Welcome to the Goalkeeping Newsletter. The subject of
this newsletter will be tryouts. I know that in many states, this is the
time of year when the clubs are conducting their tryouts for teams. It’s a
very anxious time and one that can either be enjoyed or dreaded.
The first thing I want to mention is that from a coach’s standpoint, this is
not an easy time of the year. The idea of cutting players, recruiting
players, figuring out what is the best combination of players are things that
most people in a position to make these decisions despise. As a player,
what you have to do is first decide what you want to be doing and then how are
you going to accomplish it.
When looking for the proper team for yourself, there are many things you have to
take into consideration. Unfortunately, these things are not always
considered and this will make for a terrible experience. Some of the
factors to consider are location (especially for the younger players who don’t
drive), practice times (too often players commit to a team and then realize they
can’t make the practices, check ahead), coaches background (not every coach
really did play for the national team, don’t just accept what a person says.
There are way too many coaches out there whose main qualifications are made up,
check them out. Also realize that just like in looking at an investment,
the disclaimer holds that past performance does not guarantee future success.
If a coach has been successful with a team in the past, find out how long he was
with them and how much of the coaching he actually did), trainers (same concerns
as with the coaches, plus how often will the be attending the training sessions
and matches. Any trainer that says they don’t have to attend
matches or tournaments in order to train a team is either lying or
stupid. Having said this, I admit that I have trained teams without
attending all of their matches. However, I am always upfront in telling
people this is not the optimal way to train a team. There are times when this is
the best alternative out there). Also, find out what tournaments
the team will be attending. This is important for a couple of reasons.
You want to compete at the level that you are best suited. Some
teams go to real low-level tournaments so they can always win and claim to be
special. This accomplishes absolutely nothing for the development of the
team. Other coaches take their teams to tournaments that are over the team’s
capabilities. All this does is force the team to get humiliated and lose
all confidence they might have had (however the coach can brag about all of the
big tournaments they go to). Choosing the correct tournaments for a team
is a real art and finding a coach who can do this properly is very important.
The other part of the tournament factor would be making sure the team isn’t
doing things that you can’t afford to do. Find out the costs of
everything in advance and it will help prevent problems in the future.
Facilities are another factor to take into consideration. Does the team
have access to lights for training? How much space do they have to train
on? Is there a keeper trainer for the team or club (it’s amazing to me
how many keepers never find that out and later on realize that having some
parent throw balls to them is not making them a better keeper)? Does the
team attend camps together and if so when, where and why? It’s funny
that I would write this even though friends of mine run team camps at different
universities but why exactly should a team attend a certain camp together?
Does the coach believe this is the best way to make his team better? Or does he
get to attend camp for free and socialize with the coaches if 8 or more players
from his team attend? Not to get to far off of the subject but if you have
15 players on a team attend a camp that costs $400 per kid you just spent $6000
for a week of training. Instead of doing that, a coach can get a really good
coach to come to the team’s home field for approximately $100 per kid and give
that team more personalized training. In theory, you could do this for 4
straight weeks and see some tremendous improvements in a team although in
reality, you would probably do this for a week or maybe two and then use the
rest of the money for tournaments. Another factors to consider are the
players on the team. Is their level of playing the same as yours?
Can they help you raise your level or will they bring you down? Is the style of
play what you are looking for? These are some of the factors that have to
be considered in choosing a team.
Once you choose which team you would like to try out for, the next step is to
make the team. First of all, be in shape. When I am involved in
evaluating players, one of the first things I look for is conditioning.
This might seem unusual since I can always help a player get in shape later on
but the way I look at it, if a player is not willing to get in shape for a try
out, then he isn’t serious anyway so why bother. Of course, there
could be extenuating circumstances, which should be discussed ahead of time.
Next I look for athletic ability; this is the one factor that really can’t be
taught so it is something that as a coach I will look for real early.
Other factors that I would look for (in different order depending on the
age group of the team) would be technical skill, tactical knowledge, and the
ability to understand what is going on around them. However the absolute
first two things I look for at tryouts are attitude and passion. If a
player thinks he knows everything then I have no need for him (I like teaching
too much to have that type of person around me). Be a positive person who
wants to learn and works hard and you will have a good chance of making most
teams. The big one though is passion. When I see a person who
plays because they love to play, not because they want a scholarship, or they
want to be able to say they are on a certain team or anything like that, but
simply because they want to play and they enjoy it, I will almost always find
room for that person on my team. Be the first one at a try out, the first
one on the field, the first one back from water breaks and the one who is
playing hard yet playing with a huge smile of his face and you will almost
always make the team. That is how you stand out the right way. I
have a player on a youth team I am coaching who has almost no skills, and has
such a limited understanding of the game that I asked her to play center
midfield for a short time on Saturday and she asked if that was the person in
front of the stopping person. She is also a year younger then the rest of
my team. The obvious question is why is she on my team. The answer
is that she has such a joy for the game that she works harder then anyone else
on the field. She wins the ball almost every time (and then has to win it
again and again since she loses the ball on her first touch so often) and plays
with the most genuine enthusiasm I have seen in a long time. Right now, she
doesn’t help my team any but she doesn’t hurt it either because of her
effort. However, 2 years from now, if she continues to show this
enthusiasm and effort, I will guarantee that college coaches will be interested
in her and no one will believe where she came from. I don’t believe I am
unique in the willingness to take chances with players with great attitudes and
a love for the game. I don’t care if a parent tells me their child
loves the game or even if a player says it. It’s the action that
impresses me. If you have something to tell the coach, then you do it,
don’t have your parents do you talking for you. As a coach, I will
spend as much time as needed with the players but quite frankly have very little
time for the parents (I coach the players and not the parents). Take the
initiative.
The other thing is to not be intimidated by a coach. If a coach tells you that
you must make a decision right on the spot and you don’t feel comfortable
doing this, then DON”T DO IT! The absolute worse thing you can do is be
put in a spot where you are forced to make a decision that is wrong for you.
Explain this to the coach and explain your reasons for not wanting to commit
right then. I admit that I have a different attitude about this then many
others since I don’t mind players going to other team tryouts. I have
enough confidence with myself that I know if a player gets all of the
information that is out there, they will most likely make the right choice (and
luckily for me, I know that for many players the right choice ends up being me).
If a player chooses to go elsewhere then that is fine. As a coach, I truly
want what is best for the player (besides if it was the wrong choice, I know
they will correct this mistake the following year). If a coach tells you
that you can’t go to any other tryouts before deciding, maybe you should start
to wonder what they are so afraid of. Is this coach worried you will find
something better out there? If so then go find it. Some coaches
truly will not give you a chance if you don’t commit right then and there, if
that is the case find another team. Do what is best for you.
However, don’t prolong the decision unnecessarily since there will be other
people whose team choices might be dependent on you.
If you take all factors into consideration, get in shape, play hard and have
fun, I believe most people will end up on a team that is in their best
interests.
