| Professsional football club trials.... thoughts?! 10:17 - May 24 with 4425 views | Marshalls_Mullet |
My son was recently invited to attend trials at U10s level for a League 1 side.
We attended and the format was a lot less structured than I expected, and I wondered if its normal. The trial was;
Arrive, and do a 10 min physical warm up.
Next hour spent as a 9 a side match (ready for U11s next season).
Some of the players had attended previous sessions, and some were there for the first time.
The players were split into two teams, but not given positions. I can understand this format being part of the process, allowing some autonomy etc, but it is harder for the new kids, when playing with established players.
The match ended up resembling a play ground match with a bun fight in midfield.
I expected some drills, and maybe some smaller sided games to be part of the process.
I was asked my sons position when filling the forms in. He is a CM, but due to the format of the trial, only got to play around 5 mins as CM, and the rest in defence.
Is this trial format normal? I havent attended a trial before, so dont know what is the norm. |  |
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| Professsional football club trials.... thoughts?! on 12:15 - May 24 with 769 views | bsw72 |
Yes - most decent scouts and coaches can spot what they want to see in a player within a a few minutes during a game - combination of player touch and movement. They then bring these potential players to Academy training. These academy's are just football factiories taking raw ability and seeing how much they can further develop it, as players develop they stay and if they don't, they fall by the wayside..
I remember when I was doing an FA badge (15+ years ago at a sports centre) the FA coaches running the course suddenly stopped our session, went over to a kick-around and spoke to the dad of one of the kids playing as they had liked what they had seen - kids were about 8-9 years old.
Turns out the kid was already attending one of the Arsenal academy nights, but had caught the coaches eyes while we were running our drill sessions.
One thing I would say is to stay open minded about positions when developing youngsters, as they grow and learn more about the game they often find other roles suit them better. Back when I coached I used to have many a discussion with parents about why little Johnny or Sarah were playing in defence when they are a "midfielder" or a "forward". [Post edited 24 May 2024 12:16]
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| Professsional football club trials.... thoughts?! on 12:28 - May 24 with 732 views | Marshalls_Mullet |
| Professsional football club trials.... thoughts?! on 12:15 - May 24 by bsw72 |
Yes - most decent scouts and coaches can spot what they want to see in a player within a a few minutes during a game - combination of player touch and movement. They then bring these potential players to Academy training. These academy's are just football factiories taking raw ability and seeing how much they can further develop it, as players develop they stay and if they don't, they fall by the wayside..
I remember when I was doing an FA badge (15+ years ago at a sports centre) the FA coaches running the course suddenly stopped our session, went over to a kick-around and spoke to the dad of one of the kids playing as they had liked what they had seen - kids were about 8-9 years old.
Turns out the kid was already attending one of the Arsenal academy nights, but had caught the coaches eyes while we were running our drill sessions.
One thing I would say is to stay open minded about positions when developing youngsters, as they grow and learn more about the game they often find other roles suit them better. Back when I coached I used to have many a discussion with parents about why little Johnny or Sarah were playing in defence when they are a "midfielder" or a "forward". [Post edited 24 May 2024 12:16]
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Yeah, I'm not stuck on him being a CM, I just think he would have had more involvement if played in his position for some of the time.
The 'match' turned into a bit of a bun fight. | |
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| Professsional football club trials.... thoughts?! on 12:33 - May 24 with 730 views | yorkshireblue |
| Professsional football club trials.... thoughts?! on 12:15 - May 24 by bsw72 |
Yes - most decent scouts and coaches can spot what they want to see in a player within a a few minutes during a game - combination of player touch and movement. They then bring these potential players to Academy training. These academy's are just football factiories taking raw ability and seeing how much they can further develop it, as players develop they stay and if they don't, they fall by the wayside..
I remember when I was doing an FA badge (15+ years ago at a sports centre) the FA coaches running the course suddenly stopped our session, went over to a kick-around and spoke to the dad of one of the kids playing as they had liked what they had seen - kids were about 8-9 years old.
Turns out the kid was already attending one of the Arsenal academy nights, but had caught the coaches eyes while we were running our drill sessions.
One thing I would say is to stay open minded about positions when developing youngsters, as they grow and learn more about the game they often find other roles suit them better. Back when I coached I used to have many a discussion with parents about why little Johnny or Sarah were playing in defence when they are a "midfielder" or a "forward". [Post edited 24 May 2024 12:16]
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That's interesting.
