webinar

Coaching

Going Through Tryouts – The Players Perspective

As part of our Monthly Educational Campaign, Chris P. –VA Rush Developmental Director– hosted an amazing Webinar with several Rush Players, who gave their insights and shared their experiences throughout one of the most stressful stages of the season.

As we reach the beginning of a season, Tryouts become the most important part for players, parents and coaches. This is obviously a huge moment for every part involved, and we want to help.

Chris P., VA Rush Developmental Director, came up with an idea: ‘Why don’t we let the players tell us how they felt and we build it from there?‘, so that’s what we did.

A big shout out to Chris P. and the players involved: Jorge from Georgia Rush, Baka from Kansas Rush, Wheeler, Isaac, Henry and Oscar from VA Rush!

Baka and the rest of the players shared with us that at tryouts they are usually excited because they can reunite with their teammates and meet new friends, but anxiety and stress also play a big part: “At Rush Select tryouts, I was very nervous as there were lots of great players and the playing system was very different, after I got into and was myself I was able to enjoy the experience”, expressed Baka.

The players also highlighted the stress post tryouts as they wait to be let known if they’ve been selected. Isaac’s advice was to try to stay busy and take the mind off things, while Henry said he tried not to over think the process.

So we asked the players for tips and ideas to make the process better, and here is what they suggested:

Tryouts could last three or four days instead of two, to give players more time and chances to show their skills.
Ensure there is a face to face conversation independently of the result, so the relationship built is honored. “I’d want to do face to face so we know the reasoning behind things and we then know what we have to work on”, Henry stated.

May 6, 2024

Parents

Going Through Tryouts – The Parents Perspective

Continuing with our Monthly Educational Campaign around Tryouts, Chris P. -Rush Soccer Development Director- spoke with Rush Parents from Virginia Beach, Kansas and New Mexico. In this discussion, parents shared their feelings on how to survive and thrive through tryouts and how they can support their children.

This is the second part of our Monthly Campaign. Previously, Chris P. hosted an amazing Webinar with Rush Players. Click HERE to Watch and/or Read!

We could say that we, as coaches, always focus on our players, since they are the protagonists of the game. During the Tryouts, we want them to be able to enjoy and perform in the best way, without losing the possibility of having fun with their teammates and friends. But many times we leave aside another fundamental part of the process: parents.

As we go through the Tryouts period again, we wanted to hear from Rush’s parents about this process, how the kids cope, and how to improve the experience for all parties involved.

Chris P., Rush Soccer’s Developmental Director, had a great conversation with wonderful Rush parents, in which they discussed Tryouts and the possibility of improving the process for kids, parents and coaches. Watch below!

During the discussion, parents shared that they experienced anxiety and felt uneasy as they didn’t know what team their child would be on and who would integrate the parent group. That is why Jenny Mick, from Kansas Rush, tried to stay involved: “I feel very anxious through the process of tryouts so I volunteer for registration at Kansas Rush tryouts, this helps me stay connected”.

“Having open and honest conversations with coaches all year long is key to a successful tryout for the upcoming season”, Antonia Bynum from New Mexico added. Antonia and Daylon explained that they also model the behaviours they want their children to show by keeping a positive mindset and attitude.

Echoing what Rush Players told Chris P. during the previous Webinar, some parents suggested that clubs should communicate clearly and let parents know whether their child was in the top, middle or lowest third of the team, giving parents an idea of where the player stands. James Mick from Kansas thought ‘as players get older it is key for them to know where they stand and the pecking order on the team so the player can drive the process’.

Chris P. received some wonderful ideas and suggestions, but there’s one that emerged above all: Communication is key as well as consistency on feedback and continuing our relationships, so there is transparency on both sides.

Parents went on to share their favorite Rush memories towards the end of the conversation and they gave us some goosebump moments. We’d like to hear from other parents your ideas on what we can do to improve tryouts/placements as well as your favorite memories!

