2001 ODP Tryouts

Did anyone take their BB out there yesterday? Thoughts? Opinions??

We went out and had a great time. It was interesting to see how they ran it. My initial impression was that I can see how a really good kid could get over looked out there. I couldn't help but notice that there was a 4v4 game going on in the back and not one Instructor/ Evaluator was back there...but there was another game in the front that had at least 4 Instructors sitting on the bench and two more watching from a standing position.

Other than that, it wasn't much more than 1v1, and then small sided games. I don't put too much stock into making it or not, but again, it was cool to have your boy out there seeing how his game compares to everyone else's.

$75 for 9 hours of soccer in a different environment (100+ kids in bright orange shirts)...pretty cost effective for my book.

My kid had fun.

I'm guessing the simple drills they performed the first two hours was so the boys would be placed in different level tracks. e.g. separated by skill level? Within about 60 seconds of observation it was obvious which kids had zero ability on ball control & which had very refined 'first-touch' (and everything in between, of course). This may explain the reason one 4v4 game had multiple coaches while another 4v4 game on another court only had one observer. I'm just guessing, of course.

At 8am, an hour before the program start, there was already a long line at the door to check-in. I was surprised how many kids showed up late (or in one case, wearing cleats).

Madcap wrote:Did anyone take their BB out there yesterday? Thoughts? Opinions??

We went out and had a great time. It was interesting to see how they ran it. My initial impression was that I can see how a really good kid could get over looked out there. I couldn't help but notice that there was a 4v4 game going on in the back and not one Instructor/ Evaluator was back there...but there was another game in the front that had at least 4 Instructors sitting on the bench and two more watching from a standing position.

Other than that, it wasn't much more than 1v1, and then small sided games. I don't put too much stock into making it or not, but again, it was cool to have your boy out there seeing how his game compares to everyone else's.

$75 for 9 hours of soccer in a different environment (100+ kids in bright orange shirts)...pretty cost effective for my book.

My kid had fun at ODP. He said he like it because he could play with kids he always played against during the season. From what I read on NTX soccer site. They will pick about 100 players to be on 4 teams. Should be a fun experience. Making new friends on rival teams is always fun.

My son had a good time, although he was pretty disappointed that he didnt have his best day. He was also a little disgruntled about playing with futsal balls since he has only a little bit of experience playing with them. But, the way I texplained it to him is that its a way to gauge how you stack up compared to some of the best players in the area. Try your best, and learn your weaknesses, thats always good enough. He's more excited about playing on an outdoor field next week. All in all though, a very good value for what amounted to a glorified skills session.

i thought the indoor part was a good idea. many kids simply cannot control a ball and futsal exposes that. I was surprised at some of the skill level, thought it would be higher

soccerisgood123 wrote:i thought the indoor part was a good idea. many kids simply cannot control a ball and futsal exposes that. I was surprised at some of the skill level, thought it would be higher

I agree with the futsal exposing weakness in ball control. Seeing how the City Futsal guys are part of the evaluation/selection process, it's not surprising that they are highlighting it this year. IMHO, using futsal as part of the process shows that ODP is trying to stay relevant by at least partially focusing on skills rather than just BFS.

My guy had a blast but came out of it pretty bruised up. A keeper diving on wood tends to hurt (and he's an experienced futsal-er).

And did anyone else notice that this year's pool appears to be lighter on talent than the '00 class?

It's always good to expose kids to all types conditions, surfaces and ball types/sizes.

Asphalt, concrete, hardwood, astro turf, dirt, mud, bumpy grass, tall grass, etc.

Size 5 balls, heavy small futsal balls, little Brazilian training balls, kickballs, streetballs, cans, plastic bottles, what ever can be kicked.

Barefoot, flat shoes, cleats, etc.

Play with big kids, bigger kids, and adults.

Small fields with trees, bushes and rocks, or what ever a kid can invent/find.

Use cones for goals, or rocks, sticks, trees, balled-up tshirts… anything works.

Futsal exposes a lot of weaknesses with ball control and movement. Just keep ballin'.

Any thoughts about today? After looking at how they divided the boys up, it looks as if they know already who will make it and who won't. Unfortunatly, it looks like my BB was in a weak group. Doubt he will make the program. Looking forward to your commets and observations.

