Aspen United Soccer Club

Tryouts

If it is determined that tryouts are necessary, they will take place prior to the beginning of the fall season and prior to the beginning of the spring season.  There are two cases in which tryouts may be held in order to determine team placement.
 
    1. When there are enough players to field more than one team in a given age group and category, AUSC conducts try-outs prior to the beginning of the season to determine where to properly place each player.  In this case, two teams will be created:  a developmental team (the Olympic Team) and an advanced team (the National Team. The Olympic team focuses on basic skills such as passing, receiving, first touch with the ball, dribbling, and shooting. The National Team focuses on tactical understanding and skill improvement, as its players already have a strong basis in the skills of passing, receiving, first touch with the ball, dribbling and shooting.
 
    2.  In a given season, there may be a team that has earned a certain standing based on its record from a previous season and thus, is qualified to play in a higher division (the Green Division of WSSL). This team will be an advanced team (National Team). In addition, in order to qualify to play in this higher division, the team must be a “continuing team,” meaning that it must retain 51% of its players from the previous season.   In this case, available openings on this team will be based on skill level determined through try-outs by the Director of Coaching.


Players may be moved from one team to another if it is necessary. This should be decided by the team coach and the director of coaching. This movement could even happen during the season.  For example, if a player wants to get more time in games, he or she may be moved to the Olympic team or if a player improves a lot during the season and needs more challenge, he or she can be moved to the National Team. 
 
Recommendations to Parents:
    1. Parents should encourage players to try their best, but reinforce the notion that the purpose of player try-outs is to place them on an appropriate team, and that no matter where they end up, it will be a great place, where they will have a great time.

    2. Parents should never give excuses to their player that blames other people for their child not making a certain team. This is counterproductive to the program as well as to the child’s character development.

    3.Parents should not get involved in the process; parents should not discuss team selections with other parents in such a manner that detracts from or distracts the process.

    4.Parents should encourage their players to exhibit good sportsmanship and not discuss team placement in ways that could negatively affect morale.