May 6, 2024

Nutrition · Parents

Serving Holiday Performance Plates

Thanksgiving gives us the opportunity to spend quality time with our friends and families, and we tend to make some ‘temporary exceptions’ in our diets. That’s ok! Yet we can still learn how to manage our plates to enjoy these times without getting too much out of track. That’s what this webinar by Amanda Turner is about. Hope you enjoy it!

Amanda Turner is a Sports Dietitian at the Sports Medicine Center at the Children’s Hospital, in Colorado.

The holidays come and there are so many tasty things to eat that it is easy to get a bit out of track. Well, this webinar from Amanda Turner is not really about avoiding all treats but to learn about what our bodies need to perform and how we can combine nutrients for great holiday plates.

The first takeaway from this webinar comes from understanding that macronutrients are necessary nutrients that provide energy for normal metabolism and there are three types of them:

Carbs (examples: Crackers, pasta, bread, granola bars, fruits)
Protein (Chicken, turkey, beef, eggs, Greek yogurt)
And Fats (avocado, nuts, coconut, oils)

All three of them are important as they provide different levels of energy and energy availability. In the post 7 Nutritional Tips For Soccer Players, we compare macronutrients to three jars of cookies at different hand reach.

As Amanda shows, the level of activity has an impact over the plates that we serve. If we are completely off during the holidays or doing very little, our plates should be mostly equally balanced among veggies, grains, and lean protein, but on the contrary, during a high intensity period, you would increase the proportion of carbs to half of your plate.

One of the most common mistakes that Amanda describes, is plates that have protein and salad but no rice or bread or fruits – “You definitely don’t want to miss the carbs, as they’re your main source of energy in sports practice” – She comments.

Variety to ensure consumption of minerals is also highlighted by the presenter, and so is timing to optimize performance and recovery – “Those who eat every three hours approximately actually show the best recovery rates among all different profiles of eaters” – Amanda mentions and adds – “Before exercising, it is best to eat carbs, and after the workout it is best to consume carbs and protein for muscle synthesis and rehydration, especially within the first hour after the effort concluded”.

On a different note, Amanda highlights the importance of hydration. “It really depends on the person but it is important to drink water. How much? Eight 8-oz glasses might not be enough but also a gallon is generally too much for a soccer player”. Urine color tends to serve as a measurement of hydration and Amanda provides a color scale. Thirst, on the contrary, tends to be a bad measuring stick for hydration, you shouldn’t wait until you feel thirsty to drink water.

Lastly, Amanda offers a set of tips for the holidays and shows us some holiday plates examples:

Get In Your Fruits & Veggies (3+ Servings A Day)!
Stay Hydrated!
Don’t Skip Meals!
Enjoy Your Favorite Foods!

Watch the webinar and learn more.

November 22, 2023

Webinars

Starting Your Season The Right Way: Tips & Tricks From The Rush Soccer Development Department

Chris P. and Pablo Toledo, Rush Soccer’s Developmental Director & Sporting Project Director, share this enriching discussion in which Pablo takes Chris through two of our exclusive tools: The Rush Coaching Manual and the Rush Soccer Development website, while they discuss key aspects to start season with the right foot.

Start your season with the right foot and make the most out of the services Rush Soccer Development offers you. That’s what this article and webinar is about and why we asked Chris P. and Pablo T. to get together.

Understand our curriculum in further depth. Learn to use our season planner, and maybe most importantly, learn to be effective at planning these cycles of training!

RUSH SOCCER’S CURRICULUM & THE SEASON PLANNER

“My obsession has always been to present a curriculum that reflects who we are in everything that we do, that’s why developing it was (and is) such a big, important project, because we want a reason in every little element as to how and why they fit the big picture” – Introduced Pablo.

“It’s great that by responding to seven questions you can plan an entire season. However, the recommendation would be to plan 6-8 weeks cycles and then reassess: What’s working? What’s not? That’s why it matters to do this with the curriculum in hand. One of the worst mistakes we can make is to stop thinking because we have this tool. It’s on the club, director, and coach to periodize this to make it fit to your specific team and players. We can’t anticipate that part, there’s no one-size-fits-all”, Pablo commented in reference to the season planner feature through The Rush Coaching Manual.

