|
|
Post by soccerparentx on May 23, 2023 10:28:17 GMT -5
UFA was disappointing. They took their top teams and pulled them aside; everyone else was just being babysat not really watching anything. They didn't even play the game of a real tryout for the first 30 minutes? Normally, clubs will have small sided scrimmages for the first 30 minutes or so with everyone mixed up and they will play several games. Then a water break. Then will take the previously identified (weeks ago, not at tryouts) and start grouping them together for small sided scrimmages and sending other kids to other fields for scrimmages. Then another water break. Then larger sided games with too many people in too little of a space. My favorite is 11 v. 11 on a 7 v 7 field. Night 2. Skip the small sided games and just scrimmage with too many people in too little of a space. Coaches mostly on phones. Night 3. Rinse and repeat. Isn't Night 2 Moving Day? Surely there is a better way to do tryout rather than moving them up and down fields... |
|
|
|
Post by atlnoleg on May 23, 2023 10:36:51 GMT -5
A lot of people give AFU grief but if they put their inflated egos aside and came out they would be surprised at what they see. Last night the first 15-20 mins were stretching then they were split into 5 teams of 12. They teams rotated field to field with the keepers staying put. The teams were sorted by 1-2-3-4-5 so all players of all skill level were blended. Sure some teams were stronger than others but it was not intentional. Anywhere from 3-4 coaches were on each field evaluating players. It would be nice if people with their inflated egos and pride took the time to see what else is out there instead of continuing to drink the Kool-Aid of these other places. Glad that you had a good experience with AFU. What age group were you watching last night? Who is the top team head coach? I have been to AFU ID camps and tryouts in previous years. How the ID camp and tryout are run are very dependent on the coach of the top team. I have seen it just as you described; I have seen it where the head guy already has his team set and leaves after 20 or 30 minutes; and I have seen it where they immediately break kids up into to perceived teams. Like most clubs, it all depends on who the coach is going to be. We did not do AFU tryouts (2010 boys), but did do their ECNL ID camp. It was not well organized like the tryouts described above. They did passing/dribbling drills for a bit and then just broke the 30 or so kids into two teams and crowded them into one 9v9 sized field to scrimmage for an hour. It was a hot mess. Coaches talked to my kid after about trying out but, he didn't enjoy the experience there so we won't be trying out there. |
|
|
|
Post by mightydawg on May 23, 2023 10:39:26 GMT -5
They didn't even play the game of a real tryout for the first 30 minutes? Normally, clubs will have small sided scrimmages for the first 30 minutes or so with everyone mixed up and they will play several games. Then a water break. Then will take the previously identified (weeks ago, not at tryouts) and start grouping them together for small sided scrimmages and sending other kids to other fields for scrimmages. Then another water break. Then larger sided games with too many people in too little of a space. My favorite is 11 v. 11 on a 7 v 7 field. Night 2. Skip the small sided games and just scrimmage with too many people in too little of a space. Coaches mostly on phones. Night 3. Rinse and repeat. Isn't Night 2 Moving Day? Surely there is a better way to do tryout rather than moving them up and down fields... At the ECNL level, we have always had our spot either before tryouts or by the end of night one. There may be a spot or 2 left for night 2 in case superstar from rival club shows up on night 2 but there are not many at the top by that point. |
|
|
|
Post by playfromtheback on May 23, 2023 11:04:12 GMT -5
They didn't even play the game of a real tryout for the first 30 minutes? Normally, clubs will have small sided scrimmages for the first 30 minutes or so with everyone mixed up and they will play several games. Then a water break. Then will take the previously identified (weeks ago, not at tryouts) and start grouping them together for small sided scrimmages and sending other kids to other fields for scrimmages. Then another water break. Then larger sided games with too many people in too little of a space. My favorite is 11 v. 11 on a 7 v 7 field. Night 2. Skip the small sided games and just scrimmage with too many people in too little of a space. Coaches mostly on phones. Night 3. Rinse and repeat. Isn't Night 2 Moving Day? Surely there is a better way to do tryout rather than moving them up and down fields... It took them forever to get organized which is understandable. But once they did they had their top team in the back corner playing. They had keepers doing very basic drills really just making sure they can catch a ball while fields players did some passing drills. That lasted maybe 20 minutes. Then they broke up into teams and just played. No teams were moving fields. No one was really watching closely. One "game" was being played between fields using cones for goals. There was no changing of fields or players moving around it was just playing where they sent the teams. Coming in from the outside it was not a great first impression. I was not expecting my son to make their first team, we were expecting 2nd or 3rd team, maybe the 4th just because they don't know him. But based on last night I see them just placing him on their lowest team without really looking. Maybe it will get better but it was not a great first impression and it did not help with the stigma that UFA only cares about their top team. |
