Top 5 Soccer Tryout Drills

As a soccer coach, one of the most daunting tasks is conducting tryouts. 

The soccer tryout process entails carefully assessing the abilities of your players in different positions, identifying those who show exemplary character and determination, and ultimately, selecting players who are a well-rounded fit for the team.

To achieve these goals, it is important to have your players participate in soccer tryout drills that can showcase their potential and capabilities for the team.

This blog outlines the 5 best soccer tryout drills for evaluating your players, giving you the insight and confidence needed for making team placement decisions.

1. Soccer Dribbling Drill- Toe Taps in the Square

Start with four lines of players lined up behind each other. Once the coach blows the whistle, the first player in each line dribbles their ball to the cone, stops, taps the cone with their feet 10 times, and then dribbles back to their original starting point. 

When the player returns to their starting position, the following player in the line starts, and the drill is repeated until each player in line has had a turn.

If you’re looking for some awesome soccer training videos that are easy to follow at home, check out Anytime Soccer Training.

2. Soccer Shooting Drill- Shooting Box

Set up four pylons in a square formation (about 6 feet apart from each other). Start by having 1 player in the square and another three players roughly 30 feet from the player in the box — each with a soccer ball.

Now have one of the “outside” players pass the ball to the player in the square. Once the “box” player has received the pass, they should try to shoot as quickly as possible. Repeat the drill until all players have passed the ball to the player in the box, then rotate players.

3. Soccer Attacking Drill- Attack the Cones

Create a 15 X 15-foot box using 4 cones, then place one cone in the center of the box. Divide your soccer players into two lines, around 20 feet away from the box.

The first player in each line will dribble their ball to the cone in the center and then quickly return to their starting position while trying to maintain control of the ball. As players gain confidence, the coach should encourage each player to go faster.

4. Soccer Passing Drill- Four corners

Within a 40×40 yard grid, create grids (that are about 5×5) in each of the four corners. Split your players into two teams. The objective of this soccer passing drill is simple: players in the middle of the larger grid need to get the ball to one of their teammates standing inside one of the smaller box grids.

The players will work as a team, passing to each other while the other team does their best to defend and intercept the ball.

5. Soccer Footwork Drill- 1 vs. 1 in the Circle

Split your players into two teams. The coach starts outside the center circle and throws the ball in the circle. Two players start from different lines. Whoever gets possession of the ball first will then return the ball successfully to the coach without stepping or dribbling outside of the circle.

Once the first players in each line finish the drill, the next two players will have a turn until all players have completed 3 attempts. 

Evaluating Soccer Tryouts: Soccer App vs. Paper Forms

While printable soccer skills forms have existed for years for coaches to assess player performance at tryouts (or any evaluation for that matter), they have limitations: lost papers, time-consuming data entry, and no real-time results to view.

That’s where a soccer coaching app, such as SkillShark, comes in.

With SkillShark, you can:

• Mark athletes on the fly with your smartphone or tablet.
• Generate individualized reports for every player, highlighting their strengths and weaknesses.
• Cut administrative hours and reduce manual data entry.
• Make informed drafting decisions & positional changes with instant comparison features.

Like working on paper? Download our soccer tryout evaluation form—but we guarantee that once you try out the app instead, you won’t look back.

Whether you’re holding soccer tryouts or weekly soccer training sessions, SkillShark gives you the online edge to coach smarter, quicker, and more effectively!