“We can always assess the plan if it is not going well -Chris P. added-, reflect and reevaluate and adjust accordingly to the children. Is it transferring from training to the game? Repeating sessions (topics) to reinforce and reminding players. We have to account for what children forget”.

“Planning and adapting to your team and player needs is crucial. Have ‘checkpoints’ in the process. One of my favorite practices is to include activities in my sessions that I run for several minutes with little to no interventions. What I look for here is to present activities that might not be too familiar to the players and that require the application of the concepts previously seen to be effective at them. This way, I get to see if the players are retrieving concepts presented in other instances to solve the new situation. That’s what learning is about“.
Pablo Toledo, Rush Soccer’s Sporting Project Director.

TOP TIPS TO START SEASON WITH THE RIGHT FOOT.

Start with the end in mind and define what success will look like: It is frequently a good starting point to project how you would want the end of the season to feel like. This is something you can share with the players. I always do. Have them reflect on it. Oftentimes, their first response will relate to performance (“we won the championship” or similar). I normally respond that we would all like that but it is unfortunately not entirely under our control, so I rather focus on those aspects that I can actually manage, like our effort. This can be a good way to set an ‘anchor’ on your team’s culture and encourage adopting a growth mindset from the first day.
Communicate clearly with the team and ‘the team behind the team’ (Parents): It is instrumental to understand that the learning process crumbles if the message is not replicated at home. Parents want to help their children, but that doesn’t mean they know exactly how. You might be surprised of how supportive the families can be, even if the immediate results are adverse, when they’re aware of the overall plan. A plan in which the possibility of ‘failure’ (in terms of losing at least) was considered as well, naturalizing it. Now, it is on the coach to take the time to explain it.
Have a plan: In line with the paragraph above, lack of communication and/or planning can be stress generators along the season. Don’t act randomly or always based on the last match. Plan ahead, have a base structure. A good plan incorporates flexibility too. By experience, I’ve learnt that is best to have a yearly plan to frame the process but only focus on the details of the next 6-8 weeks, especially when it comes to training. Why? Because you need checkpoints, and because life happens and sometimes you need to readjust. That’s normal, but the base plan sustains the direction. And as said before, it will definitely help you communicate better.

Have a great season, coach!

September 5, 2023

Parents

Parenting Tips For Before, During, And After Tryouts

Pablo Toledo -Rush Soccer’s Sporting Project Director- was joined by Asia Mape, Founder & CEO of ‘I Love To Watch You Play’, and discussed Dos and Don’ts for parents to help and encourage their children throughout this process.

Tryouts are stressful for everybody, dah, so we wanted to help. That’s why Sporting Project Director Pablo Toledo got together with Asia Mape, founder & CEO of ‘I Love To Watch You Play’, to discuss the topic. How can we help our children before, during, and after tryouts?

Simple question, important answer.

“Once I had my own kids, I started to go through the youth sports cycle, and I realised not only did I need a lot of help and guidance, but a lot of parents out there too. And they felt the same kind of ‘out of control feelings’ that I had”, commented Asia.

You can also find the full interview on The Rush Podcast Network! Check below:

Was there something that triggered ‘I Love To Watch You Play’? “I like to laugh about this. I was not a good sports parent. I still grow and learn everyday. I still make so many mistakes, it’s really hard. I thought I had everything figured out. My mindset was ‘oh, how to be the best’, I was basically going at it from this approach, which is completely counterproductive in the end, so we started ‘I Love To Watch You Play’ in 2015. We are basically a platform to help parents raise happy, healthy, successful athletes. I do it by researching, writing, interviewing, all the topics experts, athletes, newsmakers. Then, I bring all that information and share it with parents, coaches, and administrators”.

Through this introductory question, the first tip arised:

“Kids should not be treated as mini adults. And I think that a lot of us parents, with good intentions (I never try to make parents feel bad about it because I’ve been there), want to help our kids but we end up doing the opposite”, she added.

“If I can add one little thing that I do a lot in my coaching. We always say ‘you reach a point in your sporting career that you have to GET serious, but that doesn’t mean that you have to BE serious. Just take what you do seriously’”, Pablo explained.

