Unless you stay in the recreational realm during your entire soccer career, you may face a tryout to take your place on an elite team. Tryouts start with youth travel teams and the Olympic Development Program aimed at teen players and high-school programs; they continue with certain competitive adult teams and, of course, professional and semi-pro teams. Even superbly conditioned NFL wide receiver Chad Ochocinco found himself humbled by the challenge. "I'm not going to take anybody's job here ... It's not going to happen," he said during a tryout with the Sporting Kansas City pro soccer team. You can top Ochocinco's results with more balanced preparation for your tryout.
Aerobic Conditioning
Come to your tryout in top condition so that what the evaluator sees in the first five minutes does not disappear a half-hour later, states Frank Olszewski, coach of the Towson Tigers at Towson University in Maryland, in an interview. Your conditioning needs to match your technical abilities. The best approach is to play as much soccer as possible in the buildup to your tryout. If you are trying out for a college team, look to play on the college's club team in the meantime. Find recreational or informal pickup games if you are trying to get onto a club team.
Anaerobic Conditioning
You can work on your own on sprints -- runs under two minutes -- to balance your aerobic endurance gained by playing soccer with anaerobic conditioning. Coaches, including North Carolina's conditioning coach, Greg Gatz, recommend 120-yard repeats, also called 120s: sprints the full length of a typical 120-yard soccer field. Begin the drill on one end line with a coach or teammate timing you. On command, sprint the full length of the field, looking for a time of 20 seconds if you are a college-level goalkeeper or 18 seconds if you play in the field. Jog back to the start in 25 seconds and rest for 30 more seconds. Complete six repetitions and build up to 10 repetitions.
High-School Level
High-school programs also recommend 120s but look for a time closer to 25 seconds or less. For example, the Jay M. Robinson High School girls' soccer team in North Carolina wants players to work out before tryouts by completing 15 120s, running an extra drill for each one that is more than 25 seconds, up to five extras maximum. Recommended anaerobic conditioning workouts for the high-school program include intervals, such as four sprints of 300 yards, with 60 seconds of rest between each; six sprints of 200 yards, with 45 seconds of rest between each; and eight sprints of 100 yards, with 30 seconds of rest between each.
Additional Components
A full program to prepare for a tryout may include, in addition to aerobic and anaerobic conditioning, drills to improve acceleration, speed, agility and explosiveness. You may be asked to complete two sessions of strength training a week, including body squats, pushups, walking lunges and box jumps or box step-ups. As part of your routine, perform supermans, which entail lying on your stomach on an exercise mat and raising your arms, with thumbs pointed toward the ceiling, and legs above the mat for multiple repetitions. Ask the coach for a copy of the recommended training program about two months before your tryout to begin your preparation or devise your own, based on work with a personal trainer or soccer conditioning coach.
References
- YouTube; Chad Ochocinco Sporting Kansas City Soccer Tryout Press Conference; The PitchTV; March 2011
- Frank Olszewski; Head Coach, Towson Tigers Men's Soccer Team; Towson, Maryland
- "Complete Conditioning for Soccer"; Greg Gatz; 2009
- Jay M. Robinson High School; Girls Soccer Information; Soccer Workouts
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