Talent identification at trials

[clubman]

How can you identify talent at trials.

[Squizzy]

'Supose it depends on what you do at the trials and how they're run.

[Nice One Cyril]

How can you identify talent at trials.

You can never be 100% sure on one or two trials, but it's not hard to spot kids that are trying to play the right way, that have natural balance etc. My biggest gripe with trials for younger kids is that they tend to get dominated by a few, generally larger kids who just run with the ball, so you don't get to see a lot of the other players. I think whomever is running the trial should take these boys to one side for a while to see how the rest play. It's an imperfect system unfortunately so some kids who might be good but don't trial well, miss out.

[best]

Do as AU,SASI and Senior teams do go and watch them playing
in their club team. By doing small games the tall kids struggle.
the boys that play in teams with sytem don't look good.
Best way to be noticed is be aggresive , hog the ball and dribble.
Play up an age at club level.

[johnydep]

Do as AU,SASI and Senior teams do go and watch them playing
in their club team. By doing small games the tall kids struggle.
the boys that play in teams with sytem don't look good.
Best way to be noticed is be aggresive , hog the ball and dribble.
Play up an age at club level.

I hope you're being sarcastic.

[best]

Do as AU,SASI and Senior teams do go and watch them playing
in their club team. By doing small games the tall kids struggle.
the boys that play in teams with sytem don't look good.
Best way to be noticed is be aggresive , hog the ball and dribble.
Play up an age at club level.

I hope you're being sarcastic.

You can give youre opinion

[johnydep]

Do as AU,SASI and Senior teams do go and watch them playing
in their club team. By doing small games the tall kids struggle.
the boys that play in teams with sytem don't look good.
Best way to be noticed is be aggresive , hog the ball and dribble.
Play up an age at club level.

I hope you're being sarcastic.

You can give youre opinion

Nice One Cyril pretty much said it all.

On what you wrote; the AU Elite trials consisted of games with (from memory) 9v9, 10v10, 11v11.
STIC coaches all have different ways of trialing. I like to have 11v11 games, mix teams up, put players in different positions, create a team with a strong defence against a team with a strong attack, etc. Use more than one coach to watch and take notes.

Last years U11 West STIC team did not have overly large players, in fact it was quite a small sized squad.

A talented player will stand out. Other factors also contribute; attitude, intelligence, positioning, use of both left and right when receiving/passing.

Coaches do the best they can, but will never be able to please 50 players and their parents when it comes to trials.

Always keep your sons and daughters positive, remind them to keep practicing and working.

I'll post up the info the FFSA sent out(when I get a minute).

[clubman]

Nice One Cyril pretty much said it all.

On what you wrote; the AU Elite trials consisted of games with (from memory) 9v9, 10v10, 11v11.
STIC coaches all have different ways of trialing. I like to have 11v11 games, mix teams up, put players in different positions, create a team with a strong defence against a team with a strong attack, etc. Use more than one coach to watch and take notes.

Last years U11 West STIC team did not have overly large players, in fact it was quite a small sized squad.

A talented player will stand out. Other factors also contribute; attitude, intelligence, positioning, use of both left and right when receiving/passing.

Coaches do the best they can, but will never be able to please 50 players and their parents when it comes to trials.

Always keep your sons and daughters positive, remind them to keep practicing and working.

I'll post up the info the FFSA sent out(when I get a minute).[/quote]



johnydep well done
we can only hope other zone coaches read this and implement a fair onest
zone trial as you do.

[cannavaronesta]

How can you identify talent at trials.

You can never be 100% sure on one or two trials, but it's not hard to spot kids that are trying to play the right way, that have natural balance etc. My biggest gripe with trials for younger kids is that they tend to get dominated by a few, generally larger kids who just run with the ball, so you don't get to see a lot of the other players. I think whomever is running the trial should take these boys to one side for a while to see how the rest play. It's an imperfect system unfortunately so some kids who might be good but don't trial well, miss out.

clubman wrote:
How can you identify talent at trials.

if i may a small exerp from my notes :

There are two views, the old fashioned method of Playing game after game and hoping that you don’t miss something. (There are some merits with this)

The other way is to break down the players and go from a individual level to team level. Let me explain, over the 9years of coaching I found that kids slipped through the cracks in teams because they play at different levels, the level of a player is important for “identification” playing games can either hide this or over emphasize the players who are not team players. Thus players get missed quite often.

