Tryout anxiety is REAL! How about we take that anxiety and turn into excitement? Remember, try outs are good because the whole point of it is to put you in an environment of growth, so if you're a very very good player, maybe you're not playing at a very very good level, you need to play at a higher level, right, so for your development to grow, you need to be around players that push you to grow. So this is how to succeed at tryouts:
GO AND LOW KEY WATCH THE TEAMS PRACTICE SESSIONS. REMEMBER THE WHOLE TRYOUT PROCESS GIVES THE CLUB A CHANCE TO PORTRAY A PERCEPTION OF WHAT THEY WANT YOU TO SEE THE CLUB AS. IN REALITY, IT COULD BE DIFFERENT, BY OBSERVING SOME PRACTICES YOU WILL BE ABLE TO SEE HOW THE CLUB REALLY IS, GOOD & BAD! WILL THIS COACH DEVELOP YOU AS A PLAYER?
DURING THE ACTUAL TRYOUT, DO NOT GET OVERWHELMED! THE TENDENCY IS TO REALLY WANT TO SHOW HOW GOOD YOU ARE (WHICH IS NATURAL) AND THIS USUALLY COMES THROUGH AS OVER-DRIBBLING, DOING FLICKS & TRICKS YOU WOULDN’T USUALLY DO BECAUSE YOU WANT TO MAKE AN IMPRESSION. THE BEST WAY TO MAKE AN IMPRESSION IS TO PLAY YOUR GAME. SHOW WHO YOU ARE!
YES, IT’S A TRYOUT. THIS IS A TWO WAY STREET. WE HAVE OUR PLAYERS CHANGE THEIR MINDSET IN TRYOUTS. I WANT YOU TO DO THE SAME. THE ONES AT A TRYOUT IS THE CLUB. IS THIS A TEAM YOU WANT TO PLAY FOR? IS THIS A CLUB YOU WANT TO PLAY FOR? IS THIS COACH GOING TO DEVELOP YOU? WILL YOU BE HAPPY HERE? HAS THE CLUB & COACHING STAFF IMPRESSED YOU? YOU ARE TRYING THEM OUT!
LEAVE YOUR EGO AT THE DOOR. IF YOU DO NOT MAKE THE TEAM, IT’S OK! YOU DIDN’T MAKE IT BECAUSE THE COACH THOUGHT YOU WERE NOT A GOOD FIT, OR YOU WERE NOT AT THE LEVEL THEY PERCEIVE THE TEAM TO BE AT. IT’S A LEARNING MOMENT FOR YOU. DO NOT TAKE THIS PERSONALLY, INSTEAD, UNDERSTAND THAT IT WAS JUST NOT MEANT TO BE. TRY TO GET FEEDBACK FROM THE COACH, AND THEN PUT THAT FEEDBACK INTO YOUR IDP (INDIVIDUAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN) SO YOU CAN CONTINUE GETTING BETTER AND BETTER!
Todays featured player is Jordyn Listro who EARNED her way into a pro contract through a tryout process and is now playing for the Canadian National Team. Hard work pays off!