2027 SPRING COMPETITIVE
SEASON TRYOUTS
& INTENT TO PLAY

October 27 - November 12, 2026

TRYOUT & EVALUATION PROCESS

Strikers FC places players into U.S. Youth Soccer age categories based on gender and school age, using an August 1 – July 31 cutoff. How players are placed on teams depends on their age group.

U12 and Older: Formal Tryouts

Tryouts for U12 through U18 players are held October 27 – November 12. U12–U16 age groups attend three 2-hour sessions, and U17–U18 age groups attend two 2-hour sessions. During these sessions, 4–8 coaches and evaluators assess each player in the following areas:

Individual Attacking Abilities: Receiving, passing, dribbling, and finishing with awareness and control.
Attacking Principles: Movement off the ball, creativity, decision-making, and spatial awareness.
Individual Defending Abilities: 1v1 defending, tackling, patience, and aerial challenges.
Defending Principles: Team shape, pressure/cover/balance, communication, and discipline.
Athleticism: Strength, speed, endurance, agility, and balance.
Communication: Verbal and non-verbal communication, teamwork, motivation, and leadership.
Social-Emotional: Coachability, resilience, collaboration, work ethic, and sportsmanship.
Please note: Evaluators may use phones during tryouts to record feedback in PlayMetrics, or they may use paper and clipboards. Each evaluator uses whichever method best supports their evaluation process.

After tryouts, each group of evaluators meets to discuss the players they evaluated. Each player is discussed in the context of the group. Evaluators then recommend a team placement for each player to the Strikers FC administrative staff, who review these recommendations and finalize placements.

Team placement emails will be sent the week of November 16, 2026, with the goal of sending them by November 18. Players will be asked to accept or decline their team placement by Sunday, November 29, 2026, at 11:59 PM. Our administrative staff then reviews placement decisions to finalize rosters for the Spring 2027 season. We will notify all players who attended tryouts when teams are finalized, and players will hear from their coaches shortly after.

U10 and U11: Intent to Play (ITP)

U10 and U11 players do not attend November tryouts. Instead, families complete an Intent-to-Play (ITP) registration by January 1. Registering for ITP is a commitment to play for the Spring 2027 season.

January: Optional age group training and free play. This lower-pressure period helps players get comfortable in their new age group.
First two weeks of February: Formal evaluation sessions, assessed using the same areas as our U12 and older tryouts.
By February 12: Teams are formed and team placements are communicated.
The following week: Team training begins.

Playing Up, Playing Down & Crossing Gender (2026–27 Transition Year)

All players are required to register and try out in their designated USYS school-age group and the gender they identify as. During this transition year, play-ups will be limited to keep the process fair and manageable for everyone. Requests based only on social preference, such as friend groups, carpools, or staying with a current team, will not be approved.

When a play-up may be considered:

Legacy play-ups: Players who were playing up in Spring 2026 are considered "Legacy" play-ups and will have their play-up status reviewed.
Staff-identified players: Players who have been identified by our coaches or technical staff for a play-up.
Playing with classmates ("Spirit of the Age Group Change"): If your player's school grade does not match their designated USYS age group, you may request a play-up so they can play with their graduating class, regardless of their specific birthdate.
Roster health: Rare, documented situations based on team needs. These are determined by technical staff and do not require a request.

How to request: If your player falls into one of the first three categories, please indicate this in the designated area during tryout registration. Technical Director Chris Essman will review each request and confirm eligibility. Questions can be sent to chris.essman@strikersfcmt.org.

Playing with classmates: choosing your tryout group(s)

Families requesting a play-up so their player can play with their classmates will choose one of two options at registration:

Only the older (play-up) age group. Your player gives up their designated age group tryout. They are eligible only for the group they tried out in and cannot fall back to their designated age group afterward.
Both their designated age group and the play-up age group. If your player makes the T1 team in both, they may choose which team to play on.

This decision determines which age group(s) your player tries out for this season. Team placement is final once accepted.

