Under Pressure-Tryout Season

Growing up, sports, in particular soccer, was always a part of my life, whether it was playing it, watching it, or me dreaming about making it to a professional level. The first team my name ever appeared on a roster was in kindergarten. I was on the Rainbow Butterfly YMCA soccer team. It’s fair to say it was pretty easy to get your name placed on a roster back then. Only a few expectations were given; to show up and then to kick the ball if it came your way. The whole winning, losing, percentage your team had possession of the ball, or goals scored did not matter. It was simple, it was about being active, learning something new and seeing your friends outside of school. And of course, the after game snacks that parents would bring. Then, over time my name no longer just appeared on a roster because my parents registered me for the next season. My name now only appears on a roster if I have earned a spot on the team. There are also first team and second team rosters and with each start of the soccer season, “tryouts.” 

Tryout season or in general trying out for a competitive sports team is such a roller coaster of emotions for athletes these days. Even before tryouts approach there is a production taking place behind the scenes. Rumors start to fly regarding who is leaving the team, what the coaching assignments are for next season, where a teammate may go if they do leave, and why they are leaving. Then the recruiting starts through emails and social media and while at first exciting, it tends to also be slightly overwhelming. Each club shares why they are the best club in the area, the number of coaches they have with their coaching education B or C license, and their list of committed players. All great features to consider, however, I wonder if clubs could consider also including resources on how to help athletes mentally prepare for tryouts?

The tryout process is both mentally and physically challenging for players. While some of us student athletes may be excellent test takers, others of us experience performance anxiety, second guessing ourselves, and don’t always perform to our full ability. One could argue if an athlete is not confident nor performing well during a tryout this could also correlate to how they handle high pressure games and situations. While I don’t always perform confidently during a tryout, it’s never due to lack of effort but because of me second guessing my ability. I do well during high pressure games. I’m not only confident, I’m pumped, my player instincts and IQ kick in hyper overdrive and most importantly I’m not tied to the end result (ie. the score). Fear of failure does not plague me like it does during a tryout. Much of the pressure of course, is self imposed and comes from the uncontrollable, the end result. Unlike a lost game or trying a new skill or technique during a game and it not working out, I have an immediate opportunity, the next game to try again, demonstrate improvement and impress the coach. You only have one shot during a tryout with a lot more uncontrollable variables, which for me creates a vicious mental mind trap. To combat this, I started to develop strategies to help mentally prepare for tryouts. I did so with the help of a sports mental skills coach, a Female Footballer mentor, and also by talking to quite a few collegiate athletes, (my WPSL SF Nighthawks family). With playing several sports and being rostered on several teams, I have multiple tryouts throughout the year (ODP, PDP, WPSL, ECNL, Futsal, and softball). Therefore, it became essential to develop good strategies if I wanted a life long commitment to sports and to also be a successful and mentally strong minded athlete. 

Today my tryout ritual starts a few weeks before the tryout. 

Pre Tryout Routine: 

Pressure Release-I designate a time to allow myself time to start to process and feel all the emotions that come with trying out. I’m all about journaling and writing my feelings down. I also use my parents as a sounding board.

Reframing- I start to frame what I want my self talk to sound like going into tryouts and the few week prior.

“I’m prepared, I’ve trained for this.”

“You’ve worked hard and know what to do.”

“Challenges help me grow.”

“I can do tough things,” “ I have done tough things.”

This is usually around the time when I start getting tempted to begin the comparison phrase that a lot of us athletes get stuck in. “Do I measure up to the other goalkeepers in my area?”  “What do my 1v1 attacks look like compared to others?” etc…Positive self talk is extremely important right about now.

Set Goals-For me personally, setting some goals to help break down the tryout and make it more manageable is important. It makes it less overwhelming when I break it down into goals such as:

Goal 1: Confident, clear instructional GK communication.

Goal 2: Look for passing options one step ahead of receiving a ball. 

Goal 3: Having diversity such as rolls, punts, throws.

Goal 4: Accentuate my strengths. My punts and goal kicks, as well as my top hand/tip overs are my current strengths. 

I base my goals for each tryout I’m going into off of development areas my trainers and coaches have recently shared with me that need some more finesse. 

Tryout Routine: 

Box Breathing- If I start to feel anxious, I focus on my breath and do breathwork to regain focus. I was taught box breathing at the age of six years old and use this method frequently. Box breathing is when you four-count breath in, four-count hold, four-count exhale, four-count hold. 

The Controllables- Control the controllable, “me.” I can control my actions, concentration, and effort attention, and effort. 

Field Leader-I know I can’t be the only one feeling anxious during a tryout so I try to congratulate and compliment other players to build confidence in themselves. This is especially important if there is a player not from the club I am trying out for or there is a player that seems shy or standing off to the side. If I can help others feel a little more confident and successful in their tryout, not only does that help them but it also becomes less about me focusing on my nervousness. 

Self-Talk-To avoid focusing on thoughts such as, “Oh no, I just messed up.” or “Why are the coaches not looking my way.” I am ready with my self talk focused points. As the unwanted thoughts pop up, I’m better equipped to manage them with my personalized talking points. 

Constant Movement-To relieve some of the anxiety and muscle tension, I make sure I’m constantly moving my body. Any movement helps to break up some of the tension so I can relax and loosen my muscles.

Perspective-It’s important to keep things in perspective. As mentioned earlier, I sometimes get stuck in a mental mind trap. I don’t need to build tryouts up like it’s life or death kind of stuff. It’s definitely not! While the tryout process is important for both the athlete and club, life will go on whether tryouts turn out the way I want them to or not.

Once the tryout has concluded, I have to remind myself that I am now “leaving it all on the pitch.” If I put in the effort and tried my best, I have to now be ready to accept whatever decision comes to pass. I try distracting myself during the rest of the day as well as the next so I’m not waiting around for the call, but honestly it’s tough. And I haven’t always received the call. That definitely stings for awhile but it’s part of the process. I’ve realized by talking to quite a few coaches and collegiate or professional players that they often saw a lot more No’s before they got that Yes that changed everything. 

Athletes, in particular youth players, could really benefit from having more support preparing for the tryout process. My sister’s soccer coach weekly sends his players’ parents newsletters that he asks they share with their child. His most recent one included an article on tryouts. He also shared his perspective as a coach regarding this topic and how he’s helped his players with their many questions and thoughts on their upcoming tryouts. It was enlightening! This one simple gesture really demonstrated the coach is truly thinking about the whole player. It also got a great conversation started with my parents and sister regarding tryouts and what her thoughts and feelings are. 

The pressure of tryouts can be hard but I think most athletes interested in playing competitive sports accept and understand this. But I think it isn’t unreasonable for sports programs to consider adding some resources in their tryout recruiting. It would also be ideal if clubs and coaches are not already doing so, to add some mental skills training or similar component to weekly practices. Covering topics like the importance of self talk, tryout pressure, etc…would go a long way. By adding some support and making a few deliberate changes to the tryout process, youth athletes will come out stronger on the other end.

Aubrey McLin