Thanks. he does well at small sided games but even better when it’s 11v11 full field scrimmage. A few more open spaces in 11v11 to showcase speed, and big shots when available.
Was he a walk on or preferred walk on ?
Did he have a chance to play anywhere?
If he continues to work hard, he may get a chance. Or may not. Maybe this year. Maybe not.
Coaches are invested in their players. As a walk on, he had to know this.
He should prepare himself for the discussion with the coach like an interview.
“Coach, I’m having a great time playing and i’ve learned a lot. I’m trying to make a plan for summer training and want to know what areas you think I should work on, the kinds of workouts I should do, any camps I should be involved with.” The coach might have a camp he can work at, might know someone in the area where you live.
He might also consider another position. If the team has a bunch of forwards who play on the left, can your son play right, or somewhere else? My daughter doesn’t play soccer, so I’m not as familiar with the positions, but she played midfield lax so could also play attack or defense (that’s what middies do). There were attack players who could only play ‘left attack’ so they were all competing for the same spot. No. 1 got to play, No 2 had to wait to be subbed in.
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@Ballerz I don’t know where you live, but has you son attended tryouts for any local USL2 teams? Many college players spend the summer training and playing with these teams to stay sharp for the fall.
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Yeah, the OP’s son should be playing for a USL2 team over the summer (not attending/working at camps). Definitely ask the coach, though, for what they think the player should be doing.
As for changing positions, that’s really up to the coach, not the player. Though of course the player could raise the idea.
I think what might be happening is going from a small pond to a big one. D1 soccer has the top 1% of all US soccer players – it is quite an achievement for the OP’s son to have made the team! And very, very different from most high school soccer, or lower level club soccer ( though I of course don’t know the OP"s son’s level).
But in talking to your son I would not emphasize your son’s speed and strength, impressive as they are. Usain Bolt*, one of the world’s fastest men, tried to be a soccer player and washed out. Similarly, where your son played club soccer isn’t important now. The thing to focus on is improving/working harder with input from the captains/coaches.
*Usain Bolt’s football career: What happened and why didn’t he sign a professional contract?
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Preferred walk-on
Looks like the USL2 tryouts were in January/February for most teams across the country. Will have to look into that next year and hopefully with another season of college practice can make a USL2 team.
Unlike everyone here I don’t believe at all that coaches are serious experts who always play the best players and make good decisions because their job is to win. Most cannot see past their immediate bias/opinion/decision, many do not know how to evaluate their own decisions or re-evaluate them, and it hurts teams all the time. So all the “the coach must know what he is doing” you can take with a big grain of salt.
That said, all your son can do is meet with the coach and find out what he needs to work on. There is nothing else.
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OK - that’s a bit different - so the coach identified him prior.
Well if he’s just a first year, I mean how many people play first year in general in all sports? Well I know about hoops and football.
Hopefully over time it gets better but if he really wants to play now, maybe AU wasn’t or isn’t the right chocie?
I would expect there might be room on rosters still. I would have your son reach out.
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I agree that coaches can and do get it wrong, but so do parents in assessing their own kids without a comprehensive view of the team and the factors that affect these decisions. But either way, as you say, the path forward is the same.
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Not at American U. Wrong side of the country. Somehow I must have clicked it.
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just removed it!
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Coaches need job security and are going to put the team on the field that gives them the best chance to win. They act as if they don’t owe parents/players anything because they don’t. Yes, there’s always insidious politics (Tom Wolfe’s “I Am Charlotte Simmons” touches upon this in another sport), but for the most part athletics at this level is cutthroat, bottom line, and often unfair. Your son is doing everything he needs to do to put himself in a position to play, and the coach is noticing. He has four years ahead of him to get his chance.
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Room on other rosters? Hmm that’s tricky. Wouldn’t he need to declare for transfer portal before inquiring with other programs?
Sorry, I meant I thought there would likely be room on USL2 rosters for the summer. So if your son missed the tryouts it is still worth reaching out to the club/coach to see if he might play. At the USL2 team I’m familiar with there’s a lot of flux, and always room for a strong D1 player.
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I believe it was referring to summer options.
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Ok that’s great. I know he likes his team and isn’t at a point where he’s thinking about transferring. He did go to an ID camp last year at a very very good program, where the coach at that school had no more roster spots but still called him after the camp, even just to tell him that was nice. That head coach was perplexed why he was just showing himself to the coach for the very first time and told him that much, but roster full.
That coach summoned for him during a sub out and talked with him a full 10 minutes one on one…just all about how much he liked soccer. There were over 150 kids there (many from great MLS Next clubs) and he was the only one the HC did that with as he stood at mid field with just a student assistant observing. Im sure that coach would remember him. He scored a hat trick while on the field when he rotated to the head coaches field. All three goals were pretty wicked with seriously hard shots after controlling long passes and a dribble sequence, then after that nearly had a 4th after a kid shot, hit cross bar, ball came out to the 18 where he was to rip hard bicycle kick that happened to go straight to goalie. In any case that coach looked purely delighted and surprised after seeing that. Cool thing was the Hattie and bicycle kick came after the he subbed back in and coach really took notice. I know he’d remember him. Maybe a starting point if portal gets needed in future.
He should have hit more of those camps earlier I guess. Likes where he’s at is just definitely itching for just an opportunity.
Seems like current college coach could help him find a spot for summer, might be worth a chat.