Play-downs: If your player started school later than others in their designated age group, you may request a play-down so they can play with their classmates. Play-down requests are not part of tryout registration. Please email Technical Director Chris Essman at chris.essman@strikersfcmt.org before tryouts begin. USYS limits play-downs to 2 per age group. MYSA and USYS do not allow play-downs on Premier (T1) teams, so this option is only available for T2/T3 placement. Even where it is permitted, roster space and the 2-per-age-group limit make play-down approval difficult to secure.

Gender crossover: Requests to try out with a different gender is considered a play-up request and can be made during registration and follow the same process as play-ups. All play-up requests, including gender crossovers are limited to four considerations listed above. Chris will review each request and confirm eligibility. He may suggest that a player requesting a gender crossover also try out for an older age group within the gender the player identifies as. This could mean attending tryouts for up to three age groups.

Players trying out in more than one age group: We will work directly with these players and families to balance their tryout schedule. Our goal is to make sure players aren't overdoing it while still giving our evaluators a full picture so we can make the right placement decision.

Recruiting-age players (U14 and up): For players of recruiting age, it is our club's perspective that staying within their designated age group and identified gender may offer the best recruitment prospects.

Any returning player from the previous spring season who will miss official tryouts, still needs to register. During the registration process, there will be an option to request a make-up tryout. Any returning player who does not register will not be guaranteed placement on a T1 team after-the-fact. Any non-returning player (new to Strikers FC or recently moved to town) who misses our official tryouts and registration process is eligible to attend a makeup tryout at any point during the season.

A player who missed formal tryouts will need to attend two training sessions to be considered for team placement in the Strikers FC Competitive Program. The player will try out with the lowest tier team of the age group to start, unless the Technical Director has knowledge of the player's ability in context to the age group. The two sessions will serve as the makeup tryout. If the player demonstrates he/she is the top player on the team, the player will be invited to try out with the next higher tier team. If there is only one team in an age group, it would be the next age up. The coaching staff of the tryouts, in consultation with the Technical Director, will determine these decisions.

This process can lead to tryouts with multiple teams until the appropriate fit is realized. Once the appropriate fit is found, the Technical Director will extend a team placement invitation to join the team. The player can then accept or deny the placement decision invitation.

NO-CUTS U12 and UNDER:

Under no circumstance do we cut players who are U12 and under.

RARE CUTS U13 and Up:

It is Strikers FC philosophy to find a home for every player who wants to play. Under very rare circumstances for varies reason we may not be able to do so. Some of these reasons are but not limited to: limited roster spots (max size limits - 18), it would not be a proper developmental fit for a player or team. If we decide to not place them we will recommend other program options and provide feedback for improvement.

SIBLINGS:

When a parent requests for siblings to play on the same team, player assessment will dictate each player's placement. If they are placed on different teams, a parent can choose to have both players play on the lower level team; however, these players will not be allowed to both play for the higher level team.

CHILDREN OF COACHES (PARENT COACHES):

A player’s placement will not be determined by whether or not the parent is the coach of their potential team. If we have a parent coach who is part of the evaluation process of their own child’s birth and gender group, they will be removed from the decision process for team placement when their own child is being discussed and placed on a team.

AGE GROUP PLAY-DOWNS:

If a player requests to play in a younger age group, they will only be eligible for the lowest level team in the requested age group.

AGE GROUP PLAY-UPS AND GENDER CROSSOVER (reasons include but are not limited to):

CRITERIA
- The player’s age group and/or gender group is not serving them developmentally - success rates are too high (too big or strong, too technical and so they play slower)
- The player is doing things their teammates are not able to do yet
- The player is not engaged with the play and/or teammates
- The player is not challenged by the playing environment - too much of the game is flowing through them as a player and they end up doing too much for their team
- The player intensity is higher and more consistent than their teammates' expectation of the game
- Player of the team is too heavily relied on for the success of the team. This results in the play being funneled into a single player, which does not benefit the development of the entire group.
EVALUATORS
- Strikers FC will do everything to assure there are 3 consistent evaluators in all age group play-ups and gender crossover situations.
ASSESSMENT AND TOOLS TO HELP DETERMINE PLACEMENT:
- Consideration will only be made if their assessment/evaluation places them as:
  - Player must be a significant outlier in their actual age group/gender
  - Player must be in consideration of a starting position in the age group/gender that is not their actual age group/gender
- Team Success (potential of the overall effect movement would have on team success of the teams impacted).
- Historical knowledge of a player’s level, skill and abilities within the context of both groups (teams).
- Knock-on effect to the surrounding age group/gender as a team and other individuals

