Northwest United Calgary Soccer Club

Evaluations

Outdoor Season Tryout Schedule

NWU Conducts full and open tryouts prior to each IndoorSeason.  Teams are established for one year (indoor & outdoor seasons).  Coaches & the TD may wish to conduct a second limited tryout in Spring prior to outdoor season if they are looking to fill a specific need.

All sessions will be held at Beddington Heights Community Centre (BHCC) unless otherwise noted.  The tryout schedule is:

14-Sep	7:15pm	BU10 - Athletic Testing / Skills	BHCC
20-Sep	10:00am	BU10 - Small-Sided Games	BHCC
15-Sep	7:15pm	BU12 - Athletic Testing	BHCC
20-Sep	11:15am	BU12 - Small-Sided Games	BHCC
16-Sep	7:15pm	BU14 - Athletic Testing / Skills	BHCC
20-Sep	12:30pm	BU14 - Small-Sided Games	BHCC
18-Sep	6:15pm	BU16 - Athletic Testing / Skills	BHCC
20-Sep	1:45pm	BU16 - Small-Sided Games	BHCC
18-Sep	7:15pm	BU18 - Athletic Testing / Skills	BHCC
20-Sep	3:00pm	BU18 - Small-Sided Games	BHCC
14-Sep	6:15pm	GU10 - Athletic Testing / Skills	BHCC
19-Sep	10:00am	GU10 - Small-Sided Games	BHCC
15-Sep	6:15pm	GU12 - Athletic Testing	BHCC
19-Sep	11:15am	GU12 - Small-Sided Games	BHCC
16-Sep	6:15pm	GU14 - Athletic Testing / Skills	BHCC
19-Sep	12:30pm	GU14 - Small-Sided Games	BHCC
17-Sep	6:15pm	GU16 - Athletic Testing / Skills	BHCC
19-Sep	2:00pm	GU16 - Small-Sided Games	BHCC
17-Sep	7:15pm	GU18 - Athletic Testing / Skills	BHCC
19-Sep	3:15pm	GU18 - Small-Sided Games	BHCC
21-Sep	3:15pm	GU10 - GU18 -- Add'l Tryouts (if req'd)	BHCC
23-Sep		All Teams Announced	www.nwu.ca
25 / 26-Sep		Technical Training Starts

NWU Tryout FAQ

Welcome to the 2009 Outdoor Season at Northwest United. In an effort to be as transparent as possible with our selection policies, we wanted to ‘open our books’ and explain to both parents and players our process for team selection.

Who ‘selects’ teams?

There is no one person who selects a team. Our Technical Director, Andrew Fleming, has the final say on all team placements, but does not select teams on his own. We ask coaches for feedback on all players and their performance, attitude & commitment in previous seasons.

Our technical staff also watches each team at least 3 times per season (often times many more!), making notes on both the team’s play.

Once all information is gathered, the Technical Director will sit down with the coaches to discuss and select the teams.

What is the selection criteria?

The beauty of soccer is that it is an artistic game. As such, there aren’t many definables in terms of performance. What we do look for are the following:

A.      Soccer-specific Skill/Intelligence

B.      Athletic ability

C.      Attitude

There is no ‘magic formula’ for selecting a soccer team, but these are the main things we look for.   What information is evaluated in player selection?  The following are considered:

A.      Previous coach evaluations

B.      Previous technical staff evaluations (games/training)

C.      Athletic Testing (Tryouts & in-season)

D.      Tryouts

What if I’m a new player?

If you are a new player, we probably won’t have previous evaluations on you. No need to worry as we just provide greater weight to the tryout process. With the soccer community being a small place, usually a coach of member of the technical staff will likely have seen you player before as well.

We hold tryouts in several phases to ensure that one good/bad day will not decide your team selection. We want to remove the anxiety out of the tryout process as best we can.

If I do not make the ‘top’ team, will I be able to play up?

The answer to this is…maybe!  We have a policy of strongly encouraging our coaches to ‘call-up’ players to both practices and games.  We do not select teams when players are 10 years old and not make changes through U18!  We want to provide players with opportunities to play at higher levels when we can and to give them something to strive for!

Having said that, these opportunities are not automatic! Our technical staff regularly consults with coaches for feedback on ability and attitude, as well as their own evaluation.