Playing games is a good thing , but less is better initially you must first work out the skill level and capability of a player in order to play them in a ‘game” to test them as a player for that role( midfield , striker , defender) many a time ive had kids tell me they are a striker only to find when up against the same level they are better in defence or other roles OR they just don’t / cant compete for the same position as another.

Effectively ive found that by testing certain principles in football you are able to quickly eliminate players quickly into levels ! which in turn allow you to pick the best level players, and yes then you make less mistakes and in most cases pick the top 16 kids.
As a coach you must NOT be biased, this means not knowing kids last names and taking into account what club they are from. You must account for at least one week of kids not well or bad day(pressure, nerves etc..)
Your next step is as such make sure you note things either before or after each drill/test.
Simplest way is to number kids, this way they are just numbers and you have a sense of separation on selections – don’t worry high level kids numbers come up more 

Now break the players down without embarrassing them obviously and this is done by little games where no winners as such and the kids need to know there is no fail.
Find out what kids are at what levels :
Basics:
Speed / Speed on ball / agility / agility on ball , without going into all my findings, ill give some examples





Assessment’s : exc vg av pr
1. exc stands for excellent – rarely used ! you are looking for an exceptional display of the assessment criteria on each test.
2. vg stand for Very good – most outstanding players will have this or perform there drill better than expected.
3. Avg is average , most assessments will have players in this category , however to recognise the differences of players you can place a +ve or –ve to show the slight difference in players. This helps with deciding at the end who is better suited to go into which division.
4. pr stands for poor, while it does not reflect a good outcome it does show they need work in this area and the coach can provide drills to improve them .
part of this is for assessing /grading teams in clubs but it can be used for trials more so.

• Speed , a non intrusive way to separate kids without names or criteria. Kids love to run and it provides not only speed indications but attitude, enthusiasm and competitive spirit. ( you will need to mark the 1st 6 or 7 kids each – the 1st 6 or 7 get placed over on one side then another coach or helper looks for the next 6 or 7 to cross the line. The last few or rest get an assessment as follows.
• Sometimes midfielders are slower but where they lack speed they make up in skills and touch. ( be mindful) here you are looking for strikers and defenders capability and then midfielders.

The players run from the length of the a 30 yard sprint and do this twice, sprinting all the way. If 1 kid is exceptional in leading the pack by more than ½ or 1/3 the distance then this would be appropriate to place exc on that number. The kids coming in you one coach or helper pick the numbers and separate them , the desire is to split the groups into 2 having the 14 or 15 th fastest players , if a smaller squad of say 20 then 5 or 6 players.

• Ball speed , now with the group you apply the same running conditions but with a ball. You are looking the players to run with the ball in CONTROL and stop at the line do this twice.

1. Using laces to push the ball on
2. Using control , ball not too far away
3. speed at which they move
4. What position they come - again the 1st 6 or 7 thru get the VG code on their sheet.( if you have 100 kids) break into 20 in one line then pick 5 from each group , then do a final sprint the following week with the top 25 etc or split these into two groups etc.. Keep it under managerial control so you can stop and record.

Now from these 2 simple tests you have the ability to place markers on the numbers under the second page, as wing / strikers and defenders. Even though they may not qualify in these areas overall they are potential ! they are indentified as TALENT.

I dont want to post the whole thing but you get the idea , effectively
Speed. / Speed on ball / agility test 1 / agility on ball 1 / agility 2 / agility on ball 2 / throw ins (Longest/space) / passing / receiving / kick stand still / longest kick ( ground/air) / header tests / chest test / trap test / skill touch test( juggling) / commitment to ball / tackle test / tasks test
10 min game as final test ( coach then can make notes on the players scoring high or low)

You can get these done in one 2 hour session and then follow through with 2nd session
Attitude test / group play / def test / mid test / striker test / goalie test 1, 2, 3 / positional play / set play test / space test / leadership test / 2 v1 / 3 v 2 / 5 v 3 / footwork / game 15 min