What advice would you give for parents throughout this stressful period? “Kids are already feeling stressed, so the last thing you want to do is add stress -Asia pointed out-. You want them to feel happy, confident and prepared, not at all worrying. There’s no point in saying ‘don’t forget to X‘. You really just need to prepare them, get them there early, make sure they sleep well. Why stress them out? Why make this huge thing in the house?
If there’s any, what is the homework for parents prior to tryouts? As said above, it is key not to stress your child out. As Asia explained, “you want to create an atmosphere that is not stressful, talk to them only about things they can control: attitude, effort, making eye contact. You just want them to be at their best”.
What do we do if we notice that our child is having a negative experience during tryouts? “During tryouts, if your child is having negative experiences, or if he/she is feeling bad, because sometimes children are very hard on themselves, so parents throughout the process need to help them reframe these thoughts. You need to be continually giving them positive feedback, not holding onto bad moments, and even if they mess up during a game or tryout, let it go”.
What do we do if things don’t go well and our child doesn’t make the team? “What happens a lot of times, if a child doesn’t make the team and a parent starts criticizing the process, criticizing the coach, is that all you are really doing is minimizing their ability and their chance to grow and learn to have accountability. The main thing after the tryout is to not minimize the process, what your child just went through, and make excuses of why they didn’t make it. Failure is the greatest teacher. This was a learning process, ‘what did you learn? What do you have to do next?’. That initial hurt feeling because you just wanna solve it for their kids: ‘They didn’t know what they were doing’. That’s really counterproductive for them.

It is also important for parents not to downplay it either. This is a big deal for your children. So, if they didn’t make the team and they are not going to be with their friends, let them express their feelings and get it out. Ask them questions, encourage them, ‘What do you think happened? Let’s reflect on it’. Sometimes it can be hard, not every kid wants to talk about those situations, but we should recognize it as a hard moment and honour their feelings”.

And what if it’s the other way around, your child succeeds and his/her teammates don’t? “There is a tricky situation if your child does make the team and their friends don’t. Just be thoughtful about what the others are feeling, and remember what it feels like for all those kids who didn’t make it”.
Why is it so important for parents to encourage these aspects and respect the children’s sensations and emotions? “These tools we are talking about are not just ‘sport tools’, they are life tools. That’s not just when you are on the soccer field, but also when you have your first job interview or on your wedding day. That’s why sports are so amazing, we can practice so many different situations and scenarios in sports that are really going to be so important throughout their entire lives”.
From the parents standpoint, what are the main concerns during this stressful period? “I think almost all parents can relate to: Most of us want our kids to make the top team, so the stress is ‘are they going to make the team? Are they going to get the coach they want? Are they going to be on the same team with their friends?’, and I think a lot of times there is an aspect that relates to the child but there’s also an aspect that relates to the social life of the parent. You really create this sort of wonderful relationship with other parents and if we have kids who don’t make that team again, you can feel that you’ve been cut off. Some other times, there’s also this thinking of ‘if my kid didn’t make the top team at 9, he/she won’t make it at 10’, so you have the terrible feeling that your child is going to get left behind” and it’s not like that, development is not so linear, sometimes the best player at 9 is average at 15 or the other way around.

Thank you for a fantastic interview, Asia! Visit I Love To Watch You Play to learn more about raising Happy, Healthy, Successful Athletes. Thank you for reading!

May 9, 2023

Futsal

Summer Break, What do we do now?

This article was written by Chris Rue, Futsal Manager

We are at that time of year again when players and parents are scrambling to find the best solution for the upcoming year. Since the demise of the US Development Academy, the alphabet soup of playing options creates an absolute nightmare for all constituents involved during this time. With over 25 years’ experience, I am frequently asked to advise players and parents on what they should do. My typical answer is; take a break from all the nonsense. What is the hurry? Enjoy the summer and use FUTSAL to develop.