I was wondering about how they divided up the boys today. At first I figured it was based on ability, but after looking closely, I questioned that.
I definitely saw groups with more stronger kids, but most groups seemed very mixed to me. No one really stuck out in a good or bad way. One group did look to be made up of mostly older 01s, with only a few later born - 02 club players - and not necessarily the strongest 02 players, IMO. It also appeared there was a group of very strong young 01s together, with few older ones mixed in. Of course I could be wrong, I spent a lot time in the car!
I didn't see it like they had already picked, but I guess that could be because my son isn't one of the choosen ones, LOL! What about anyone else, did it look as though they had already picked? If so, which groups were the lucky ones!? Only aprox 50 won't make it, right? Heard we have about 150 and 100 will make it through. Is that about right?
My son didn't have nearly as much fun as last time, based on the cold weather and icey rain, but left happy and thought he did well.

My bb's perspective:

Location: Drive home.

Dad: How was ODP?
BB: Fine
Dad: Did you have fun?
BB: (bb watching a movie on the iPad) Uh-huh, yeah. I saw a kid from school.
Dad: Which group were you with?
BB: (bb still watching 'Tangled' on the iPad) Huh? Oh, I don't know. It rained after you left.

I don't have much of my own complete perspective because I left for my own game after about an hour. As far as I can determine he has no clue how ODP is dividing the boys. His favorite part is the scrimmaging.

They got started right at 2:30 doing some juggling/warm-up type stuff. At 3:00 I guess I was too busy talking to another parent and missed how they went about separating the boys into groups. Did they call numbers? Ages? Positions? I'm not sure. I do know the group on Field E was the players that didn't attend the first session as well as the keepers. Field A seemed to have the bulk of players and from my observation the talent level seemed pretty mixed. About mid way thru the session, I saw a group playing on field D and they seemed to be a group of highly skilled players. Not sure where they came from because they weren't on that field the 1st half of the session. It all looked a bit chaotic at times, and I couldn't help but notice groups of coaches talking to each other most of the time and not appearing to be watching the players, so maybe they did already have a good idea of who's who. All in all, my son liked it and appeared to be having a great time. I wish large groups of kids could gather like that more often and just play and scrimmage each other without having coaches and refs regulating the play. They all seemed to be having a lot of fun.

I was shocked at the physical difference in boys the same age. Some very big kids and some kids who looked like they were in the 4th grade as well as several out of shape looking players. I did see that the boys scrimmaging near the concession stand at the end of the session contained mostly skilled d1d2 kids playing against each other. I do wonder if that was the final practice, the calendar doesn't look too friendly for 1more tryout then 5-10 days to contact players then a practice. Fun to watch boy playing with and against different kids though

Overall mine said he had fun making new friends on other teams and playing in the rain. That was the highlight of his evening he said. We happen to be on field A and one team had 6 subs and the other team had 1 or 2 maybe. I guess they were giving some kids a better look because they got to play a lot more than the other team subs. Overall I am sure next weeks tryout will be much of the same thing with nicer weather.

Does anyone have an idea of what or how the goalkeepers where placed or how they will be chosen. There did not seem to be anything clear as to how or why they were put to scrimmage.

I had lunch with my boy at school today; I asked him for another re-cap. He was more interested in the contents of the sack lunch I brought, rather than soccer. Oh, and the fact his gym teacher had them run four laps around the football field during first period in wet grass. His socks were still soaked. Just like yesterday, we smiled.

He didn't say much more about ODP than yesterday except that one coach notified the boys they were observing "individual play". i.e. they should FOCUS on "individual play" vs team play.

It kinda makes sense for a try-out session. I'm just wondering what the end result will be on the type of players comprising the final rosters.

Since I wasn't at the park for a big chunk of the session I can't say how this type of focus would've impacted the scrimmages. i.e. more dribbling and less passing?

Last night, the BB finally gave up the goods. He said they were placed on teams A, B, C, D, E, F...but not sure how many. He seemed to think it was A-H. He also said the coaches told them all that the teams were based on the player evaluations from the First Tryout.

BB was on team C...not bad. Team A was the group in the Blue bibs. He also said that Teams A-D played each other round robin style at the end (meaning the last hour).

I am not here to debate the merits of the system, but rather provide the insight that my BB revealed. I am positve that when you try and evaluate that many kids at one time, you are guaranteed to overlook a few really good players.

