Neither Rain Nor... U9-U13 Tryouts Successful Despite Elements
Notes from the Field
by Len Oliver, DC Stoddert Coaching Director
Along with washing out games, this spring’s torrential downpours scrambled travel-team tryout schedules for U9-U13 players. Still, rain delays did nothing to dampen turnout for the Fall 2009 selection process. A strong talent pool and teams of various skill levels made this recruiting season one of DC Stoddert Soccer’s most successful--and underscored the club’s growing reputation for excellence in developing young players. Thanks to all the players, parents, volunteers and coaches who participated. Here are my notes from the field:
Tryouts for the Girls: Increasing Skill Levels
DC Stoddert travel team tryouts started on Monday, May 18, with Karen Kelser, Director of the Girls Development Program, and Khaled Hamami putting over 60 U8 girls through their paces. With great enthusiasm, the girls played in small-sided 5 v 5 games on several fields quickly constructed at Carter Barron. Assisting Karen and Khaled were Hannah Wenzel, DCST travel coach, and the Garcia girls, Angie and Chrissie.
Girls’ tryouts continued all week, with the U9s and U10s coming in on Tuesday and Thursday, and the U11s and U12s on Wednesday and Friday. Each level demonstrated the increasing skills the girls had acquired under Karen and Khaled’s tutelage.
Their goal: to construct three teams in each age group for play in DC Stoddert’s open ("recreational") divisions, albeit a year up, and in the Washington Area Girls Soccer League (WAGS) travel divisions.
Tryouts were superbly organized by Kate Samsot, DC Stoddert’s Travel Director, with almost all the girls pre-registering. With spread sheets in hand, Kate and the parent volunteers manning the sign-in table gave out numbers to the players, advised them on what to expect and when results would be posted, and sent them to Karen and Khaled for the tryout workouts.
Tryout results were posted online by the first week in June, travel teams were formed, and after the summer break, the girls will gather with their respective teams for the fall season. As an old hand at tryouts, Len Oliver, DC Stoddert’s Director of Coaching, observed: “The girls are becoming increasingly skillful, with a greater sense of the game, and I attribute this essential skill development to the hard work put in by Karen and Khaled over the past few years. Plaudits to them.”
The Boys: Great Enthusiasm in Rain-Delayed Tryouts
Craig Jones, Boys’ U9-U10 Technical Director, and Sona Walla, Boys U11-U12 Technical Director, were only able to complete one session of boys’ tryouts during the week of May 25 due to heavy rain storms, lightning, and muddy field conditions at Carter Barron.
By the end of the second week in early June, all boys’ tryouts had been completed, with strong turnouts in all age groups. Craig seemed pleased with the results, observing that “we are seeing increased skills even from the younger players, meaning they have been attending our clinics, camps, watching big-time games, and emulating their new-found soccer heroes. They can build on these skills as they grow with the game.”
Sona seemed equally pleased with the caliber of play of the older boys. He had seen most of them come up through the DC Stoddert system, but could also count numerous youngsters coming from other clubs, particularly from Montgomery County. Just a few years ago, DC Stoddert was losing young players at this age to other clubs because of better fields and better competition. Now, according to Sona, “we are competitive with the best of the other clubs and can only continue to grow.”
Tryouts for young players, both female and male, seem an anomaly when we try to teach the coaches “not to coach,” to “let the game teach them,” and advise that soccer is indeed “a player’s game.” But DC Stoddert has evolved over the years, creating more respect for the Club every season, to the point where we are known for our quality of coaching and playing throughout the region. Young players are increasingly talented, with skills befitting their age groups, and being highly competitive with other clubs in our area in these younger age groups.
Again, Len thinks that “these 400 young players, trying out for the various teams in our younger travel team age groups, are the heart of DC Stoddert Soccer. They will stay with us for years, as will their parents, and will continue to contribute to Club development. We are now competitive at most age levels, boys and girls, with most of the other 78 clubs in our region and are acquiring a reputation for excellence.”
Posted 6/25/2009 by MCL