|
|
|
Post by dabe on May 23, 2023 11:08:11 GMT -5
Isn't Night 2 Moving Day? Surely there is a better way to do tryout rather than moving them up and down fields... It took them forever to get organized which is understandable. But once they did they had their top team in the back corner playing. They had keepers doing very basic drills really just making sure they can catch a ball while fields players did some passing drills. That lasted maybe 20 minutes. Then they broke up into teams and just played. No teams were moving fields. No one was really watching closely. One "game" was being played between fields using cones for goals. There was no changing of fields or players moving around it was just playing where they sent the teams. Coming in from the outside it was not a great first impression. I was not expecting my son to make their first team, we were expecting 2nd or 3rd team, maybe the 4th just because they don't know him. But based on last night I see them just placing him on their lowest team without really looking. Maybe it will get better but it was not a great first impression and it did not help with the stigma that UFA only cares about their top team. Yikes. The cone game seems absolutely torturous for strikers and keepers or anyone. Sorry that happened to you and your player. |
|
|
|
Post by soccerdad16 on May 23, 2023 11:14:07 GMT -5
Disagree about the UFA tryouts, they were organized and spread out on multiple fields. Players were separated by groups but each group was being monitored by multiple coaches. Drills for about 30 minutes, then scrimmaging with players rotating in and out. Fields were adequate for the number of players scrimmaging.
|
|
|
|
Post by playfromtheback on May 23, 2023 11:22:22 GMT -5
Disagree about the UFA tryouts, they were organized and spread out on multiple fields. Players were separated by groups but each group was being monitored by multiple coaches. Drills for about 30 minutes, then scrimmaging with players rotating in and out. Fields were adequate for the number of players scrimmaging. Maybe we were just watching different age groups.... I was only watching the 2012 boys. Other groups may have been more organized. |
|
|
|
Post by futbolhero on May 23, 2023 11:52:03 GMT -5
Glad that you had a good experience with AFU. What age group were you watching last night? Who is the top team head coach? I have been to AFU ID camps and tryouts in previous years. How the ID camp and tryout are run are very dependent on the coach of the top team. I have seen it just as you described; I have seen it where the head guy already has his team set and leaves after 20 or 30 minutes; and I have seen it where they immediately break kids up into to perceived teams. Like most clubs, it all depends on who the coach is going to be. We did not do AFU tryouts (2010 boys), but did do their ECNL ID camp. It was not well organized like the tryouts described above. They did passing/dribbling drills for a bit and then just broke the 30 or so kids into two teams and crowded them into one 9v9 sized field to scrimmage for an hour. It was a hot mess. Coaches talked to my kid after about trying out but, he didn't enjoy the experience there so we won't be trying out there. I think one needs to fully understand what an ID camp is all about. The name says it all. Coaches are just looking for some technical skills to make sure the player has a clue what they are doing. Basically identifying talent to come to tryouts. An ID camp or pre tryouts can seem unorganized as coaches may have 2-3 skills they are observing. Tryouts are much more organized once moved to a bigger field so the coaches can see how the players play when there is more space. Night 2 those players will be moved into groups based on perceived skill. Some will have similar teammates and others will find themselves playing with new people. Just 2 cents to think about so one is in the right mindset. I will say if the coach spoke with your player and invited then to tryouts they obviously saw something. |
|
|
|
Post by atlnoleg on May 23, 2023 11:57:31 GMT -5