I would be interested to see if anyone else's BB knew the "letter" of the team they were on. If they tell you, then it would seem to validate there was some sort of leveling going on.

All in all, He is having a great time and loves playing in the 'pick up game' format.

My bb has no recollection of alpha grouped teams, but it makes sense.

Since his school had early release today, I just asked. He was in the first group called. The coaches called out their numbers and issued the blue bibs. So this validated what your bb stated.

In his group were starting defenders from top D1 '02 and '01 clubs. Very good defenders, he said. Plus the starting center striker from a top D1 club and other kids he recognized from Classic League. A decent batch.

Yeah it makes sense now come to think about it. Mine must of been in the second group of kids they called out. Because they put on the red bibs at first then took them off after the first scrimmage was over. They did have a go at the team with the Blue bibs on and it was an even match IMHO. Both teams scored on each other. The team my boy was on consisted of the solar red key striker and the wingers from thornbers team. I tend to believe they know who they want to pick out for the 100. Once they start practicing them together, it will give us a clearer picture on which team they ultimately end up on come spring time.

Madcap wrote:Last night, the BB finally gave up the goods. He said they were placed on teams A, B, C, D, E, F...but not sure how many. He seemed to think it was A-H. He also said the coaches told them all that the teams were based on the player evaluations from the First Tryout.

BB was on team C...not bad. Team A was the group in the Blue bibs. He also said that Teams A-D played each other round robin style at the end (meaning the last hour).

I am not here to debate the merits of the system, but rather provide the insight that my BB revealed. I am positve that when you try and evaluate that many kids at one time, you are guaranteed to overlook a few really good players.

I would be interested to see if anyone else's BB knew the "letter" of the team they were on. If they tell you, then it would seem to validate there was some sort of leveling going on.

All in all, He is having a great time and loves playing in the 'pick up game' format.

i think you are right. i kind of laugh because the last group that played the blue bibs pounded them like 6 goals to 1 or 2. One kid lit them up for at least 4 goals. still early i guess

KK, I actually thought your bb's team was the A Team. You had a lot of quality talent in the group. Too bad I didn't get the pleasure of watching the scrimmages.

You're right, over more sessions to observe, the coaches will be able to refine the groups.

Once the sessions switch from "individual" focused play to "team" play, the boys can kick it into high gear.

PG-Boy wrote:KK, I actually thought your bb's team was the A Team. You had a lot of quality talent in the group. Too bad I didn't get the pleasure of watching the scrimmages.

You're right, over more sessions to observe, the coaches will be able to refine the groups.

Once the sessions switch from "individual" focused play to "team" play, the boys can kick it into high gear.

Yeah his group did have a lot of talent on it. Well I cant wait to this weekend. Back to the complex in arlington where he started playing select soccer. Should be fun.

PG-Boy wrote:KK, I actually thought your bb's team was the A Team. You had a lot of quality talent in the group. Too bad I didn't get the pleasure of watching the scrimmages.

You're right, over more sessions to observe, the coaches will be able to refine the groups.

Once the sessions switch from "individual" focused play to "team" play, the boys can kick it into high gear.

i think you are right about that. i wouldn't be surprised to see different "teams" this weekend based on individual play of the last session. Lots of good kids to choose from.

Any thoughts or comments from yesterdays ODP tryout?

I did not attend but by all accounts, the BB had a great day. Maybe he should attend sleepovers and stay up until 3am before soccer games too!

Heard they are taking 5 teams of 18 (80 Field Players + 10 Goalies)

Also heard they said TWO WEEKS to be notified...I thought it was 4 to 5 days??

Anyone know the expectation on HOW the communication will go this week, or next??

Madcap wrote:I did not attend but by all accounts, the BB had a great day. Maybe he should attend sleepovers and stay up until 3am before soccer games too!

Heard they are taking 5 teams of 18 (80 Field Players + 10 Goalies)

Also heard they said TWO WEEKS to be notified...I thought it was 4 to 5 days??

Anyone know the expectation on HOW the communication will go this week, or next??

It was 5 to 10 business days. They have a practice scheduled on sunday at 11 am. So I am sure they will notify the ones they want first. This is just a guess. Mine had fun. They even out the teams from what I saw. A lot of boys trying to do to much one on one in my opinion.