How to Make Your High School's Soccer Team

Knowing What to Expect

Find out when tryouts are. They usually take place in the beginning or middle of August, and may be before school starts. Check the high school’s website for details. Make sure that you get the date and time for tryouts at your grade level. For instance, freshmen and sophomores might be eligible for any team, whereas juniors and seniors may be required to place on a specific varsity team. Read the instructions about tryouts to find out which one you should attend.

Make a plan to manage your commitments. If you make the team, you’ll need to balance the stresses of school with a rigorous athletic schedule. For instance, a high school soccer team may have four days of practice per week, plus games and your individual conditioning and practice. The school will most likely require that you maintain at least average academic performance in order to stay on a school team. High schools often post team rules on their websites, so check the sports section of the school’s site for any such lists, and read them thoroughly. You want to know exactly what will be required of you. Plan to attend every practice, meeting and game. Schools may not accept unexcused absences from practices and games, and may not even accept certain excused absences (depending on school policy).

Prepare for the Cooper Test. The Cooper Test measures how far you can run in twelve minutes, so make sure that you can run for at least twelve minutes straight. This shows coaches that you will have the stamina to run during the games. You may also be asked to sprint specific distances, such as the 40-yard dash. Practice alternating between jogging and sprinting as you build up the endurance to sprint. Make a schedule by yourself or with a personal trainer, that works backwards on the calendar from the date of tryouts to gradually increase your speed and distance.

Expect introductions and warmups. There may be a roll call or the coach may ask students to give a brief introduction, such as your name and why you’re interested in making the soccer team. This will likely be followed by collective or individual warmups. Practice warmups on your own, so that you will know how to warmup before tryouts. That way, if coaches just tell you to “warm up” when you arrive at tryouts and don’t give you specific instructions, you’ll know what to do. Start with light aerobics like jogging and running backwards. Then do light stretches, holding each stretch for about ten seconds. Move on to jumping, twisting and turning. You can practice warmups with or without a ball.

Have practice games in your neighborhood or with friends if possible. Coaches will likely be looking for your ability to shield, control and win the ball, regardless of which position you’re interested in playing. Practice speed dribbling, defending, and most of all scoring!

Preparing Mentally and Physically

Learn the rules of soccer. Visit the National Federation of State High School Associations at https://www.nfhs.org/activities-sports/soccer/. There you can view eBooks, PDF files and videos on the latest rules of high school soccer.

Practice conditioning three times a week. Conditioning involves repetitive activities that improve your preparedness for sport performance. This will help you to build strength and stamina. Create a personal fitness plan for yourself. Alternate between different types of exercise so that you give your whole body proper conditioning.

Sprint once or twice each week. Incorporate stretching and jogging into your warmups and cooldowns. Gradually increase your repetitions. When you’re confident at sprinting, add ball dribbling into your sprints.

Maintain a healthy diet. It’s important to eat healthy so that your body has the fuel it needs to keep up with your athleticism. Eat when you’re hungry, and don’t skip breakfast. Eat foods that will help you build muscle, such as fiber, complex carbohydrates and lean protein. Replace trans and saturated fats with good fats like omega 3 fatty acids.

Get inspiration from the pros. You can find lots of videos on YouTube of soccer professionals giving tips, explaining drills, and demonstrating moves. If there’s a professional soccer player you particularly admire, you can specify them in your web searches as well. Pair keywords like “tips,” “skills,” “tricks” and “improve” with the category of skill you’d like tips in. For example, to find dribbling-related videos, enter “dribbling tips” into the search box on YouTube. For instance, you may want to search for the name Cristiano Ronaldo or David Beckham, and add the word “tips.” You can enter this in a regular search engine or one with specifically video results, such as Google Videos.

Be self-confident, but also a good sport. Becoming good at sports involves setting goals for yourself and building your self-confidence. It’s important to learn how to be a good sport, not just good at sports. Your school most likely has a code of conduct they expect students to follow as members of the soccer team. Focus on showing good character by graciously accepting defeat when you lose and being equally courteous when you win. These are important core qualities that coaches look for and schools often demand of you.

Expect that not everyone will make it onto the team. High school sports teams can be very competitive, and oftentimes there are more students trying out than are needed to fill the spots. Preparing yourself for this reality beforehand will make it easier on you to accept if you end up not making the cut. Make a conscious decision to look on the bright side, regardless of the outcome. If you make the team, great! If you don’t, you’ll have an entire year to hone and prepare your skills for next season’s tryouts. You may decide to try out for a soccer club instead, or focus your efforts on other skills you have, such as another sport or extracurricular hobby.