We did not do AFU tryouts (2010 boys), but did do their ECNL ID camp. It was not well organized like the tryouts described above. They did passing/dribbling drills for a bit and then just broke the 30 or so kids into two teams and crowded them into one 9v9 sized field to scrimmage for an hour. It was a hot mess. Coaches talked to my kid after about trying out but, he didn't enjoy the experience there so we won't be trying out there. I think one needs to fully understand what an ID camp is all about. The name says it all. Coaches are just looking for some technical skills to make sure the player has a clue what they are doing. Basically identifying talent to come to tryouts. An ID camp or pre tryouts can seem unorganized as coaches may have 2-3 skills they are observing. Tryouts are much more organized once moved to a bigger field so the coaches can see how the players play when there is more space. Night 2 those players will be moved into groups based on perceived skill. Some will have similar teammates and others will find themselves playing with new people. Just 2 cents to think about so one is in the right mindset. I will say if the coach spoke with your player and invited then to tryouts they obviously saw something. Honestly, I would have been curious to have him try out, but he didn't enjoy the ID camp the way it was organized (or the kids from AFU to be frank), so I didn't pursue it. I never received a follow up email asking to have him attend tryouts, which I assume they would have done if they were seriously interested in him. |
|
|
|
Post by natlfutbol on May 23, 2023 14:11:35 GMT -5
How was night one of tryouts? UFA was disappointing. They took their top teams and pulled them aside; everyone else was just being babysat not really watching anything. happens every year.. its all for show.. Parents need to take control over from the organizations.. same talk every year after 1st day of tryouts and last day of tryouts. |
|
|
|
Post by natlfutbol on May 23, 2023 14:23:05 GMT -5
Disagree about the UFA tryouts, they were organized and spread out on multiple fields. Players were separated by groups but each group was being monitored by multiple coaches. Drills for about 30 minutes, then scrimmaging with players rotating in and out. Fields were adequate for the number of players scrimmaging. Maybe we were just watching different age groups.... I was only watching the 2012 boys. Other groups may have been more organized. I was watching this group also.. Very disappointed as this is he second year that new coaches are brought at the top two levels who have never seen the kids or have had very limited interactions with them. Leaving one coach(coach K) with a lot of input on who moves and who does not. So if coach K likes you,, then you move up or given a chance. If he does not like you, well then,, no upward movement. |
|
|
|
Post by playfromtheback on May 23, 2023 14:46:16 GMT -5
Maybe we were just watching different age groups.... I was only watching the 2012 boys. Other groups may have been more organized. I was watching this group also.. Very disappointed as this is he second year that new coaches are brought at the top two levels who have never seen the kids or have had very limited interactions with them. Leaving one coach(coach K) with a lot of input on who moves and who does not. So if coach K likes you,, then you move up or given a chance. If he does not like you, well then,, no upward movement. Did I hear correctly that they are now projecting 7 teams instead of 6? |
|
|
|
Post by natlfutbol on May 23, 2023 15:05:52 GMT -5
I was watching this group also.. Very disappointed as this is he second year that new coaches are brought at the top two levels who have never seen the kids or have had very limited interactions with them. Leaving one coach(coach K) with a lot of input on who moves and who does not. So if coach K likes you,, then you move up or given a chance. If he does not like you, well then,, no upward movement. Did I hear correctly that they are now projecting 7 teams instead of 6? I think so.. |
|
|
|
Post by forzaitalia on May 24, 2023 4:10:45 GMT -5
Maybe we were just watching different age groups.... I was only watching the 2012 boys. Other groups may have been more organized. I was watching this group also.. Very disappointed as this is he second year that new coaches are brought at the top two levels who have never seen the kids or have had very limited interactions with them. Leaving one coach(coach K) with a lot of input on who moves and who does not. So if coach K likes you,, then you move up or given a chance. If he does not like you, well then,, no upward movement. I know coach V who's going to coach the Premier team next year has been attending practices + 1/2 games for this year's premier team in the past month (first hand experience) |
|
|
|
Post by soccer1623 on May 24, 2023 7:31:29 GMT -5
I was watching this group also.. Very disappointed as this is he second year that new coaches are brought at the top two levels who have never seen the kids or have had very limited interactions with them. Leaving one coach(coach K) with a lot of input on who moves and who does not. So if coach K likes you,, then you move up or given a chance. If he does not like you, well then,, no upward movement. I know coach V who's going to coach the Premier team next year has been attending practices + 1/2 games for this year's premier team in the past month (first hand experience) Does UFA form a pool players system for the 2012B age group? |
|
|
|
Post by soccerdad16 on May 24, 2023 7:44:21 GMT -5
I know coach V who's going to coach the Premier team next year has been attending practices + 1/2 games for this year's premier team in the past month (first hand experience) Does UFA form a pool players system for the 2012B age group? No, pool play at UFA is U10 and below. The 2012B team will be a set Pre-ECNL team roster. |
