A soccer tryout is designed to test the talents and abilities of prospective soccer players. Many youth organizations hire professional coaches and managers to run the teams and teach young players the proper way to play the game. These professionals have limited opportunities to make assessments and they want to see players who have the tools to play the game successfully.
Speed
Assess the speed of your prospective players. Coaches can teach players many of the skills needed to play the game of soccer, but you can't teach speed. At the start of practice, have all players line up at the end line and sprint 15 yards and back, 30 yards and back and to midfield and back. Record each player's time. Do the same sprint test at the end of the tryout session to see how fast players run when they are fatigued.
Ball Handling and Passing
Set up a series of five cones about 30 yards from the goal. Have each player dribble to the right of the first cone, left of the second cone, right of the third cone and so on until he has reached the last cone. At that point, have him pass the ball 20 yards to a teammate on the opposite side of the field. This will help you assess basic dribbling skills and passing ability.
Receive and Shoot
Players have to be able to receive the ball after taking a pass and control it. Then they must show they can get off a hard and quick shot. Have a player set up about 25 yards from the goal. A coach will pass the ball to the player and she must control it and then fire off a quick shot on goal. The player should be looking at the two upper corners or lower corners when she fires her shot. This drill demonstrates how comfortable a player is with the ball and the level of her offensive ability.
Scrimmage
A player must put his skills, athleticism, toughness and determination to the test by playing a practice game called a scrimmage against other tryout candidates. You will see the player's athletic skills and abilities during the other tryout drills. A scrimmage will show you how well a player competes against his peers. The players who fight the hardest are the players you want on your team, even if their ability levels are a tad below the most talented players.
References
- SoccerXpert: Soccer Drills
- Soccer Coaching; Soccer Tryouts; Tom Sauder; May 30, 2007
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