Completely different sport, but England fly-half Marcus Smith was spotted by Eddie Jones y when he was playing on a school pitch next to where Eddie was taking training (when HC of Japan). Admittedly, this was a 'rugby school' and Marcus was on a rugby scholarship there, so may well have gone on to have the career he had anyway without Jones' intervention. |  | | |
| Professsional football club trials.... thoughts?! on 12:40 - May 24 with 719 views | Blueschev |
| Professsional football club trials.... thoughts?! on 10:57 - May 24 by Marshalls_Mullet |
Yeah, it seems a bit outdated.
All this talk about 'emotional intelligence' in football, and the process kind of encourages the kids who are more selfish.
A good learning curve maybe. |
I think it's beneficial at that age not to encourage positions and let the kids express themselves on the ball, rather than focus on winning. The "just get rid of it" mentality seems to be dying off (though many parents are very vocal that that's still what they want). With some kids it's obvious where they'll play. My boy for example has been a centre half since he started. We've tried him all over the pitch but no matter what he always ends up sitting deep. I've seen many other kids however pigeon-holed in to positions only to thrive once they've been moved as they got older. [Post edited 24 May 2024 13:09]
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| Professsional football club trials.... thoughts?! on 12:51 - May 24 with 693 views | LeoMuff |
It’s a weird system, I have two boys in a development centre for championship club, and it feels totally random - some boys have been there two years, go to a trial and jump up 3 levels to the academy, some boys jump up 2 levels off the back of a scout watching them for 40 min match.
You have to wonder when coaches from a club have watched a lad once a week for two years and noticed nothing , yet at a one off trial are promoted multiple levels.
Feels more like luck and contacts than skill and ability quite often |  |
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| Professsional football club trials.... thoughts?! on 13:05 - May 24 with 672 views | Marshalls_Mullet |
| Professsional football club trials.... thoughts?! on 12:15 - May 24 by bsw72 |
Yes - most decent scouts and coaches can spot what they want to see in a player within a a few minutes during a game - combination of player touch and movement. They then bring these potential players to Academy training. These academy's are just football factiories taking raw ability and seeing how much they can further develop it, as players develop they stay and if they don't, they fall by the wayside..
I remember when I was doing an FA badge (15+ years ago at a sports centre) the FA coaches running the course suddenly stopped our session, went over to a kick-around and spoke to the dad of one of the kids playing as they had liked what they had seen - kids were about 8-9 years old.
Turns out the kid was already attending one of the Arsenal academy nights, but had caught the coaches eyes while we were running our drill sessions.
One thing I would say is to stay open minded about positions when developing youngsters, as they grow and learn more about the game they often find other roles suit them better. Back when I coached I used to have many a discussion with parents about why little Johnny or Sarah were playing in defence when they are a "midfielder" or a "forward". [Post edited 24 May 2024 12:16]
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Omari Hutchison was spotted by Charlton doing keepy uppies in their car park while waiting for his brother. | |
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| Professsional football club trials.... thoughts?! on 13:49 - May 24 with 631 views | davblue |
| Professsional football club trials.... thoughts?! on 11:03 - May 24 by DinDjarin |
The modern way is to be able to play / understand a variety of positions even at a very young age if you want to get picked up.
I've been involved in managing / coaching for 20 odd years now and at the younger ages they want skill and encourage bravery on the ball but as they get older they favour size and pace and I have seen a lot of very talented boys let go at U15s just because they are not big / strong enough.
Its the modern way sadly. [Post edited 24 May 2024 11:04]
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my boy played against an academy team in October last year at their place. No ref, no throw ins, they let the boys decide it on the pitch. Our boys weren't used to it and were quite taken aback. Thought it was an interesting idea, for the kids understanding. |  | | |
| Professsional football club trials.... thoughts?! on 13:53 - May 24 with 621 views | bazza |
| Professsional football club trials.... thoughts?! on 10:42 - May 24 by JimmyJazz |
Living La Vida Loca |
I remember my first trial, they turned me upside inside out… was a terrible day in court. |  | | |
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| Professsional football club trials.... thoughts?! on 14:04 - May 24 with 611 views | solemio |
| Professsional football club trials.... thoughts?! on 11:03 - May 24 by DinDjarin |
The modern way is to be able to play / understand a variety of positions even at a very young age if you want to get picked up.
I've been involved in managing / coaching for 20 odd years now and at the younger ages they want skill and encourage bravery on the ball but as they get older they favour size and pace and I have seen a lot of very talented boys let go at U15s just because they are not big / strong enough.
Its the modern way sadly. [Post edited 24 May 2024 11:04]
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Like West Ham let Matt Holland go because he wasn't big enough/ tall enough. |  | | |
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