|
|
|
Post by playfromtheback on May 24, 2023 7:47:54 GMT -5
Maybe we were just watching different age groups.... I was only watching the 2012 boys. Other groups may have been more organized. I was watching this group also.. Very disappointed as this is he second year that new coaches are brought at the top two levels who have never seen the kids or have had very limited interactions with them. Leaving one coach(coach K) with a lot of input on who moves and who does not. So if coach K likes you,, then you move up or given a chance. If he does not like you, well then,, no upward movement. I do think last night was better than night 1. There seemed to be more movement of players. I'm only speaking to the 2012 boys as that was all I was watching. |
|
|
|
Post by natlfutbol on May 24, 2023 8:18:06 GMT -5
I was watching this group also.. Very disappointed as this is he second year that new coaches are brought at the top two levels who have never seen the kids or have had very limited interactions with them. Leaving one coach(coach K) with a lot of input on who moves and who does not. So if coach K likes you,, then you move up or given a chance. If he does not like you, well then,, no upward movement. I do think last night was better than night 1. There seemed to be more movement of players. I'm only speaking to the 2012 boys as that was all I was watching. Movement from which field? from bottom field to top field? reverse or within the same field? |
|
|
|
Post by playfromtheback on May 24, 2023 8:46:26 GMT -5
I do think last night was better than night 1. There seemed to be more movement of players. I'm only speaking to the 2012 boys as that was all I was watching. Movement from which field? from bottom field to top field? reverse or within the same field? I was mainly watching my son and a few of his friends. There was movement across the bottom field. I didn't see anyone moving from the top field to the bottom or vice versa but I wasn't looking. On Monday night I didn't see any movement. |
|
|
|
Post by natlfutbol on May 24, 2023 9:08:51 GMT -5
Movement from which field? from bottom field to top field? reverse or within the same field? I was mainly watching my son and a few of his friends. There was movement across the bottom field. I didn't see anyone moving from the top field to the bottom or vice versa but I wasn't looking. On Monday night I didn't see any movement. My son is in the mix there also on the bottom field.. I saw 4 kids move from bottom to top. then 3 came back down. from my assessment,, there are couple of kids which should not be there on top field. Though i will not get to specifics,, but i know my son is 10x better then couple of the kids. This is what happens when the coaches do not really know the kids and the "judge a book by its cover". One of the 4 kids that got moved up got like 15 minutes up on the top field. I have seen this kid play couple of time this past season.. and from what i have seen he should be on top field. As for my kid, in bottom field, we are still working on development and finding a good coach. |
|
|
|
Post by playfromtheback on May 24, 2023 9:48:32 GMT -5
I was mainly watching my son and a few of his friends. There was movement across the bottom field. I didn't see anyone moving from the top field to the bottom or vice versa but I wasn't looking. On Monday night I didn't see any movement. My son is in the mix there also on the bottom field.. I saw 4 kids move from bottom to top. then 3 came back down. from my assessment,, there are couple of kids which should not be there on top field. Though i will not get to specifics,, but i know my son is 10x better then couple of the kids. This is what happens when the coaches do not really know the kids and the "judge a book by its cover". One of the 4 kids that got moved up got like 15 minutes up on the top field. I have seen this kid play couple of time this past season.. and from what i have seen he should be on top field. As for my kid, in bottom field, we are still working on development and finding a good coach. I think i see the same things you are talking about from watching the top field some on night one. And to the poster who was talking about how coach V knows the kids, one of the boys is new to UFA and was started on the top field. I do like how they told my son what field he was on at the end of the night last night. |
|
|
|
Post by soccerparentx on May 24, 2023 11:52:05 GMT -5
Isn't Night 2 Moving Day? Surely there is a better way to do tryout rather than moving them up and down fields... At the ECNL level, we have always had our spot either before tryouts or by the end of night one. There may be a spot or 2 left for night 2 in case superstar from rival club shows up on night 2 but there are not many at the top by that point. 100% on limited spots. |
|
|
|
Post by Futsal Gawdess on May 24, 2023 12:21:16 GMT -5
I honestly forgot that tryouts for the academy-aged kids are currently underway. How are things going? I hope there are not too many frustrating moments or issues. Good luck to everyone...
