, or Gretzky!....even Michael Jordan was cut in middle school)

There were 70 kids at a trial for BCSPL? Didn't I read somewhere BCSPL aren't to have more than 30 at a trial? Limiting how many from a given club can tryout is the wrong way to go. Max of 30, but let's say GAC has 20 kids of "BCSPL level" but SU etc only have 5-6....

If teams are evaluating year round there is no need for an open trial with huge numbers of players. Surrey Utd u13 intake BCSPL, for example, is evaluating SU, GAC and Langley Utd year round they will have identified at minimum 10 players that are guaranteed to make the roster. You invite them. If they accept, great. If they don't, move on to the next kid. The counter argument to that is you want the new/unknown trialists competing against your 10 guaranteed selections so you get a good measure of where the new kids are at.

It's a difficult process. But I do believe year round evaluations to select your team are best, followed by trials for lower-level/unscouted/new kids to compete for the remaining spots. If at those trials 10 outstanding players turn up that are better than what you have, then you have a difficult but good problem!

 

[WTF]

.
How clubs pick teams is a guess, i don't know how you pick 16 kids out of a group 60-100 like talented players..
Delta Coastal Selects had 100+ kids try out for U13 Metro , Surrey Guildford United had some 70-80 show up yesterday, all to make one team each...

Tryouts must good money makers at $15 CASH per player but i feel tryouts should be free .

 

[TKBC]

Tryouts must good money makers at $15 CASH per player but i feel tryouts should be free .

they charge for kids to attend tryouts?

 

[WTF]

they charge for kids to attend tryouts?

Don,t know about other fall clubs but in Surrey the following clubs charge money for tryouts - Surrey Utd, Coastal fc , Surrey Youth SFC . Around $15 CASH per player and many of the tryouts have over 100 players !

 

[TKBC]

Don,t know about other fall clubs but in Surrey the following clubs charge money for tryouts - Surrey Utd, Coastal fc , Surrey Youth SFC . Around $15 CASH per player and many of the tryouts have over 100 players !

Definitely a nice money maker. Field rentals where I live for youth soccer players are very cheap for an hour. I wonder how they are investing this influx of cash back into the club?

 

[4_the_kids]

Definitely a nice money maker. Field rentals where I live for youth soccer players are very cheap for an hour. I wonder how they are investing this influx of cash back into the club?

$10-20 for evaluations is pretty standard in these parts. Is it as money maker? Not really sure , depends on the numbers I guess. Say 10 age groups averaging 70 per group = (70x10)x$15 = $10,500. Now with that they pay for some 30-40 hrs of field time, and likely cover the paid staff wages , so net revenue might be a few thousand dollars, for clubs that have budgets of $600,000 + I don't think its much of a money maker...

 

[Admin]

Yeah, I think a money-maker label is a bit harsh here.

 

[TKBC]

$10-20 for evaluations is pretty standard in these parts. Is it as money maker? Not really sure , depends on the numbers I guess. Say 10 age groups averaging 70 per group = (70x10)x$15 = $10,500. Now with that they pay for some 30-40 hrs of field time, and likely cover the paid staff wages , so net revenue might be a few thousand dollars, for clubs that have budgets of $600,000 + I don't think its much of a money maker...

I agree. What they could be doing is using the income to offset costs elsewhere.

 

[Jaguar]

It's not my idea. It's just an idea I agree with. BCSPL trials for u13 should be completed in the u12 season by the BCSPL coaches watching games, TD's watching games, then inviting a limited number of players to a trial. This is a huge time commitment but you will get a better idea of which kids should be looked at BCSPL than you would at an open trial. Maybe you find that the very talented kid has a terrible attitude for one reason or another, but there's this other less talented kid with an amazing work rate. Odds are it's the less talented kid that will go on to have a good "youth career". Every pro can tell you about the kid growing up that was way better than they were, but because they had a great attitude they went pro and the very talented kid with a lesser attitude didn't (unless you are Messi, LeBron, or Gretzky!....even Michael Jordan was cut in middle school)

There were 70 kids at a trial for BCSPL? Didn't I read somewhere BCSPL aren't to have more than 30 at a trial? Limiting how many from a given club can tryout is the wrong way to go. Max of 30, but let's say GAC has 20 kids of "BCSPL level" but SU etc only have 5-6....

