How to Make the Soccer Team

Improve and maintain your fitness. This is very important; if the coaches see you out of breath after a light jog they'll think you don't have the stamina to perform well for a full 90 minute game. If you are getting ready for trials make sure to start a fitness program roughly 2 months before to improve your muscular and cardiovascular endurance, or just try to maintain a good level of fitness all year round. 

• good training is good for simulating the different intensities of a soccer match, it involves working at different intensities and/or across different terrains. Although, you should progress gradually and always perform a warm up and cool down with your workouts to reduce the risk of injury.

Eat right. Reduce the amount of fat and sugar in your diet. Try to eat foods with more carbohydrates, to give you a long-lasting energy supply, and protein, to help your muscles grown and recover quicker.

• An example of a good pre-match or pre-training meal would be tuna and pasta.

Add in your own training sessions. This is especially useful if you are struggling to perform a specific skill, such as long passing. The more you practise, the more natural and fluent the movements will become. It will help to develop muscle memory if you repeat skills over and over again. Practise really does make perfect.

Make sure you seem really enthusiastic and enjoy yourself. If the coaches see you sulking or complaining they will be concerned about your attitude and work ethic.

Show just the right amount of aggression. You need to be confident enough to go in for the ball, even when you might get hurt, but equally the coaches and manager won't want you making wild challenges or getting into fights. You need good sportsmanship and compassion whilst still being driven to win.

Be confident, on and off the pitch. On the pitch you need to communicate effectively and make important, split second decisions. Off the pitch, try to get to know the other people in the team/trial and ask the coaches questions if you want useful tips or don't understand something. This will make you seem enthusiastic and it will show you can work well as part of a team and inspire others if you can both get on with your team and work together effectively on the pitch.

Make sure you are confident playing in a number of different positions and roles. Don't limit yourself to only being able to play in one position. Coaches and managers like to be able to use players in several positions. So, if you are normally a striker try to develop your game as a centre forward and attacking midfielder as well. Same for defenders; if you normally play as a centre back, try out the roles of a full-back and defensive midfielder. This shows you are adaptable and the manager will be able to use you in more positions.

Show good restraint on and off the pitch. There are times where other players or people may taunt you or try to cheat, but as a good player, you need to show that you are in control and you are above retaliation. Managers want players who will positively reflect on the entire club.