‘Playing-up’ is a reward, not a right!  Remember too that a coach cannot continuously call players up for practices as they do need to develop a chemistry on their own team, however, it is something which we try to make happen as much as we can!

What do I have to do to make a higher team?

The big thing is to always maintain a positive attitude and focus on the things you can do to improve! Everyone has their strengths and things they can work on, but the best tool you have at your disposal is a positive attitude! Remember that coaches do not want to coach players who have a poor attitude. Ask your coaches or technical trainer what you can work on to get better and they’ll only be too happy to help!

NWU Philosophy

NWU will operate under the principles of Integrity, Honesty and Fairness as demonstrated by:

Remaining committed to open, honest and fair evaluations.

Remaining committed to an ethical and honest approach to recruitment.

Remaining committed to attract, develop, train and retain quality coaches.

NWU will hold tryouts every fall and select the teams for a full 12-month period. This approach allows the coach to prepare and plan in conjunction with players/parents for a full year. Care and time is taken to ensure the athletes are given every attemp to make a particular age group. Teams will be organized on a single year age basis unless numbers do not justify that division of players.

NWU Evaluation & Selection Process

Objective

The objective of all evaluations is to place athletes at the appropriate level for their skill set. We try as hard as possible to place athletes with those of like ability.

Selectors

The club’s Technical Director is responsible for leading the selection process. In addition to his presence, the club will utilize members of its’ technical staff, Club Coaches and possibly outside evaluators. Coaches of each team are to observe the tryout process to allow them the freedom to better scrutinize individual players without the responsibility of having to run each tryout. 

Tryout Format

The tryout process can vary from age group to age group. For example, if there are 60 players in a certain age group, as opposed to 15 in another, there may be a need to conduct the evaluations in a different manner. The tryout process, in whichever form it takes, will include the following:

Athletic Indicator Testing

Individual Skill Observation

Individual Attacking & Defending Principles

Small Sided Games (SSG’s) (3v3, 4v4, 5v5)

Full-Sided Games (if deemed necessary by Selection Staff)

Most often there will be a minimum of 2 tryout sessions, with additional sessions run as required.

Athlete History

We have started to develop a database of players’ past history. This includes previous team placements (internal and external), prior coach evaluations, prior tryout evaluations as well as in-season evaluations from the technical staff. This is to ensure that, if possible, a child’s selection is not based their performance on one day.

Hopefully this can remove the anxiety factor from tryouts for the athletes. If an athlete has a bad day, they will not be wholly evaluated on that performance! It also ensures that a players’ past history (both good and bad) will be included in the selection process.

Selection Criteria

There is no magic formula for selecting players and often it is difficult to select teams due to the number of high quality players we see. In addition to the above factors, we look for the following:

Skill

Technique

Field Intelligence

Attitude/Discipline

Goalkeepers

Goalkeepers may be evaluated separately if the need should arise. We require goalkeepers to take part in all aspects of the tryout process as we want to ensure their suitability for our teams.

Selection Decisions

After the tryout process is complete, the Technical Director will sit down with members of the technical staff and coaches to select the teams for that age group. Coach feedback is important, however, the final decision rests with the Technical Director. This is done to ensure that the children of coaches are placed on teams objectively and fairly, removing any appearance of ‘favoritism’. 

Appeals

Any appeals on team placement should be addressed to the club’s Technical Director, Andrew Fleming, and NOT directly to coaches. Any appeals sent directly to coaches will be dismissed. After an appeal is received the Technical Director will consult with a member of the technical staff and the coach to judge whether the appeal has merit. Decisions will be made within 72 hours of receipt of appeal.

Final Comments

Please remember that this process is a tough one for the club & its’ coaches as well as the players & parents. No coach takes pride in having to release a player from a team; it is by far the worst part of the job. Naturally people may not agree with every decision made but they are made with careful evaluation of all information available to the technical staff and with the best intentions.

We ask that you treat the technical staff and coaches with the same respect that you wish the athletes and yourself to be treated with. The best advice is to follow the ‘24-hour rule’ and wait 24 hours before commenting on a decision.

NorthWest United Refund Policy

Refunds will be issued, less $100.00 administrative fee, up to the start of tryouts.  Once tryouts have started for the player’s specific age group, NO REFUNDS will be issued unless the request is in writing accompanied by a Doctor's note.