Monday, July 11, 2011

How to be successfull in soccer Tryout?

Coaches each have their own way of conducting a soccer tryout, a necessity for travel teams run by youth soccer clubs and at the high school, college and professional levels. The coach watches how you play the game and assesses your fitness and attitude. Arrive well-rested, with bottled water and a willingness to take direction --- and display your willingness to learn.
Fitness Tests
The Cooper test seeks to find how far you can run in under 12 minutes, with most coaches looking for at least two miles. The coach may see instead how many laps of the track you can do in 12 minutes. Speed testing can measure your times in the 20- and 40-yard dash if you are an older youth player. You may be asked to do rat races, running from the end line to a yard line or cone marker, back to the end line, to the next marker, and so forth. With younger age groups, such as 7- to 10-year-olds, simple sprint drills such as Musical Soccer, with seven cones set up for 10 players to run the width of the field, can measure the speedsters, as can relay races, writes D.W. Crisfield in "Knack Coaching Youth Soccer." The vertical leap test, which involves a standing jump and brushing your fingertips against a pole with measuring vanes, tests leaping ability, as the name suggests.
Drills
You may be asked to engage in two-on-two drills to see if you can finish --- meaning score at close range given an opportunity --- with just one teammate and two opponents. A game of keep-away shows your defensive ability and how well you read the ball. You might also be asked to dribble through cones or markers in tryouts for a team in younger age groups. Prospective goalkeepers face drills of their ability to stop shots. At higher levels, such as the Olympic Development Program, goalies face wave after wave of forwards bringing the ball down in lines, crossing in front of goal and attempting to finish.
Small-Sided Games
You'll almost certainly be asked to join a scrimmage squad of three to six players to show how you perform in situations that resemble a game yet provide more touches on the ball than a full 11-per-side match. Small-sided games are likely to be the core activity of the tryout. Do your best to mesh with your impromptu teammates and show leadership, poise and your decision-making ability. The coach or assessor looks for how your work in the skills drills translates into the added pressure of game-like conditions.
Full-Squad Scrimmage
The coach will also direct 11-player teams in a scrimmage to see how you handle the larger space of a full field. You might be asked to play an unfamiliar position, so keep an open mind. The coach or assessors will be looking to see if you can keep the ball when challenged, win 50-50 balls and get into open space, Crisfield notes. Try to be the player who frequently ends up with the ball.