If teams are evaluating year round there is no need for an open trial with huge numbers of players. Surrey Utd u13 intake BCSPL, for example, is evaluating SU, GAC and Langley Utd year round they will have identified at minimum 10 players that are guaranteed to make the roster. You invite them. If they accept, great. If they don't, move on to the next kid. The counter argument to that is you want the new/unknown trialists competing against your 10 guaranteed selections so you get a good measure of where the new kids are at.

It's a difficult process. But I do believe year round evaluations to select your team are best, followed by trials for lower-level/unscouted/new kids to compete for the remaining spots. If at those trials 10 outstanding players turn up that are better than what you have, then you have a difficult but good problem!

 

[Jaguar]

Our club just finished assessments. Out coach is also the club president. God help you if you are not on his good side.

 

[WTF]

Our club just finished assessments. Out coach is also the club president. God help you if you are not on his good side.

Which club are u with and there,s not many club presidents who are coach,s .

 

[WTF]

Definitely a nice money maker. Field rentals where I live for youth soccer players are very cheap for an hour. I wonder how they are investing this influx of cash back into the club?

Many of the big clubs have big revenues and should not be charging players to tryout . Its should just be budgeted into the other operating costs .

 

[TKBC]

Many of the big clubs have big revenues and should not be charging players to tryout . Its should just be budgeted into the other operating costs .

as others said "money maker" isn't maybe fair/accurate, so I certainly change my statement as well as I agree. If they are using the funds from tryouts to reinvest back into their club to offset costs in other areas - then great.

 

[LFC]

Some tryouts are a joke with players selected who are not good enough for Metro and other select levels.Players should be selected based on their performance during the past season and also their showing during the tryouts.

 

[easoccer]

Some tryouts are a joke with players selected who are not good enough for Metro and other select levels.Players should be selected based on their performance during the past season and also their showing during the tryouts.

Lfc you are with Coastal correct? I was at the u16 evals this year. I know some kids who tried out and were offered house. Clearly they were of div 2 calibre. This from a div 2 team with 2 wins in the last 2 years. Is it player loyalty or are they just that narrow minded?

 

[LFC]

I personally experienced a U17 & U18 Metro tryout being held on 4 tiny grids marked out on half a field . There is no common sense used by the Evaluators . Players of that age should start on a half field playing 8 aside and then in the 2nd or invitational tryout play on a full field !

 

[LFC]

Lfc you are with Coastal correct? I was at the u16 evals this year. I know some kids who tried out and were offered house. Clearly they were of div 2 calibre. This from a div 2 team with 2 wins in the last 2 years. Is it player loyalty or are they just that narrow minded?

That U16 team was so poor and needed a total overhaul but i bet many of the same players kept their spots - doesn,t make any sense and not fair on deserving players who miss out !

 

[easoccer]

That U16 team was so poor and needed a total overhaul but i bet many of the same players kept their spots - doesn,t make any sense and not fair on deserving players who miss out !

There were 36 kids. Less on day 1. Theoretically all who showed should have made div 1 or 2.

There were obviously stronger players and some div 4 players. So the kids Im talking about were in the middle of the pack.

There wasnt any small sided games. Just straight to 11v11 on day 1 and 2.

Now from what I saw the coaches did a lot of chatting on the sideline. Barely watching the field.

Kids were doing what they wanted. No formation at all. No passing, just individual runs up the field.

It was chaos and I hate to say it but one of the worst evals I have seen.

 

[TKBC]

There were 36 kids. Less on day 1. Theoretically all who showed should have made div 1 or 2.

There were obviously stronger players and some div 4 players. So the kids Im talking about were in the middle of the pack.

There wasnt any small sided games. Just straight to 11v11 on day 1 and 2.

Now from what I saw the coaches did a lot of chatting on the sideline. Barely watching the field.

Kids were doing what they wanted. No formation at all. No passing, just individual runs up the field.

It was chaos and I hate to say it but one of the worst evals I have seen.

And why I say scrap trials. Select provisional teams based on the previous season. Then arrange training sessions for new trialists and let them know what training sessions are available for them to attend to be evaluated and placed. Then once those are done finalize the teams.

Any kid can shine, or fail over the course of 2-3 trials and be misplaced on a team.