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Soccer tryout evaluation form

Soccer is the hardest sport here to evaluate with cones. Technical drills separate the bottom of a group quickly and then stop telling you anything; small-sided games are where first touch under pressure and off-ball movement actually show up. Keep the squads small and the games short.

9scoring criteria
4positions
7tryout stations
3file formats

The general set

What to score when the whole group is together

These are the columns the scoresheet loads when you pick Soccer. They are written to be scored on everyone in the session, which is what a first tryout needs. Coachability sits last on purpose. It is the one every coach marks, and it belongs where they expect to find it.

  • First touch
  • Passing
  • Dribbling
  • Shooting
  • Defending 1v1
  • Off-ball
  • Endurance
  • Awareness
  • Coachability

Build your soccer scoresheet

By position

What to score once you split into groups

A skill that decides one position is noise on everyone else's sheet, which is why these sit apart from the general set rather than being bolted onto it. Pick a position in the builder and the columns rebuild themselves.

Goalkeeper

  • Shot stopping
  • Handling and catching
  • Positioning and angles
  • Distribution with feet
  • Distribution with hands
  • Command of the box
  • Communication
  • Coachability

Defender

  • Defending 1v1
  • Tackling technique
  • Heading
  • Positioning and cover
  • Passing out of the back
  • Recovery speed
  • Communication
  • Coachability

Midfielder

  • First touch under pressure
  • Passing range and accuracy
  • Vision and decisions
  • Defensive work rate
  • Ball retention
  • Endurance
  • Coachability

Forward

  • Finishing
  • First touch in tight areas
  • Movement off the ball
  • Running in behind
  • Holding the ball up
  • Pressing from the front
  • Coachability

Running the session

A soccer tryout, station by station

The stations the builder can drop onto the sheet for you, in the order they usually run. Delete the ones you are not testing. A station on the sheet that never happened leaves a blank column that looks like a missing score.

  1. Dribbling through gates and under pressure
  2. Passing and receiving in pairs and triangles
  3. Shooting and finishing
  4. 1v1 attacking and defending
  5. Small-sided games, 4v4 or 5v5
  6. Goalkeeper-specific handling and distribution
  7. Full-sided scrimmage

How to staff a tryout, brief evaluators, and tell families the result afterwards is on the tryouts and evaluation guide . It applies to every sport, so it lives in one place rather than being repeated here. You will also want a medical consent and emergency contact form for everyone on the floor that day, and a player evaluation form at the other end of the season.

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.

Common questions

What should be on a soccer tryout evaluation form?

The skills you will actually test that day, and nothing else. For soccer that means first touch, passing, dribbling and shooting and the rest of the set below, plus a notes column and a row per athlete. A column you will not score is a column that makes the sheet slower to fill in.

Should we score by position?

Not in the first session. Score the whole group on the general criteria while you still have everyone together, then run position-specific sheets when you break into groups - that is when the goalkeeper criteria stop being noise on everyone else's sheet.

How long should a soccer tryout be?

Long enough to run the stations below without rushing, and short enough that you are scoring skill rather than fitness. Ninety minutes is a common answer for a single age group. If you need two sessions, evaluate both and average them rather than treating the second as a tiebreak.

Other sports

Tryout forms for every sport we have criteria for

After the tryout comes the roster

Playbook Logix takes the part that starts once the team exists: registration, medical forms parents fill in on their phone, who has paid, and a roster that is the same in everyone's pocket. There is a free plan.