Tryouts - A Guide to The Mental Aspect

Real_Zidane · Post 30 Nov 2006, 03:44

Since I am having tryouts this whole week I thought it might be appropriate to put forth some of my knowledge and wisdom I have gained the past couple of days on here (;)).

There is a really great saying in a book that fits tryouts perfectly titled High-Performance Soccer by Paul Caliguiri. It is having the five C's - composed, cunning, confident, courageous, and competitive. If you remember those and apply yourself to them, you will become a better player under stressful times like tryouts.

Now first thing is you want to be confident right when you take your first step on that pitch. If you have the wrong attitude then you would have already cut yourself from the team. Don't be shy, you have to make yourself want the ball. YOU WANT IT!!!. Have confidence in your abilities, but don't make it so much that it becomes arrogance. This also goes with courageous. If you don't take the oppurtunities, it might never arise in the rest of the tryout, therefore it won't show the coach what youre capable of.

Be cunning. Get creative with the ball. Don't use the same move/play over and over, use a variety of moves/techniques you have developed, but DO NOT attempt anything that you know you are not capable of doing. Keep your game sweet and simple and you will go a long ways.

Compose yourself. When an opponent is coming in to close you down, don't panic, keep your cool and try to freeze him with a well executed fake. Don't get mad at someone that shouts at you for making a mistake or makes fun of you for it. Forget him and move on. They are probably doing it because they feel insecure about their own abilities. Again, don't be shy. Communicate with your teammates if you are playing a small-sided game like 4v3.

Finally, be competitive to the max. Battle for the balls. Think of it as a matter of life in death in those battles to win the ball, especially with headers. But don't go completely over-the-top by shoving the other person to the ground or tripping him on purpose.

Remember, you can't expect everything to go right in tryouts. Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE makes mistakes, so expect them to happen and move on with it. Try your best and chances are you will do good! Hope this helped someone out there.

iwannagopro · Post 30 Nov 2006, 04:31

Liked your post a lot... the first post to really give some help out with tryouts... this is sure to get rid of a lot of questions about tryouts. Good Work, you deserve...

-4 Stars from Iwannagopro

Congratulations

ageorge · Post 01 Dec 2006, 03:16

I always get nervous 90% of the time but it only lasts for the first 5 minutes. Just stay composed and build up momentum.

Howard · Post 01 Dec 2006, 11:22

I am sometimes nervous in tryouts. But once I'm full of confidence, I can do something amazing.

Mulatto_Magic · Post 06 Dec 2006, 16:29

i also get very nervous, and in some cases i dont be my self and become shy with and with out the ball.................So good job that was good

mufc21 · Post 24 Dec 2006, 00:05

great advice. I say if you have enough talent then all you need to do is go in there not thinking your better than everybody but thinking that you have to push yourslef to make this team. Push yourself and run until you drop, trust me the coach will realise the effort you are giving and will like that. Run up to attack but when your team doesnt score then run back and help out. Dont give up and make sure to distribute the ball

mufc21 · Post 21 Jan 2007, 18:23

im gonna try this out today and hopefully it will help me. Thanks for the great advice

mufc21 · Post 22 Jan 2007, 00:15

yes it worked great as i scored more goals than anybody and barely messed up. I am gonna rate this topic a 10. Great post man thanks a lot for this.

rzadzinski · Post 22 Jan 2007, 00:24

Yeah,

It will help a lot of people.

I had a provincial tryout, and I feel I played great. You just have to be hungry for the ball (confidence, courage). Every 50/50 tackle I told myself the ball was mine, and guess what, it made the defender completely back down! In tryouts, don't go and try to prove anything to anyone. You're out there to play the game, to have FUN. Relax, don't take it too seriously. (Don't act stupid or anything) But don't worry about mistakes or if you are going to make the team. I went out there that time and I forgot they were tryouts, I was having so much fun. if I did make a mistake, which I did, I didn't worry about it, I came right back at it. It worked out fine, and I scored, so I think it went pretty well. Don't take them too seriously, it just doesn't work.

Also, mental confidence is great. Even if you might not be, in your head before you go out tell yourself you're better then the next guy. And then go out and prove to yourself, while keeping a huge smile on your face. This ALWAYS works for me. Remember, there is no such thing as pressure, it's something you do to yourself, and makes you nervous. so don't worry about it. Coach's will see you if you are playing well, don't try to SHOW yourself to them, and you'll be fine.

And in the wise words of Donald Trump:

"The mind can conquer anything."

mufc21 · Post 22 Jan 2007, 00:27

ye mine were provincial tryouts too. In the last game we played, i scored a tonne of times so im thrilled. It wasnt a real game though.

Real_Zidane · Post 23 Jan 2007, 02:11

mufc21 wrote:yes it worked great as i scored more goals than anybody and barely messed up. I am gonna rate this topic a 10. Great post man thanks a lot for this.

Thanks for the kind words. As long as I know i've helped out one person, then it makes all the effort worth it.

Sounds really mushy and happy-go-lucky inside but I really mean it lol.

mufc21 · Post 23 Jan 2007, 20:36

i dont care what it sounds like. This really works

gnarlyjim · Post 14 Feb 2007, 11:37

Honestly, this is the first time I've looked at this topic

. It's awesome. Nice work! Some amazing tips in there.

jcdenton · Post 05 Mar 2007, 10:01

Great post....
But i'm preparing for a trial in germany this summer and i don't speak german very well... i mean i know enough to play with them, but i don't think too much about the language i use while playing...
there are few players in that club from former yugoslavia that can understand serbian, but it's stupid for them to translate during game...
how to fix this problem?
i'm referring to that place in your post that covers communication with teammates...

as Adolf Hitler said : "If our will is strong enough, nothing can go wrong!"

Real_Zidane · Post 07 Mar 2007, 00:40

If you're playing with people that speak a different language, keep it simple. That's what I do when i'm playing with mexicans around here. Just yell simple words like "ball" or "here", i'm sure that you can look up a couple german words that you can use in a dictionary, also use universal signals like pointing at a player to get someone to mark him while in a corner kick.

Good luck at the tryouts, and try not to worry about it.