HS Tryout Process

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Freshman on varsity

MOST freshman are really not mature enough, good enough, big enough, and socially ready to play Varsity. Many Freshman may actually deserve a spot on the Varsity but in most cases they won't get much playing time. There is nothing wrong with allowing a senior that has paid his dues a spot on the team and some playing time when possible .I found through experience that is was much better for my son to play with the JV and get to play every minute of every game. At our school the Good Freshman players spend part of the time practicing with the Varsity. This worked well for my son and this year he is well prepared for Varsity play and will get a decent amount of playing time as a sophomore on a very strong team. It is also very important to be on a good club team with excellent coaching. We are fortunate to have a coach that really gets it for both his High School and Club teams. Our High School coach makes sure he gets to know the players trying out and spends time evaluating all the players.

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MOST freshman are really not mature enough, good enough, big enough, and socially ready to play Varsity. Many Freshman may actually deserve a spot on the Varsity but in most cases they won't get much playing time. There is nothing wrong with allowing a senior that has paid his dues a spot on the team and some playing time when possible .I found through experience that is was much better for my son to play with the JV and get to play every minute of every game. At our school the Good Freshman players spend part of the time practicing with the Varsity. This worked well for my son and this year he is well prepared for Varsity play and will get a decent amount of playing time as a sophomore on a very strong team. It is also very important to be on a good club team with excellent coaching. We are fortunate to have a coach that really gets it for both his High School and Club teams. Our High School coach makes sure he gets to know the players trying out and spends time evaluating all the players.

An excellent effort to get things back on track.

Interesting comment re: JV playing time (every minute, every game). Taking that at face value, I'm completely against it. Varsity is entirely about winning, Freshmen entirely about the experience (from social to soccer development, one more than the other perhaps given the program), but JV is somewhere between the two and the idea that one player's development or experience on JV is less than another isn't something I'm in favor of.

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An excellent effort to get things back on track.

Interesting comment re: JV playing time (every minute, every game). Taking that at face value, I'm completely against it. Varsity is entirely about winning, Freshmen entirely about the experience (from social to soccer development, one more than the other perhaps given the program), but JV is somewhere between the two and the idea that one player's development or experience on JV is less than another isn't something I'm in favor of.

I think it is an easier leap for Freshman girls due to earlier/faster maturation process. This also probably results in more parent - coach/ad conflicts.

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I think it is an easier leap for Freshman girls due to earlier/faster maturation process. This also probably results in more parent - coach/ad conflicts.

Being a freshman on a girls varsity team has its own set of challenges. Girls kill each other, especially when they have younger players. Have seen more intervention because of bullying than playing time.

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I'm going to have to start really paying closer attention to Perspective/OCDMan's BTDT rants. There does seem to be something cyclical about them. He goes into these rages where is is convinced that BTDT is posting as much as he himself posts. You can see it rise to a crescendo and then finally he'll go somewhat quiet for a day or so. Then he'll come back with no mention of BTDT and actually makes some decent posts, but that will only last so long before his BTDT rage takes hold of him again and off he goes posting 100s of posts a day. It would be an interesting study to chart the rise and fall of his postsand those particularly involving BTDT if I only had the time to do it.

Its pretty clear that Perspective forgets to take his meds some days.

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Been there.. on boys and girls side

I have 2 soccer players that made Varsity as Freshman... and 2 very different experiences. My son made the team and started games early in the season, but the physicalness of the game was a bit much for him and he ended up sitting on the bench a lot. Coach did not want to "demote" him to JV to get that playing time back, so instead tried to get my son to consider this as teaching time. Unfortunately for him, my son lost a lot of confidence and actually lost a step vs other freshman that started on JV and played a ton of minutes. And the upper classman did not appreciate losing any playing time to a freshman and used their influence both on coaching staff and on fellow teammates to promote the older players more. My guess is that had he managed the physical play better, that part could have worked out differently.

Talent as a freshman boy is key, but being able to adjust to the physical style of HS boys soccer and be mentally prepared to share time, or sit out of games based on game situation also needs to be factored in. Unless the player is going to be a key part of the team and be able to stay on the field 50% (maybe that is too high), then better off working hard as a leader on the JV team.

My daughter was able to hold her own both physically and mentally as a freshman on Varsity. Could be due to earlier development cycle for girls than boys, but that is not my area of expertise. Social challenges did surface, but contributions on the field trumped that as well as proving she could compete against larger opponents. Overall she was embraced by her teammates and that helped her along. For her, Varsity was the right place, even if she was not playing 100% of every game.

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I have 2 soccer players that made Varsity as Freshman... and 2 very different experiences. My son made the team and started games early in the season, but the physicalness of the game was a bit much for him and he ended up sitting on the bench a lot. Coach did not want to "demote" him to JV to get that playing time back, so instead tried to get my son to consider this as teaching time. Unfortunately for him, my son lost a lot of confidence and actually lost a step vs other freshman that started on JV and played a ton of minutes. And the upper classman did not appreciate losing any playing time to a freshman and used their influence both on coaching staff and on fellow teammates to promote the older players more. My guess is that had he managed the physical play better, that part could have worked out differently.

Talent as a freshman boy is key, but being able to adjust to the physical style of HS boys soccer and be mentally prepared to share time, or sit out of games based on game situation also needs to be factored in. Unless the player is going to be a key part of the team and be able to stay on the field 50% (maybe that is too high), then better off working hard as a leader on the JV team.

