Middle School Soccer Tryout Prep: The 3-Week Plan
Middle school soccer tryouts are usually the first time a kid gets evaluated by an adult who does not know them, in a group of forty to seventy players on a field with room for maybe twenty-two. For a lot of kids it is also the first time the answer can be no. Rec soccer takes everyone. The school team does not, and the difference shows up in how the two or three days feel: shorter turns with the ball, a lot of standing in lines, and a coach with a clipboard who cannot possibly watch everyone at once.
That last part is the whole game at this level. A middle school coach is not scouting technique. They are trying to sort a big group fast, and the kids who get sorted onto the roster are the ones the coach actually saw: the kid who called for the ball, sprinted back when possession turned over, and did what was asked the first time. The plan below is built around being that kid.
It assumes about three weeks, a ball, a wall or a fence, and a patch of grass. A parent who can serve balls is a bonus, not a requirement. If your kid has less time, run weeks two and three. One more honest thing: at this age the roster decision has a lot to do with who else is in the pool that year. The part your kid controls is showing up fit, loud, and coachable.
What coaches are actually looking for
Ask a middle school coach and the list is short: can they run for an hour, do they get back on defense without being told, can they receive a ball and pass it to a teammate under a little pressure, and do they listen. That is it. Nobody makes a middle school roster on a step-over. Kids get left off for standing and watching after they lose the ball, for wandering out of position to chase it, and for being invisible in a group of sixty.
Visibility is not the same as showing off. It means playing in a way the coach can see and hear: calling a teammate’s name before the pass, saying "man on" when a defender is closing, sprinting back the moment the ball turns over. A coach who cannot remember a kid’s face at the end of day two has no reason to put that kid on the list.
Coachability shows up in one specific moment: the correction. A coach stops a drill, says something to your kid, and the next rep either changes or it does not. That moment gets noticed more than any goal. Practice it at home by having them repeat the correction back in one sentence and then do it.
What the days themselves look like
Day one is the big group. Expect a warm-up jog, some form of a fitness run (laps, a timed run, or shuttles), then technical lines: passing in pairs, dribbling through cones, shooting on a keeper or an empty net. Then small-sided games, often four-on-four or five-on-five in mixed groups with pinnies, with the coach walking between fields. The wait between turns can be long. Kids who stay engaged during the wait (jogging in place, watching the drill, ready when called) are noticed; kids who sit down are noticed too.
Day two, if there is one, is more scrimmage and fewer lines, sometimes with the coach putting kids in specific positions to see who can hold one. This is where a lot of first-time kids lose themselves, drifting toward the ball no matter where they were told to play. The ones who stand out do the simple job in their spot: a defender who stays goal-side, a midfielder who checks to the ball and plays it forward, a forward who makes one run behind the line.
One safety note that also sets expectations: US Soccer prohibits heading in training for players under 11 and limits it for 11 to 13 year olds. A middle school coach should not be building a tryout around headers, and your kid does not need to practice them at home to be ready. Leave heading out of the plan below on purpose.
This was written for every middle school soccer player. ParentEdge writes one for yours.
Their position, their team, what they’re working on, and what the next few weeks actually look like. Two minutes, nothing to sign up for.
Tryout day checklist
- Registration, physical, and any school eligibility forms turned in before day one. Schools will not let a kid on the field without them.
- Shin guards, and socks that cover them. Many coaches will not let a kid step on without both.
- Boots for the surface: molded cleats for grass, turf shoes for turf. Find out which field before the day.
- A ball with their name on it, even if the school provides them. Warm-up starts whenever they arrive.
- Two water bottles. Middle school tryouts are often right after school in the heat.
- A snack an hour before: something they have eaten before, not a new thing.
- Arrive fifteen minutes early and pass against a wall or juggle. Find out where the coach wants the group.
- Talk from the first drill: call for the ball by a teammate’s name, say "man on," say "time."
- Sprint back the moment the ball turns over, every time, even when the play looks lost.
- After each day, write down two things that went well and one thing to fix. Then let it go.
How many kids get cut at middle school soccer tryouts?
It depends on the school. Some keep everyone by running an A team and a B team; some take twenty from sixty. Ask the coach or the athletic office what last year looked like, because the number changes what your kid should lean into. In a no-cut program, the tryout is really about which team and how much they play.
Does my kid need to play club soccer to make the middle school team?
No. Rec players make middle school rosters every year, and the ones who do show up fit, loud, and coachable. Club players often have a cleaner first touch, which is why the wall work in the plan matters. Three weeks of it closes a lot of that gap.
Should my kid practice heading before tryouts?
No. US Soccer prohibits heading in training for players under 11 and limits it for 11 to 13 year olds, and a middle school coach should not be judging headers at a tryout. Leave it out of the home plan. If a coach does introduce it, it will be light and brief.
What if my kid gets cut?
Ask the coach for one specific thing to work on, thank them, and keep playing: rec, a local club, pickup. Middle school rosters change a lot from one year to the next as kids grow, and plenty of players make it the following year because they came back visibly better at the one thing the coach named.