2024 Roster

TRYOUTS/SELECTION CRITERIA

Each of the following will be ranked 1-5 relative to the VARSITY level. 1 = Poor, 5 = Excellent. These rankings are done by the coaching staff for roster selection purposes and are not publicly shared. 

1. FITNESS: The high school game is an intense one. Kids are flying around all over the place and we need players who can handle that rigor. The fitness test also shows mental toughness (part of #4) and how much preparation you put into being ready for the season.

   1. Test on Monday Morning: Expectation is 12:45 min 2 mile run OR 2 mile-1 mile-1/2 mile-1/4 mile (under 23:30).

   2. Players will not participate in a game until they pass this test OR the Man-U/Warrior test.

2. PHYSICALITY: High school boys hit puberty at different ages (typically sometime between their freshman and junior years). Again, the high school game is very physical and we want to make sure the players out there can handle the physicality. Qualities considered are strength, balance, speed, and quickness. No one quality out-weighs the rest, it’s more of how their qualities combine.

3. SKILL: Includes all technical soccer skills like passing/receiving, dribbling, communication, shooting, defensive technique, etc.

4. WORK ETHIC: I call this “bite.” You can be super-fit, physically impressive, and super-skilled, but if you don’t work hard it doesn’t really matter. When you lose the ball, do you immediately try to win it back? When you are tired, do you push through to get back in position? Work ethic can make your other traits “play up” (enhance them). Ex. N’Golo Kante is not the most skilled or physically impressive (5’6”) center midfielder in the world and yet everywhere he goes, he wins. Why? He’s incredibly fit and never stops working, which gives him more opportunities to make an impact.

5. INTANGIBLES: How do you behave during the school day? Are you a bully? Do you show leadership qualities? Does your presence add or subtract something to the team dynamic (Positive example: Garrett Stubbs of the Phillies, Negative example: Barcelona sold Ronaldinho because they were afraid of how he'd influence Messi)? If you have been a member of the program in the past, how have you behaved? Did you make an impact on/off the field for the program last year? Did you always attend mandatory practices/games?

6. IMPACT: Summarizing criteria. Some kids have all the traits but don’t change the game. Some kids have few traits, but always seem to get the job done. Much of this is how their traits combine with their “soccer sense.” Do they see the field well? Do they understand game-flow? Do they know when to take risks and when to stay conservative? Do they consistently put themselves in the right areas of the field (are they in/out of position)?