My daughter was able to hold her own both physically and mentally as a freshman on Varsity. Could be due to earlier development cycle for girls than boys, but that is not my area of expertise. Social challenges did surface, but contributions on the field trumped that as well as proving she could compete against larger opponents. Overall she was embraced by her teammates and that helped her along. For her, Varsity was the right place, even if she was not playing 100% of every game.

Excellent post. I think you've highlighted some typical experiences and where challenges emerge - they might first be rooted in talent and athleticism (physical), but they never seem to be disconnected from the emotional, social, etc. (mental).

Maturity is a word that applies across the board and I think some coaches are very sensitive and astute in gauging who is ready and who isn't, while other coaches fail. Some of those who fail are well-intended selections and the consequences are unintended, but there are some coaches whose motives are anything but selfless, putting the long-term, best interest of the player first.

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There is frequent posts about how bad HS coaches are, that they are teachers etc.

I think is some ways it is good to have a teacher coaching, they work with kids all the time. As professionals they should know if kids are in a good place or not. They are aware of bullying etc. (granted because they are human they are not without fault)

Some people may reply that they are part of the problem or stuck in their ways but for the most part the teachers to try to do what is best for the kids, I don't think they would be in the profession if that was not so.

For the most part club soccer coaches are there for other reasons, most as a stepping stone to something else. Just my opinion, rip it if you must.

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There is frequent posts about how bad HS coaches are, that they are teachers etc.

I think is some ways it is good to have a teacher coaching, they work with kids all the time. As professionals they should know if kids are in a good place or not. They are aware of bullying etc. (granted because they are human they are not without fault)

Some people may reply that they are part of the problem or stuck in their ways but for the most part the teachers to try to do what is best for the kids, I don't think they would be in the profession if that was not so.

For the most part club soccer coaches are there for other reasons, most as a stepping stone to something else. Just my opinion, rip it if you must.

Considering the small stipend these teacher's receive for the time and energy invested in coaching a high school team, parents ought to be grateful they've even accepted the post. But I know that's asking too much, especially from many of the ingrates and chronic whiners on this site.

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There is frequent posts about how bad HS coaches are, that they are teachers etc.

I think is some ways it is good to have a teacher coaching, they work with kids all the time. As professionals they should know if kids are in a good place or not. They are aware of bullying etc. (granted because they are human they are not without fault)

Some people may reply that they are part of the problem or stuck in their ways but for the most part the teachers to try to do what is best for the kids, I don't think they would be in the profession if that was not so.

For the most part club soccer coaches are there for other reasons, most as a stepping stone to something else. Just my opinion, rip it if you must.

You got it. Give me a coach who is in it for the kids any day over one who is in it for other reasons. This is a big problem with the club environment. Way too many of the coaches are not in it for the kids.

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An excellent effort to get things back on track.

Interesting comment re: JV playing time (every minute, every game). Taking that at face value, I'm completely against it. Varsity is entirely about winning, Freshmen entirely about the experience (from social to soccer development, one more than the other perhaps given the program), but JV is somewhere between the two and the idea that one player's development or experience on JV is less than another isn't something I'm in favor of.

JV and Frosh should be about a blend of winning and development, similar to club soccer. However, unlike club soccer, where in my opinion, the coach has an obligation to try to give each player enough playing time to develop, in HS I don't think there is any such obligations and so the coaches focus on the development of the players who may be able to contribute to the varsity team in the future. On a big roster, this could mean that the players with the most potential play a substantial portion of every game, while the ones believed to have little potential play minor minutes. I don't think this is appropriate in a club setting, where every parent is paying for development, but I think it is appropriate for HS JV and Frosh teams.

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JV and Frosh should be about a blend of winning and development, similar to club soccer. However, unlike club soccer, where in my opinion, the coach has an obligation to try to give each player enough playing time to develop, in HS I don't think there is any such obligations and so the coaches focus on the development of the players who may be able to contribute to the varsity team in the future. On a big roster, this could mean that the players with the most potential play a substantial portion of every game, while the ones believed to have little potential play minor minutes. I don't think this is appropriate in a club setting, where every parent is paying for development, but I think it is appropriate for HS JV and Frosh teams.

As a former HS coach I have to disagree with the opening tenet of your post. I never cared whether my JV teams won. I was only concerned with touches and experience for future players. In fact I typically scheduled my JV teams against tougher opponents where wins were unlikely. I can't remember a season when I didn't bring up players from JV due to injuries or other reasons. A number of times these players never left the line-up. JV really serves two dual roles: 1) playing venue for less competitive HS players who want a team experience, 2) playing venue for future players who are likely to have significant varsity roles in a year or two. It wasn't all that difficult to balance those two things.

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Sounds like

It sounds like your squad sucks! My JV squad holds freshman who cant play now and soph and juniors who have little hope of helping...

As a former HS coach I have to disagree with the opening tenet of your post. I never cared whether my JV teams won. I was only concerned with touches and experience for future players. In fact I typically scheduled my JV teams against tougher opponents where wins were unlikely. I can't remember a season when I didn't bring up players from JV due to injuries or other reasons. A number of times these players never left the line-up. JV really serves two dual roles: 1) playing venue for less competitive HS players who want a team experience, 2) playing venue for future players who are likely to have significant varsity roles in a year or two. It wasn't all that difficult to balance those two things.

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It sounds like your squad sucks! My JV squad holds freshman who cant play now and soph and juniors who have little hope of helping...

Whose team sucks?

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Whose team sucks?

My varsity team has a 75% wiining record over the last 5 years. JV is at about 30% - absolutely no relationship between the two.

Do you think the Red Sox really care if their minor league teams win.