|
|
|
|
Post by mamadona on May 24, 2023 12:48:29 GMT -5
My daughter is in one of the oldest age groups of this week’s tryouts. She’s trying out for a lower level team than the one she was on. Reason is I can’t drive all over the South and we want to be closer to home. So it should be a walk in the park, but no it’s still nerve racking! It’s hard sometimes to show your best at tryouts. The coaches have been asking her questions so hopefully that’s a good sign.
|
|
|
|
Post by soccerdad20 on May 24, 2023 12:55:53 GMT -5
I honestly forgot that tryouts for the academy-aged kids are currently underway. How are things going? I hope there are not too many frustrating moments or issues. Good luck to everyone... My rising u9 daughter went to one tryout, but was obvious they didn't have enough girls at that age group to field a team. This is in an outer suburbs of Atlanta. I don't want to mention club specifically. There was a group of girls at a couple years older (u11) with more than enough players. Is it typical kids (girls specifically?) wait a couple more years before doing Academy? Or is it just an unlucky birth year for my girl? |
|
|
|
Post by playfromtheback on May 24, 2023 12:58:48 GMT -5
One thing I found interesting was at one tryout they told my son they could not do any coaching, while at another tryout they were doing a lot of coaching. I get that isn't a practice, but I've always heard that "coachablity" was one thing teams looked at for placement. How can you see if a kid is coachable and listening if you aren't doing that?
|
|
|
|
Post by DunwoodySoccerDad on May 24, 2023 13:03:44 GMT -5
I honestly forgot that tryouts for the academy-aged kids are currently underway. How are things going? I hope there are not too many frustrating moments or issues. Good luck to everyone... My rising U14 secured her spot yesterday, so last night was easy and tonight will be too. Just waiting to see how her team fills out with the final spots. My rising U17 is next week, but feel good about her standing with her current team so should be relatively drama-free. (Knock on wood . . .) |
|
|
|
Post by Futsal Gawdess on May 24, 2023 13:05:10 GMT -5
I honestly forgot that tryouts for the academy-aged kids are currently underway. How are things going? I hope there are not too many frustrating moments or issues. Good luck to everyone... My rising u9 daughter went to one tryout, but was obvious they didn't have enough girls at that age group to field a team. This is in an outer suburbs of Atlanta. I don't want to mention club specifically. There was a group of girls at a couple years older (u11) with more than enough players. Is it typical kids (girls specifically?) wait a couple more years before doing Academy? Or is it just an unlucky birth year for my girl? Not knowing specifically, it's all of the above, plus location, plus the fact that most girls who are good enough, tend to want to play with better and more committed players. Keep in mind, you have to do what's best for your daughter not just for today, this year but for the long term. Like many have mentioned on here before, get her good coaching first and foremost, but also at the highest level she can attain. It's harder to break into a top team at a top club the closer to college you get. Of course if your daughter is a phenom, none of this matters. Everything else will sort itself out from there, Good Luck |
|
|
|
Post by DunwoodySoccerDad on May 24, 2023 13:06:31 GMT -5
One thing I found interesting was at one tryout they told my son they could not do any coaching, while at another tryout they were doing a lot of coaching. I get that isn't a practice, but I've always heard that "coachablity" was one thing teams looked at for placement. How can you see if a kid is coachable and listening if you aren't doing that? I’d say that first coach is FOS but maybe it’s a dumb club rule they’re abiding by. I love seeing the coaches coach during tryouts because you want to see what they’re like in a practice setting too. Sometimes they forget that we’re picking them just as much they’re picking our kids. |
|
|
|
Post by Futsal Gawdess on May 24, 2023 13:09:40 GMT -5
One thing I found interesting was at one tryout they told my son they could not do any coaching, while at another tryout they were doing a lot of coaching. I get that isn't a practice, but I've always heard that "coachablity" was one thing teams looked at for placement. How can you see if a kid is coachable and listening if you aren't doing that? I find that not all tryouts are the same. At some clubs it's organized and you have a sense of what's going on. There are others where you're like da what? I personally think, if you're a true coach, it shouldn't matter what the scenario is, you see something a player could be doing better, you say something, you know COACH! Don't care if it's a tryout. I've seen college coaches give pointers at ID camps. With all that said, you can't beat a good coach that connects with your kid and pushes and grows them within the sport. |
|
