There is one more tryout today for the La Mesa Matrix team (U11 going to U12) today

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Tryout: 5:30-7pm. Arrive a little early to register.

Found this via Jared Montz.

WOW!

Tryouts.   Registration.  Commitment.  Questions.  Stress.  Money.  Yup, tryout season is upon us.

I’ve put together a little list of things to remember as you navigate your way through tryouts and registration.

REMEMBER:  Tryouts aren’t just for coaches to pick their teams!

You are interviewing and evaluating coaches just as much as they are evaluating your child.  Don’t bother the coach in the middle of a tryout session, but if you’ve got questions for the coach, show up early or stay after the session to ask your questions.

Coaches should be willing to answer your questions, point you in the direction of someone who can answer your questions, or tell you when they can answer your questions if they’re too busy.

Here are some questions you may want to ask the coach or the club representatives:

• What coaching license do you have?  …more on my opinion of coaching licenses HERE
• How long have you been coaching?
• Did you coach this team last season? (Are you moving up to the next age group with them?)
• How many teams will you be coaching?
• What division will the team be in for the following season? (Premier, AAA, AA-A, AA-B, etc)
• How many teams will the club have in my child’s age group?
• Do you or the club allow kids to “play up” on older teams?  Is “playing up” common in the club?
• How many players are you planning on for the roster? (How many subs?)
• What are you planning for Spring?  Spring League?  Indoor Soccer?
• Are you open to kids playing other sports? (Little League baseball/softball, travel ball, football, volleyball, etc)
• What is your policy if a player misses your practice(s) because of a conflict with another sport?
• How many summer & holiday tournaments are you planning on joining?  How many will be out of town? (requiring hotels, driving, flying)
• When will you be notifying families about tryout results?

Before you head to tryouts or talk to a coach, sit down as a family and talk about what you’re looking for in a club/team/coach and what answers you’d like to hear when you ask those questions.  Coaches or club representatives should be willing to answer questions for you.  YOU are the one paying THEM.  You’re trusting your child with them, and they should be willing and eager to answer any questions you have.

REMEMBER: Don’t sign a registration form until you’re ready to commit to a club!

The registration form looks like this:

That is the form that clubs use to register your child with CalSouth.  CalSouth uses this form as proof of your commitment to a club.  DO NOT SIGN IT for a club until you are ready to commit to a club and a team.

If you do sign a registration form with one club then decide to join a different club, be sure to submit a request IN WRITING (and keep a copy!) to the first club asking that they destroy your registration form and not register your child with CalSouth.

REMEMBER:  Clubs can not register their players and teams until JULY!

Coaches want to solidify their rosters and clubs want to get your registration fees as early as possible (for very good reasons, mind you), but once you sign a registration form and hand over money, the club can’t do anything with those registration forms until July when the CalSouth registration period begins for the upcoming season.

Clubs and teams who join Spring Leagues can register players with a “Spring League player card,” but they still have to wait until July to officially register players for the regular season.  Up until July, you can transfer to another club, and the original club is required to refund any registration money you’ve paid (less any minor non-refundable processing fees or Spring League registration they may have paid for you).  When you register for a club and sign their paperwork, be sure to read the money policies carefully!

If you’re in the midst of a Spring League and your child is not liking the club or the coach, you can still move to another club pretty easily.  Talk to your current coach/club about your concerns first, of course!  If they’re worth your time and money, they’ll be open to discussing your concerns with you and finding a good solution.   But don’t feel like you’re “locked in” with a club if you want to evaluate some other options for your child!  You have until July to freely move to another club.  (Even after July, you can still transfer, but the process is more involved.)

REMEMBER:  Have fun!  Soccer is a beautiful game.

Don’t stress out about tryouts too much (I need to take this advice more often!!!).  Most seasoned soccer parents whose kids are grown will tell you that after all the fretting, everything almost always works out for the best and the stress was pointless.  Enjoy this time with your child — they won’t be this young much longer, and we need to enjoy their youth and face soccer with a fun-loving attitude — after all, it is a GAME!  HAVE FUN!

I’ve been involved with club soccer for a relatively short time now, compared to most, but I’ve learned a little bit about coaching licenses… here’s my view:

An “E” license is the lowest & easiest license to get and involves going to a coaching clinic/class over a weekend, submitting to a background check & fingerprints, and passing a relatively simple coaching test.  My son’s first coach (back in his U9 year) had his “E” license, and I remember him trying to make it sound like something very impressive.  At the time, I was impressed because I didn’t know any better.  There’s also a “rec” license, that’s even easier to get than an “E” license, but most clubs require a coach to at least have an “E” license.

The licenses get harder and harder to earn  and maintain, all the way up to an “A” license.  Professional and NCAA Div1 coaches will all have “A” licenses.   To keep these licenses, you need to rack up “points” as well, by attending continuing education like coaching clinics, soccer expo clinics, etc.  The tests for the higher licenses are also VERY tough.   I remember being at a photography tradeshow one year in Tampa, and the entire hotel was filled with “soccer people.” (You know how you can just tell when a crowd is a “soccer crowd?”  This was definitely a “soccer crowd”)  I asked one of the guys what was going on, and he told me that they were there from all over the country for the “B license” test.  It was 3 or 4 day event full of very difficult written tests and high-pressure tests on a field.  These guys all looked VERY nervous & serious!  I can only imagine how difficult the A-license tests are.

Granted, the level of a coach’s license does not give you an end-all-be-all guage of the quality of the coach!  The “E” license coach my son had was great with the boys, and Mat really enjoyed that year of soccer.  He learned a lot and improved over the course of the season.   There’s also a coach around my area with his “A” license, and that guy will NEVER EVER coach my son (that’s one of those “club soccer drama” stories… maybe I’ll post it one day).  So, you can’t judge a coach on the license alone.  But it is important.

The bottom line is this:  A club soccer coach should at LEAST have an “E” license.  A coach who really cares about his/her team should have a “D” license or be able to tell you EXACTLY when the “D” license class is that they’ve already signed up for.

Striving for a higher level of coaching license shows a commitment to education — evidence that the coach really cares about improving and knows that there is always more to learn about “The Beautiful Game.”