2025 SPRING COMPETITIVE SEASON TRYOUTS

TRYOUT & EVALUATION PROCESS

Strikers FC hold tryouts each year in November for all of our Competitive players, U10-U19. We break players into US Youth Soccer age categories based on gender and birth year. Each age group will participate in two sessions which will run 2 hours each on back-to-back days. During the two sessions we have 4-8 coaches and evaluators assess each player on the following areas: ball control, finishing, defending, athleticism, tactical awareness, and social emotional development.

Following tryouts, each group of evaluators meet to discuss the players they evaluated. Each individual is discussed in the context of the group. They then recommend the placement for each player on teams to the Strikers FC administrative staff. Our staff reviews these recommendations and finalizes player placements on teams. Each player will receive an email with their team placement the week of November 18, 2024. At this time, players will be asked to accept or decline their team placements by midnight on November 24, 2024. Our administrative staff then reviews placement decisions to finalize our team rosters for the 2025 season. We will notify all players who attended tryouts when teams are finalized. Shortly after players will hear from their coaches.

All players are required to try out with their birth year and gender they identify as. A player can request to try out for a different birth year or gender. They must attend their birth year/gender tryout as well as the birth year/gender they are putting in the request for. The request can be made during the registration process.

The Technical Director, Chris Essman, will review these requests and confirm their eligibility. He may suggest for a player requesting a gender crossover to also tryout for an older birth year within the same gender the player identifies as. This may result in a player attending 3 birth year tryouts (6 sessions).

When players are of recruiting age (U14 and up) it is our club's perspective that it may be in the best interest to play within your current birth year and/or gender to have the optimal 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.

BIRTH YEAR 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.

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

CRITERIA
- The player’s birth year 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 birth year 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 birth year/gender
  - Player must be in consideration of a starting position in the birth year/gender that is not their actual birth year/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 birth years/gender as a team and other individuals

TRYOUT REGISTRATION

Use the link below to register your child for tryouts

We have partnered with a new registration platform, Playmetrics. This will take the place of GotSport.

Strikers FC is excited about the new ease and accessibility that Playmetrics will bring to our club. 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