From here you can easily dismiss lower level players and clearly see if they have talent, plus its way to encourage lower level players to improve next time on, if they ask.
Now put some games together 7v 7 9 v9 etc implementing players positions and trailing them for possible inclusions. Not matter what , players wont be able to hide in small game scenario and if they have poor players then they may not show the coach any potential … this happens a lot a coach turns his head and misses some brilliance that was displayed and then leaves out a talented player over the weeks. Its not easy either watching / marking – if your coach who cant stop , then have your assistant manger write and you call out numbers, ask the kids to remember them as you go through drills /tests , they will quickly tell you .. you are then letting them know you are impressed and they clearly grow in confidence , in some drills where each kids is passing well , ask for their number , then note the best ones e.g 5 *

Anyway a little insight that there are good methods out there, I was amazed at State selections this and last year where clear talent was missed, the horrible thing is they get deflated and wont trial the following year or wont come out of a particular coach is trailing. Its never easy and I do commend the coaches for the efforts they make , good luck all.

[hudsona]

CM...how have the U12 zone trials gone?

[Jeda]

How can you identify talent at trials.

You can never be 100% sure on one or two trials, but it's not hard to spot kids that are trying to play the right way, that have natural balance etc. My biggest gripe with trials for younger kids is that they tend to get dominated by a few, generally larger kids who just run with the ball, so you don't get to see a lot of the other players. I think whomever is running the trial should take these boys to one side for a while to see how the rest play. It's an imperfect system unfortunately so some kids who might be good but don't trial well, miss out.

clubman wrote:
How can you identify talent at trials.

if i may a small exerp from my notes :

There are two views, the old fashioned method of Playing game after game and hoping that you don’t miss something. (There are some merits with this)

The other way is to break down the players and go from a individual level to team level. Let me explain, over the 9years of coaching I found that kids slipped through the cracks

good luck. seen the second way used over the years and not seen many of those kids make it to the highest level and thats why the ffsa are trying to change the format

[cannavaronesta]

nope for years the ffsa and every other group used games mode , ive never seen the the later used - funny but FFSA seem to have just implemeted this style this year ?? so maybe your confused ?

[Jeda]

nope for years the ffsa and every other group used games mode , ive never seen the the later used - funny but FFSA seem to have just implemeted this style this year ?? so maybe your confused ?

from my recollection the ffsa never implemented anything but recommendations & I don't recall game modes being mentioned did you use game modes in your previous years no

[cannavaronesta]

clubman wrote:
How can you identify talent at trials.

if i may a small exerp from my notes :

There are two views, the old fashioned method of Playing game after game and hoping that you don’t miss something. (There are some merits with this)

The other way is to break down the players and go from a individual level to team level. Let me explain, over the 9years of coaching I found that kids slipped through the cracks [/quote]

good luck. seen the second way used over the years and not seen many of those kids make it to the highest level and thats why the ffsa are trying to change the format

i dont think that is a correct statement, i doubt you have seen the second one used at all ive watched he last 3 years of different state groups ranging from sapsassa, ffsa, edjsa and club trials ? yes ffsa are changing it and its not the 1st one


not here to argue , just trying to explain and help.

[VPL]

Anyway a little insight that there are good methods out there, I was amazed at State selections this and last year where clear talent was missed, the horrible thing is they get deflated and wont trial the following year or wont come out of a particular coach is trailing. Its never easy and I do commend the coaches for the efforts they make , good luck all.

An extremely good and well detailed process.
In the recent past (perhaps as recent as only 1 or 2 years) it seemed that Talent ID operated with a system of picking the player that cast the largest shadow. Sure these "more physically developed players" had ball skills, and might help win an U13/ or U14 State Championship, but were they deserving of the coveted 16 places available for talent development?

Give a quick thought for the player who was nr 17 on that list. Faced with zero development and hard times getting into a system in later years. Why would it be hard in later years? Simply because that system has already chosen its talented players, and wouldn't really like to waste the already-used development resources by replacing one of the chosen 16 with a usurper from the fringe.

I am hopeful that the future will slowly prevent a potentially good player slipping through the cracks.

[cannavaronesta]

Anyway a little insight that there are good methods out there, I was amazed at State selections this and last year where clear talent was missed, the horrible thing is they get deflated and wont trial the following year or wont come out of a particular coach is trailing. Its never easy and I do commend the coaches for the efforts they make , good luck all.

