Soccer Edition 46

Welcome to the Soccer Newsletter. Today's subject will be a continuation of last week's tryout newsletter.

First I would like to address some administrative stuff. The FineSoccer Forum has been changed. Due to posts being inexplicitly lost, I have moved it to a different server. You can check it out at http://finesoccer.com/forum.htm. There still is a link to the old forum on that page so you can see previous subjects. Please check it out and add your comments (the new one is very empty right now).

A subscriber wrote in asking me to continue the discussion about the tryout process (if you missed it or need a reminder of what I have written, check it out at http://finesoccer.com/soccer_edition_45.htm. He asked about how to handle cutting players who have been on the team for a long time.  There are many different ways to handle the actual notification process of who made the team and who hasn't. Some that I have seen include sending a letter out in the mail, posting it on the bulletin board at the field, calling each player individually and meeting with each player individually. A man I used to coach with actually would get up at the end of the tryout and thank everyone for coming and trying out then would announce the names of the players who had made the team. The parents thought this was a very cold way to do things but there actually were some advantages to this method. One of the most important things to do is to let the players know as soon as possible whether they made the team or not. To tell them to go home and wait for a letter in the mail is unfair since if they didn't make the team, they need to start making arrangements to find another team. There also is the problem of one player not receiving the notification for a couple of days after the others (mail does work kind of weird sometimes).

If the decision has been made as to who will be on the team and who wont before they leave the field, a great method to notify them is to have the coach (and manager) stand between the field and parking lot and have the players come one by one to meet with them. Each player can be thanked for coming and notified of their status. This way, they can get the information and continue to the parking lot without having to deal with the others in order to avoid some embarrassment (if they didn't make the team which truthfully should not be embarrassing at all).

If the decision has not been made at this time, tell them what day it will be made and have the coach call candidates to notify them. This way, they know when and how they will be notified and can be home to receive the call. The coach should be the one to tell
the players.  Another factor to take into consideration is whether you really want to have tryouts. The purpose of a team is not always what people think it is. For example, if this is a little neighborhood team that was put together to allow a group of friends to play together, should there be a tryout? (Please understand I am not criticizing people who go this direction and I have also known some incredible teams who started this way and improved by teaching this close group to be great players rather then having to go out and recruit new to make them better). If this is the purpose of the team, rather then having tryouts, if you need to pick up a player or two, just invite them to train with the team to see how they fit in with the players. 

If it has been determined that the purpose of the team is to get the best available players and try to win everything, then anyone with a child on the team MUST be removed from the equation. If the manager of the team has a daughter on it (and in almost every case I know this is the case) then this manager cannot be involved in the tryout process and must be willing to accept that their daughter has to make the team as well. It is terribly unfair to have some players automatically on the team and others have to try out. Yet this is the case in too many situations.  The key to the tryout process and selection process is to be open and fair with everyone involved. Also realize, that in most cases you are dealing with youngsters and not only are they soccer players but they are also children with feelings. Treat them right and in time, when they are in a position to be fair, they will do this as well.

Don't forget to participate in the survey at http://finesoccer.com/survey.htm

Comments, questions or suggestions should be sent to comments@finesoccer.com or posted on the FineSoccer Forum at http://finesoccer.com/forum.htm

Have a great day.

Lawrence