The Worst Part of Coaching—the Tryout

For many young players, there is nothing more nerve-racking than trying out for a team. The reasons are plentiful. A player is:

• Competing against players that may be much better than them.
• Being evaluated by a brand new coach and is being ranked and rated.
• Dealing with the internal pressure of possibly not making the team.

The tryout is not much easier for the coach. Sure it is fun to see and evaluate new talent, especially when a player you have never seen before or heard anything about makes a favorable impression. But there is usually nothing harder a coach will have to do the whole season than having to tell a young player that he did not make the team.

As a coach for a number of competitive teams, I have learned over the years some very good practices that make these difficult decisions easier for the coaches as well as for the players and parents.

• Before the final roster is announced or posted, the players who did not make the team need to be called.
  • If a parent answers, tell the parent why you are calling and when you are done with him or her that you would like to speak to Billy personally. As I wrote in a previous post entitled, ‘Player, Parents, and Coach Meetings and Evaluations‘, tell the parent the good aspects of Billy’s game and character and then a few things that he needs to work on. Also tell the parent that you want to send a thank you letter to Billy that will include an overview of the positives and what he should work on. An email could work, but a letter is more meaningful.
  • If the player answers, take a deep breath and proceed with the unwanted news in a caring and nurturing manner. When you are done, make sure you get an opportunity to talk with a parent.
  • If there is no answer, leave a message asking them to call you back. Don’t leave a message saying Billy did not make the team. If they don’t call back and the next day there is still no answer, send them an email.
• After the tryouts and throughout the season, make yourself available to the players who did not make the team as well as to the parents. Provide them with your email address and tell them they can contact you any time.
• Remember the names and faces of the players who did not make your team. When you run into them, call them by name and ask how they are doing. (I am terrible with names so when I don’t remember a name, I ask them to remind me).
• Try getting the names of the teams that these players end up playing for. Keep this information in a paper notebook you carry with you in a PDA or phone. When you happen across a game that features one of these teams, watch the game. If time permits, talk with the player and parents after the game. If you see improvement in Billy’s game, especially in the areas you mentioned that needed work, mention it. If you don’t have time, send them an email.
• At some point during the season, send an email to the players that did not make the team and their parents inquiring how things are going.
• Make sure that during the tryouts the players and parents know how you intend to contact everyone with the results so there are no surprises.

Yes, taking the time to call 10, 20, or 30+ players is time consuming and composing notes about the positives and areas for improvement for each player requires a great deal of effort. But I believe, especially with young players, tryouts must not be a bad experience. Taking the extra time and effort and showing care and compassion will mean a lot to the players and his/her parents who did not make the team. Don’t expect everyone to thank you for your efforts but in the long run, these players and parents will appreciate you.

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Effort and Playing Time

One of the most difficult parts of coaching youth soccer is allocating playing time. As a coach you want to be as equitable with the playing time as possible. For house (or non-competitive, non-traveling) teams, this was always easy. My philosophy was to give each player the same amount of playing time, regardless of skill. Only disciplinary issues would result in less playing time.

With competitive teams, playing time became much more difficult to manage. I still tried to be as equitable as possible but now skill level, attitude, score, and effort also contributed to or resulted in a lack of playing time.

For me, the most important trait in a competitive youth player is effort—the more effort put forth in a game and the more energy expended during game, the more playing time the player receives. I’m a strong believer that at the end of every game, a player should be very tired and have very little energy left over.

To illustrate how effort impacted the allocation of playing time with two charts.  The first chart illustrates the playing time during a game for Players A and B early in the season (x-axis). Both players start the game (green line). Player A puts forth much more effort and expends much more energy that Player B (y-axis). Both are taken out at the same time to recuperate (yellow double line). Because I like Player A’s effort, I put her in after a short rest. Even though Player B has completely recovered her energy, she remains on the bench because of the lack of effort exhibited on the field (red double line). Player B does make it back into the game but if the effort is not there, her playing time remains less than Player A’s playing time.

It is important for Player A to understand that she needs to be taken out of the game. If she did not come out, all of her energy would be used up before the end of the game (green dashed line). As a coach, I would much rather have her on the field at the end of the game. In addition, by taking her out, others get a chance to play.

The second chart illustrates what the playing time may look like midway through the season for Players A and B. Player A is still getting the same amount of playing time. However, Player B is getting less playing time because the effort is still not there.

Player B should not lose hope. If I see more effort and energy during the game (and during practice … what they say is true, “you play the way you practice”), playing time would increase.

If you are a coach or a parent, show these charts to your players/child so they understand that effort can make all the difference in the world … and not just in soccer.