How to Best Succeed at a Youth Soccer Tryout

Tryouts, during which a child is observed and judged by adults holding clipboards, can be exciting but stressful. By following the steps below, you can help your child be prepared for the big moment.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Appropriate clothing
• Hair ties

1. Be prepared. Bring your child to a tryout on time (even early).
2. Make sure the child is dressed appropriately. Have her come in soccer gear, with long hair tied back and without jewelry of any kind.
3. Feed your child healthy foods and bring her well-fed and ready to play.
4. Stop at the bathroom before the tryout. Nervous children may forget to go.
5. Keep yourself from becoming part of the process. Many parents choose not to observe, but if you do, sit at a distance, watch and do not speak or cheer.
6. Do not speak to evaluators during the evaluation process. This may put stress on your child and the evaluator, risking an appearance of compromised objectivity. Before or after the try-out, avoid speaking to evaluators unless you need information.

Tips & Warnings

• Understand the process. Often, little is understood of how a tryout works. Inquire about details of how the tryout will be conducted beforehand.
• Know what selectors look for. Evaluators look for specific abilities such as speed, ball-control skills and passing ability.
• Check out attitude. Selectors also look for communication skills, hustle, aggressiveness and enthusiasm.
• Exhibit good behavior. Trying out is a subjective process, and there are cases in which children are deliberately not chosen based on the reputation and inappropriate behavior of their parents.