Practicing Drills

Practice at least three times a week. Do ball work for about 15-30 minutes per session. Each session should involve dribbling, juggling, controlled kicking of the ball into the air, and striking the ball against the wall. There are many other common drills you can mix into your routines as well. You can find lists of soccer drills online that target specific skills, for example shooting drills or defending drills. Go to a search engine and type in “soccer practice drills.” You can further narrow down lists by age group or skill level.

Practice dribbling. A good way to practice dribbling is the cone weave, or “cone drill.” Arrange a line of ten to fifteen cones approximately a foot and a half apart. Dribble the ball in between the cones with controlled touches as tight as possible (about a couple of inches each). Dribble the ball in between the cones in a zig-zag pattern. Try to use three touches with the inside of the foot, then three touches with the outside of your foot, and repeat. Examples of other dribbling drills are close space drills, The George Best Game, and lane dribbling.

Juggle the ball. Use both feet. Kick the bottom of the ball back and forth from foot to foot, using the top of your foot. Keep your feet loose. Also try using your knees, chest and head occasionally.

Kick the ball into the air. Practice using both feet, and with correct form. Kick the ball just a couple of feet, focusing on having as little spin to the ball as possible. For example, practice bicycle kicks to score goals backwards. Throw the ball in the air or have someone kick the ball to you. Get in the line of the balls’ flight and jump up with the opposite leg than you will kick with. Then whip your kicking leg upward to kick the ball behind you with the top of your foot.

Shoot the ball into the goal. Practice basic kicks using the inside of your foot at the base of your ankle. Lock your ankle for surface area and power, and strike the ball with a quick motion. Practice “chipping” by sweeping the inside of the ball from underneath with your toe. Tilt your striking foot upward and lean your body back for more power. Look for drills that involve corner kicks, shooting on the run, improving accuracy, and using varying distance, angles, and heights.

Strike the ball against the wall. This not only helps you kick, it also gives you practice at control when the ball rebounds. Try hitting low and high targets. Practice making a second shot, as well as spinning before driving the subsequent strike at the wall. Try striking the ball continually while alternating feet. Practice adjusting the angle of your approach prior to shooting.

Work on passing. Practice passing at different distances, in both tight and wide areas. Do drills that incorporate controlling, looking and passing with speed. Aim for movement and accuracy. Examples of passing drills are Split the Defenders, No Mans Zone, and The Bank Game.

Practice shielding. Shielding is defending the ball from other players by protecting the top and sides of the ball. Roll the ball over horizontally with your foot as you move from side to side. Use four cones – try this with the cones spaced about ten feet apart in a square formation, and also with them spaced out on a larger scale. This way you can practice shielding backwards, to the left, frontwards, and to the right. Incorporate shielding and stopping. Practice various methods of defending, for example triangling.

Work on heading drills. Do so against a defender, whenever possible. Practice receiving the ball aerially and heading it into score.

Attending Tryouts

Dress appropriately. Tuck your shirt into your shorts. Wear socks, shinguards, and appropriate footwear. Don’t wear any jewelry. Wear a medical alert bracelet and a jockstrap/cup if applicable. Your cleats should fit well and shouldn’t have any sharp edges on the bottoms.

Stand out. Play the position you are the best at, if possible. Don’t be nervous. Work hard at every drill. Try to score, defend, and provide assists. Be a ball-sharer rather than a ball-hogger; incorporate a balance. Rather than socializing, dribble or pass the ball before tryouts. Between drills and water breaks, jog instead of walk. Try to win the ball back immediately if you lose it. Be vocal while playing. All of these things will indicate your eagerness, which is a good sign to coaches.

Plan to partake in a scrimmage and drills. You may play a simulated game. There will likely be drills as well, which you might be timed and/or graded on. Pay close attention during all drills, even when you’re not the person being evaluated. Hustle for each drill and show enthusiasm, for example by nodding and smiling.

Show a positive attitude. Coaches won’t be as excited to work with you if they notice that you don’t have a good attitude and teamwork skills. On the contrary, being team-oriented and showing great effort may be even more desirable than skill, since the field is for coaching skill more than effort or work ethic. So be cooperative and upbeat!

Be coachable. This is an important quality coaches look for in potential soccer players. You don’t want to act disagreeable or hot-headed. Act amenable and eager to listen and learn.

Find out when tryout results will be announced. The coaches will likely let the group know at some point during tryouts. If not, you can approach a coach afterwards to ask. Tryout results may be announced on the last day of tryouts, through a list at school, or on the school’s website.