Give a quick thought for the player who was nr 17 on that list. Faced with zero development and hard times getting into a system in later years. Why would it be hard in later years? Simply because that system has already chosen its talented players, and wouldn't really like to waste the already-used development resources by replacing one of the chosen 16 with a usurper from the fringe.

I am hopeful that the future will slowly prevent a potentially good player slipping through the cracks.

mmh interesting , the problem is you go through the same procedures all again, regardless and if that number 17 player has worked hard then you will find they are selected. The key is to re-asess each time and always, always players get missed, i know of a few parents who broke up and some kids with injuires prevented very good players from trialing. So it needs a good level head and open minded thinking to re pick players

[best]

Are all zone trials completed.

[Green_Manalishi]

Are all zone trials completed.

Don't think so. Heard a few have had to be cancelled due to the weather.

[Jeda]

look familiar sounds like the "old fasioned method" may be back in fashion

Player Evaluation Guide
SCORING
1, 2 and 3 with 1 as the highest and 3 as the lowest score. Everyone begins at 2, average. 80% of the players will fall in this category. This means that you only need to make a decision on 20% of the players. The top and bottom 10%.
The following is set up to reflect what catches the coaches eye, somewhat in order. Certain things stand out quickly and others take a little longer to see.

SPEED OF PLAY.
1. PHYSICAL SPEED. It stands right out and there's no mistaking it. A player either has speed and/or quickness or they don't. If they don't show it, assume they don't have it.
2. MENTAL SPEED. The general picture. How quickly do they get things, read situations. A lot of "Huh's?" and "What's?" are not a good sign.

TECHNIQUE.
Many evaluations look at technique in too great a depth. There are likely too many players and too little time to adequately assess every players technical abilities. This part of the evaluation looks at some vital areas.
1. 1v1 in possession. Did he or she take anyone on and what happened?
2. 1v1 opponents in possession. They may not take anyone on but they'll certainly have to stop someone.
3. Do they have the skills necessary to fill the role at the required level? In general terms, are they " comfortable on the field. In specific terms can they handle a role at the required level.

CONTRIBUTION TO THE GAME.
It's not just a matter of how someone plays 'on the ball.' A player can make a significant contribution to the
game and have few actual touches. They can show leadership by organizing things around them. This element is viewed in the four main elements.
1. Own team in possession.
2. Opponents in possession.
3. Transition, winning/losing possession.

PERSONALITY/MENTALITY
These factors show up best under stress.
1. Alert/concentration. Is their head in the game?
2. Composure. Are they relaxed? Do they seemingly have a lot of time or are they rushed?
3. Self confidence. Are set backs temporary? Do they think they can get the job done?
4. Leadership. The most elusive quality.
5. Competitiveness. Are they prepared to make sacrifices?
6. Human relations, teammates, opponents, referee, coach. Can they work with other players? You?

INSIGHT
Fine tuning the evaluation of their mentality. You may need to talk with them to get a handle on this.
1. Do they grasp things quickly? Do they need to be told only once for something to stick?
2. Can they read, anticipate situations? Do they seem to have a crystal ball?

BODY ORIENTATION, DOMINATE NATURE. This is looking at the attributes of a player. When you're looking for a central defender they better be good in the air.
1. Both feet. The ideal.
2. Left foot. A good left footed player maybe of greater value than a very good right footed one.
3. In the air. Depends on the age and the role.
4. Right foot. A dime a dozen, it had better be outstanding to rate above a player with both feet

ROLE IN THE TEAM/GAME.
This provides the context for the evaluation. Players are trying out for a spot on the team. If they can play as a central defender their evaluation needs to take that into account. They may not need great 1v1 skills in possession. If your looking for a left midfielder you maybe able to accept an average right foot.

1. Goal scorer. Be VERY critical here. A strong foot, great individual skills are not enough. It takes a special person who can carry this responsibility game in and game out. Look for strong personality/mental qualities along with physical and mental speed.
2. Play maker. Play makers can operate from different positions and use different tools, techniques. They can calculate the risk to return and get a high return on investment.
3. Ball winner. No matter what mom and dad says, 80% of the team are ball winners. The good news, it's the simplest role to learn how to do well.
4. Goalkeeper. Self explanatory.
5. Center, left, right, ahead of the ball and behind the ball. The basic positions and roles. The context of your evaluation.