Free Soccer Tryout Evaluation Form & Scorecard

The scorecard loads these nine columns. They are short labels, and the labels hide most of the judgment, so here is what an evaluator is looking at under each.

• First touch. Controlling the ball so the next action is possible: cushioning a pass, directing it away from pressure, and not needing a second touch to settle it. Score it under pressure, in the small-sided games, because a first touch in a line is easy.
• Passing. Accuracy, weight and choice: the pass that arrives at the right pace to the right foot, short and long, with either foot. Score the pass the receiver can use, not only the one that reached them.
• Dribbling. Close control with the ball moving and the head up, and the ability to beat a defender and not only to get through cones. Cones show you a touch; a defender shows you whether it works. Note which foot the player trusts.
• Shooting. Technique and decision: striking the ball cleanly, with a plan for where it is going, from a place where a shot makes sense. Count goals separately as a number and score the strike and the choice, since a player who scores because everyone passes to them is not necessarily the best finisher.
• Defending 1v1. Approach under control, stance and patience: closing the gap without lunging, staying on the feet, and showing the attacker where you want them to go. At youth ages patience beats the tackle.
• Off-ball. What a player does when they do not have the ball: making a run, checking to the ball, finding space and supporting a teammate. It is the hardest criterion to see and one of the best separators, so watch the players who are not near the ball.
• Endurance. Keeping the quality up across the session, comparing the last shift of the scrimmage with the first. Score it from how the touches hold up when a player is tired, not only from a fitness test, and keep it fair to the youngest players.
• Awareness. Checking the shoulder before receiving, knowing where the pressure and the open teammates are, and deciding before the ball arrives. It only shows when the pace is real.
• Coachability. The player who adjusts when shown something, not the one who nods. Teach one small change in the middle of a drill, such as receiving on the back foot, and watch who makes it on the next try.

A five point scale gives evaluators a consistent way to compare players across the same drills and the same age group. It is printed above the grid so every evaluator reads the same words, and the last column is an average, not a total.

• Agree on the 3 before anyone is scored. Have every evaluator watch the same few receives, passes and 1v1s, and say out loud what a 3 looks like for this age group. A lot of the disagreement between evaluators is about where the middle is, not about the players.
• Score what you saw, when you saw it. Write the number before the next player steps in. Leave a cell blank for a skill the session never tested, such as defending for a player who never played in a game. A blank costs a player nothing, because the average only counts what was scored.
• Score each column on its own. A good passer should not lift a defending score, and a heavy touch should not pull down awareness.
• Score independently, then average. Two evaluators who confer during the session produce one opinion twice.
• Score the games, not only the lines. First touch, off-ball movement and awareness show up in 4v4 and 5v5, and almost nowhere else.

This is the soccer version. The general tryout evaluation scoresheet works for any sport, and the soccer forms and templates page lists the other 5 soccer documents.

Playbook Logix provides customizable templates for informational and administrative use. They are not legal advice and will not meet the requirements of every organization, sport or jurisdiction. Review anything you intend to rely on with your own attorney or your insurance carrier, and check your league and state requirements.