The Standards for Premier Soccer Tryouts

In the United States, the term "premier" is often attributed with top soccer camps within a particular State, although the title is not given by any official governing body. There are a lot of premier soccer clubs in the US, with each club having varying regulations and requirements for people to become eligible for tryout; however, there are some requirements that often come as standard within all these clubs.

  1. Player Skills

    • Premier soccer clubs require players to have knowledge and skill, even before trying out, such as ball control, stamina, agility and knowledge about the rules of the game. Standards in this area vary from club to club, but premier soccer clubs expect people who try out for their team to already have intermediate to advanced knowledge about soccer. Drills and exercises to test a player's stamina and ball handling are also often part of the evaluation process.

    Positions

    • There are around thirteen positions that a player can try out for, with each position requiring specific skills and physical traits. For example, standards for picking a midfielder will be different when picking a goalie. Midfielders often need to have strength and agility to quickly defend their lines or pass the ball to offensive players, while a goalie needs to be fast enough to defend the goal-line and be strong enough to kick or throw the ball at least up to the middle of the field when setting up plays.

    Athletic Potential

    • Most premier clubs do not necessarily look for the best player in terms of ball handling and skills when doing drills. Since coaches are building a whole team, each applicant is evaluated based on his or her athletic potential and ability to play as a member of a team. Most premier clubs differ when considering athletic potential in an applicant; however, the main point of this standard is for a player to have enough skill, determination and potential to become a strong team player.

    Attitude

    • Like any other type of sport, coaches look for applicants who are team players and follow instructions. Soccer, because of the nature of the sport, requires that each player become a team player for them to succeed. The standards in this particular area may not be as quantifiable as the other criteria, but it is often required to be evaluated to see if a player will become an asset or a liability when the competition begins.