All PROGRAM REFUND POLICY

-every member must sign and agree to this upon registration

Rejoining After Declining a Team Placement

Players who complete tryouts and receive a team placement may choose to decline their placement. If a player later wishes to rejoin the Strikers FC Competitive Program, they are welcome to do so by participating in a makeup tryout, following the club’s Makeup Tryout Policy.

Please note the following:

Placement is not guaranteed. A player who previously declined a placement is not guaranteed a position on a Tier 1 (T1) team or on their originally offered team.
Rosters will not be adjusted retroactively. The club will not move or remove another player from a roster in order to accommodate a player who initially declined their placement.
Final team placement will be determined by the Technical Director and Coaching Staff based on evaluation, team needs, and player development considerations.

This approach ensures fairness, roster stability, and a development-focused environment for all players.

Each tryout session is 2 hours long. Players should plan on attending all sessions for the age group(s) they are trying out for. All tryouts are held at the Fort Missoula Turf Field.

Age Group	Dates	Time
G-U12	M, Nov 2 · T, Nov 3 · W, Nov 4	4–6 pm
G-U13	Th, Nov 5 · F, Nov 6 · Sa, Nov 7	TH & F: 6–8 pm; Sa: 12–2 pm
G-U14	Th, Nov 5 · F, Nov 6 · Sa, Nov 7	Th & F: 4–6 pm; Sa: 10 am–12 pm
G-U15	M, Nov 9 · T, Nov 10 · W, Nov 11	4–6 pm
G-U16	Th, Nov 5 · F, Nov 6 · Sa, Nov 7	Th & F: 4–6 pm; Sa: 10 am–12 pm
G-U17	M, Nov 9 · T, Nov 10	4–6 pm
G-U18	W, Nov 11 · Th, Nov 12	4–6 pm
B-U12	M, Nov 2 · T, Nov 3 · W, Nov 4	4–6 pm
B-U13	M, Nov 2 · T, Nov 3 · W, Nov 4	6–8 pm
B-U14	T, Oct 27 · W, Oct 28 · Th, Oct 29	4–6 pm
B-U15	M, Nov 2 · T, Nov 3 · W, Nov 4	6–8 pm
B-U16	Th, Nov 5 · Fri, Nov 6 · Sa, Nov 7	Th & F: 6–8 pm; Sa: 12–2 pm
B-U17	M, Nov 9 · T, Nov 10	6–8 pm
B-U18	W, Nov 11 · TH, Nov 12	W 6–8 pm; Th 4-6 PM

Use the link below to register your child for tryouts or Intent to play

TRYOUT U12-U18 REGISTRATION

TRYOUT REGISTRATION

Intent to Play U10 & U11 REGISTRATION

ITP REGISTRATION

If you have not used PlayMetrics before, below are instructions on how to get started with registration.

Registering with PlayMetrics via club registration link

IMPORTANT: First time user Parents/Guardians will set up a parent account FIRST, and then will be sent a confirmation email, before you set up player accounts.

Call

406-396-9633

customerservice@strikersfcmt.org

2027 SPRING COMPETITIVE SEASON TRYOUTS & INTENT TO PLAY

TRYOUT & EVALUATION PROCESS

Each tryout session is 2 hours long. Players should plan on attending all sessions for the age group(s) they are trying out for. All tryouts are held at the Fort Missoula Turf Field.

TRYOUT U12-U18 REGISTRATION

Intent to Play U10 & U11 REGISTRATION

2027 SPRING COMPETITIVE
SEASON TRYOUTS
& INTENT TO PLAY