An often-overlooked aspect of the whole tryout season is player psychology. The desire to be included in a tribe makes us human. Subjecting young players to a barrage of tryouts is not healthy. Coaches are there to monitor and grade performances in a narrow time frame which leads to varying results. Some player’s abilities set them apart on the field, but can be harmful off of it and vice versa. It really is a difficult time for all involved. Coaches and parents can help alleviate the stresses by encouraging players to simply play and enjoy themselves. Futsal offers a great environment for this.

In the south, summer futsal season is here. Clubs who offer futsal programming during this time have a great advantage. Not only are some players seeking clubs who offer futsal, they can get a feel for teammates, coaches and environment to make an informed decision. Coaches can also get a feel as to the right fit of a player. It’s a win-win for all.

Futsal offers a completely different vibe. We play music at our futsal trainings and encourage players to be dynamic. First time flicks, dummies, elastico’s, and megs are celebrated. The gym gets rocking and all those tryout concerns go out the window. The important stuff; friendship, comradery, passion, and love of play emerges. These are the environments that players and parents’ thirst for, offering this will separate your club from the others.

Most factors determining what team a player/parent chooses are out of the club’s control. What a club can control is the environment. Fostering a setting filled with all types of development opportunities in a fun environment can be a difference maker. In the past few years, many players and parents, especially in the younger ages, have been exposed to futsal. Most see the obvious benefits and now choose clubs offering it. Be that club!

May 30, 2022

Goalkeeping

GOALKEEPING – What do coaches look for in tryouts?

This article was written by Sean Connors, Global Goalkeeping Director

Every year, tryouts bring out emotion for players, parents, coaches and clubs. Excitement! Fear! Anxiety! All parties involved are heightened to the importance of tryouts.

Goalkeepers are a unique position to the sport, and with that also have unique requirements when it comes to tryouts! To gain some insight I asked Head Coaches the following question:

As a head coach, what do you look for from a goalkeeper during a tryout? How do you select a GK?

“I think first is what they show they CAN do right now. Then what you think they are CAPABLE of in the future. And for me their ‘presence’, how they carry themselves, how their teammates respond to them AND how their opponents respond to them.”

~ Arby Busey, Head Coach: Seattle Pacific University Women’s Soccer ~

“Because of the way we want to play, we put a high priority on a goalkeeper’s ability to build from the back so we look for goalkeepers that are comfortable on the ball, have a wide range of passing, and are comfortable executing under pressure. We look for guys that have a command of the box and communicate. Guys who are leaders and organize their teammates. Ultimately, goalkeepers are always judged on their ability to keep the ball out of the goal so that will always be an important piece of what we look for – Does he save the ones he should save consistently? Can he come up with a big save when the team needs it?”

~ Kevin Sakuda, Head Coach: Seattle Pacific University Men’s Soccer ~

“If I had the perfect scenario then I would prefer an athletic and strong goalkeeper, able to react and reach the edges of the goal with great reaction speed. Willing to dominate the box in the air and remain patient and big while confronting 1v1 situations“
~ Arian Hoxha, NTD Rush Soccer ~

A goalkeeper -continues Arian- “should be willing to dominate the box in the air and remain patient and big while confronting 1v1 situations. Must be comfortable with both feet and able to remain calm while playing out from pressure. Able to distribute from restarts and in the flow of play and able to start counters safely. Obviously understand how to set up for free kicks and all other restarts. Finally, become part of the game and help the defenders with information and caution them about undetected movement from opponents”

“As quickly as possible I put them in big goals in a 5v5 setting. Here, I look for all the attributes needed, confidence, ration, moving on to the next play, reading of the play. Not much can be hidden during this scenario.”
~ Tim Schulz, CEO Rush Soccer ~

As a coach, go into your tryout with a clear understanding of the needs and player profile your team requires of the goalkeeper. Of course the GK needs to keep the ball out of the goal, but what else does your team require? What are the non-negotiables for your team?

As a player, focus on what you can control during the tryout. You may or may not get a lot of action on the goal. Some shots may not be saveable. But the GK can always control how they communicate and interact with the team. Focus on being clean in possession and making good decisions as often as possible.

When evaluating a goalkeeper, use the game! Goalkeepers can trick head coaches in evaluation if they only base the decision off, of a GK training session. Sometimes GKs have great hands and footwork, but when placed in a pressure situation wilt. Use the game to see how they can protect the goal, communicate, distribute, and handle pressure!

May 26, 2022

News · Webinars

RAE Presence in Rush Select with Ben Wilbor From Chicago Rush

Pablo Toledo, Rush Soccer’s Sporting Project Director, host an enriching Webinar in which Ben Wilbor, Chicago Rush’s North Director Of Coaching, presented his research on Relative Age Effect (RAE) presence in our Rush Select Program.

“Player development should obviously be at the forefront of our club’s philosophies and our coaching philosophies. What we do to develop them at the younger ages is obviously extremely important. As an organization that provides opportunities for athletes at multiple levels, our aim should be to create an environment that promotes athlete development by providing them with the tools and opportunities they need to be successful”.
Ben Wilbor – Chicago Rush’s North Director Of Coaching.

Ben Wilbor actually said those words by the end of the webinar hosted by our Sporting Project Director, Pablo Toledo, but it seemed like a good starting point to discuss the Relative Age Effect within our club. Ben prepared his thesis researching on the Rush Select Program: “I was recently completing up my Master’s degree and I’ve been looking quite deeply into relative age effects (RAE) and sort of led me to completing this project, which comes from what I want to achieve as a coach, so for me it’s like we as coaches can provide the correct development opportunities for the players that we are coaching. The great part of being part of a national organization such as Rush is obviously having that uniqueness to be able to explore topics such as how RAE can impact our athletes across the nation”.

“RAE is generally most common in athletes between ages 11 and 15. The players I examined for this particular study were the Regional and the National born in 2006, 2007 and 2008, and selected in the 2020 season. To examine the data I used what was called the ‘Chi-Square Goodness of Fit Test’, which allows us to examine the early age distribution of the players that were selected”, he explained.

Ben showed a picture of the Chicago Rush U14 Select team, in which 50% of the 16-player roster were born during the first quarter of the birth year (January/March): “If you look at the physical appearance of some of the athletes it’s notable that the ones born in January, February and March are the taller players within the group. So, it does go with that generalization of the RAE”.

KEY FINDINGS:

242 (43.2%) of athletes born in Q1: 119 of 279 (42.7%) of male athletes born in Q1 and 123 of 281 (43.8%) of female athletes born in Q1.
138 (24.6%) of athletes born in Q2.
109 (19.5%) of athletes born in Q3.
71 (12.7%) of athletes born in Q4.

“Obviously, if we look at it as a whole, the percentages from Q3, Q2, and Q4 are considerably lower than the numbers in Q1, which is consistent with the generalization that the relatively older athletes are commonly identified as more talented”, Ben stated.

PT – “That’s massive anyway. You’re saying that 70% of the players were born in the first half of the year. That’s a big difference!”.

BW – “We can’t expect a player born in December to have the same physical capabilities of a player born in January of the same year because there’s nearly a 12 month difference between the two”.

“The question is: ‘What can we do as coaches, as clubs, as an organization to help these individual players?'”

“So, one of my first suggestions would be to structure biobanded practices within you local club programs. Another solution would be adopting a ‘Flexible Chronological Age Approach‘, this would mean treating each athlete as an individual and pinpoint the ones that would developmentally benefit from playing with an older or younger team. Also, split players by smaller age gaps, for example three or six month age categories as opposed to 12 months”, Ben suggested.

PT – If we think specifically about our Select Program, where do you think the problem is starting? This is the first thing that I thought when I saw your research.

BW – Let me give you an example. I actually coach a player on our Chicago Rush North Program. She’s a 2007, she’s probable nearly six-foot now. Is she an effective player? Yeah, she’s good at what she does for the most part. But would I pick her out from my team as above everybody else? Probably not. Now, the amount of other coaches that come to me after games say ‘hey, that number 13, she’s a real handful’. And I might think she’s had a bad game. But sometimes there’s a perception that, as she is tall and faster than others, so she’s automatically put into that category where she is a talented player. Don’t get me wrong, she is a talent, but she’s maybe not as standout in my eyes as what other coaches are seeing.

Thanks Ben for your research and your time. Hope you find this interesting, coach!

October 25, 2021

Coaching

Rush Coaches Debate: Going Through Tryouts

After hearing from players and parents, an amazing panel of Rush Coaches and Directors discussed concepts and ways to improve how players, parents and coaches go through one of the most stressful periods of the season.

This is the third part of our Monthly Educational Campaign on Tryouts.

Click HERE to Watch and/or Read ‘Going Through Tryouts – The Players Perspective’.
Click HERE to Watch and/or Read ‘Going Through Tryouts – The Parents Perspective’.

When Chris P., Rush Soccer’s Developmental Director, suggested that we should dedicate the whole month to analyze Tryouts, we decided to give the same priority to every party involved: Players, Parents, and Coaches.

That’s why Chris hosted two wonderful webinars, first with players and later with parents, and received some key suggestions and concerns for this stressful part of the season. Let’s now hear from the coaches.

Daouda Kante – Kansas Rush.
Randall Porter – Kansas Rush.
Paul Furlong – Lobos TN Rush.

The goal of the discussion was to check if clubs grew during the process and how the experience could be refined for all involved. The process is stressful for all, that we all know.

Is it a regional, National or a state to state problem? How can we conduct the process more efficiently and effectively? And what methods do you feel that would provide coaches an easier way to measure performances that they can later share with players who didn’t make the top team, or didn’t make the team at all? Those are some of the questions posted during the meeting. Watch below!

Both parents and players suggested that communication must be clear and face to face, whether the player made the team or not. Paul Furlong highlighted that aspect as well, stating that communication, even if it’s already adequate, should always be a priority to improve.

Another point that was remarked by Paul and Randall related to the individual experience that each child has with their coach. They both emphasized that putting better coaches with the younger age groups helps developing them, not only from a technical standpoint but also to ensure these are coaches committed to the group and willing to go above and beyond expectations and minimum standards. Moreover, their objective is to provide a consistent experience regardless of league or level.

On a different note, Randall pointed out the incidence of state rules. In their case, tryouts must be run on the same day as the other clubs. That affects the dynamic of the process, as from a business standpoint, they are in need of making offers on day one or get ready to lose players from the club.

Complementary to this concept, Paul made a comment on how success tends to breed success. For example, if one branch had a strong 2010 group, players from other branches would migrate there. At Lobos, the pathway is defined early and the Developmental and Recreational branches do lots of work to help these players develop into the travel program, Some of the initiatives taken are weekly training sessions with competitive coaches and holding consistent meetings. Kansas Rush, with the same objective, holds a couple clinics in the fall and spring with the travel coaches.

Thanks to Paul, Randall and Daouda for their contributions, Kristian Bates PA Rush TD shared via email some of their secrets and couldn’t join us as he was in Greece with Rush Select. And congratulations to TN Lobos Rush for having 4 teams at USYS National Championships in Florida this summer!

Now it’s time to hear from you, coach. Did we miss any key point? How would you improve the Tryouts period?

July 26, 2021

Webinars

Webinar Series – Rush Coaches Debate On Tryouts: Thriving Or Surviving?

Join us as Chris P., Rush Soccer’s Developmental Director, will be joined by a panel of Rush Coaches and TD’s to discuss how players, parents and coaches go through one of the most stressful periods of the season.

When? Thursday, July 22nd – 1:30 PM (EST).

The goal of the discussion is to see if clubs had growth and to see how we can refine and improve the process for all involved. Join us as we will discuss how you feel about tryouts and how they can be improved.

Is it regional, National or a state to state problem? How can we conduct the process more efficiently and effectively? And what methods do you feel that would provide coaches an easier way to measure performances that they can later share with players who didn’t make the top team, or didn’t make the team at all?

Chris P. will be joined by an amazing group of experts which will kindly share their knowledge and thoughts on this topic.

REGISTER HERE!

The following coaches will make up the panel: