Fort Lauderdale Select F.C.: FAQ's
FAQ's
Here are common questions that parents often have about FTL Select. Please feel free to email us with any personal questions you may have.
Q: Which team does my son/daughter tryout for?A: First, decide which age group corresponds to your player's date of birth and school grade.
| 2009-2010 Player Ages | ||
| Age | Team Name |
Age as of July 31, 2010 |
| U15 (girls only) | Lauderdale SelectU-15 Team | 14 years old or younger as of July 31, 2010 (turns 14 on or after August 1st, 2010) |
| U13 (girls only) | Lauderdale SelectU-13 Team | 12 years old or younger as of July 31, 2010 (turns 13 on or after August 1st, 2010) |
| U12(boys and girls) | Lauderdale Select U-12 Team | 11 years old or younger as of July 31 2010(Turns 12 on or After August 1st 2010) |
| U11(boys and girls) | Lauderdale Select U-11 Team | 10 years old or younger as of July 31 2010 (Turns 10 on or after August 1st 2010) |
| U10 (boys and girls) | Lauderdale Select U-10 Team | 9 years old or younger as of July 31 2010 (Turns 10 on or after August 1st 2010) |
| U9 (boys and girls) | Lauderdale Select U-9 Team | 8 years old or younger as of July 31 2010 (Turns 9 on or after August 1st 2010) |
| U8 (boys and girls) | Lauderdale Select U-9 Team | 7 years old or younger as of July 31 2010 (Turns 8 on or after August 1st 2010) |
Q. Do all players make the team?A. No. Players are chosen based on the number of available roster spots and whether the coaches believe that the competitive league is the appropriate level for the player. On the younger teams every effort is made to find roster spots for players, however, there are cases where roster spots are available, but coaches do not believe that a player’s skill set is appropriate for the competitive leagues. Creating the best environment for the player is the priority, and if we do not feel that a child would be able to compete at the competitive level, for the child’s benefit, we’ll recommend recreational league play. Q. Are there opportunities for players to tryout after the clubs official tryouts? A. Yes, based on roster availability. Once rosters are filled players who are interested in the program might be invited to practice with the club on a non-roster status on hopes of making a team the following season.
Q. Are parents required to attend team practices?
A. No. You do not need to attend practice. You are welcome to leave your child at practice providing you are back to pick them up no later than fifteen minutes before the end of practice. It is required that your coach has a phone number where you can be reached in case of emergency. If you stay and watch practice you are encouraged to do so at a distance. Parents are not allowed to disturb or interrupt practice, nor are they allowed to give directions to players. Please understand that training sessions are learning situations and players need to concentrate and listen to their coach to improve. We will more fully discuss this at your parent team meeting. Q. How much travel is involved?At the younger ages as little as possible. No player ever improved by riding in a car. The majority of the away competitive league games and tournaments are within 30 minutes of Fort Lauderdale. As the teams approach the high school level (U13-U14), they will begin to travel more in an effort to play in tournaments were top talent would be recognized, but at the Academy level (under 12) the focus is on player development, not travel. Q. How does a player make the team? All players must compete for roster positions. Having played for Lauderdale Select in previous years does not guarantee one a spot on the team.Q. What do the coaches look for in players?
While tryouts vary from team to team, all coaches look for players who have the potential of becoming high-level, competitive players. Throughout the tryout, coaches assess several player qualities, including but not limited to:
1. Technical skill.
2. Tactical awareness.
3. Physical abilities.
4. Psychological dimension.
Q. Is there a minimum or maximum amount of minutes your child will play each game?
A. No. Your coach will determine playing time depending on several factors, including but not limited to their technical and tactical ability, their physical condition, game performance, practice performance, attitude, game tactics, and strategy. A player’s development takes place over the course of many months of training and games –not in any one particular game. Coaches are instructed to manage the playing time of each player over the course of an entire season of games. Every effort will be made to balance the good of an individual player verses the good of the entire team. In the younger developmental age groups the goal of every coach is to have each player play an average of one half of each game. Your coach should not be confronted over player personnel matters relating to playing time or other team issues. Such communication should be between the coach and player. This area will be more fully discussed in your initial group parent meeting.
Q. Does the coach have any help during tryouts?Coaches are required to use multiple evaluators at the tryouts. Generally, other coaches in the program assist the team's coach during tryouts.
Q. What happens after the last tryout?At the conclusion of the tryouts all coaches and trainers involved in the tryout process will meet to discuss the roster choices and then the teams are then given a final approval by the Club Director.
Q. How long before we know what the outcome is? Usually 7 - 14 days after the last tryout, all teams will be posted to our website, in some cases sooner.Q. What if a player does not get selected? If a player is not selected due to an unavailability of roster spots, a player may be offered the opportunity for a non game roster position on the team. This would give the player an opportunity to practice with the competitive team and accelerate their skill development, but play games in the recreational league. This might allow a player who had a great enthusiasm for the game to get professional training and potentially earn a roster spot at a later date. Effort will also be made to contact each player by phone. Non selection in no way suggests that they are not quality players, or that they should give up their hopes of playing competitive soccer. It simply means that the coach feels there were other players better suited for this team's level of play. Q. What if a player is selected? If a player has been selected, they Will be contacted by e-mail within two weeks after tryouts and asked given 72 hours to register and accept their roster spot. If players are not registered within 72 hours, the roster spot will be offered to another player. Q: Are tryouts open to all boys & girls?
A: Yes, tryouts for each team are open to all boys & girls of the correct age.
Q: Will there be opportunities to play in the summer?A: All club members are frequently updated on camps, pick-up games and other opportunities for off season training. Q: How many teams are selected in each age group?A. Depending on the amount of players trying out, usually two teams are selected in each age group. A level (White) teams and B level (Blue) teams. In some age groups there may be minimal differences between the two levels. In certain instances Blue teams may even play in A leagues or tournaments also.
Q. Are tryouts the only forum where Lauderdale Select staff determines which players are play on whichFort Lauderdale Select teams?A. No, the evaluation process additionally takes place over the course of the season. Players are in essence trying out for Lauderdale Select teams every time they take the field. Tryouts are merely an additional opportunity to show our staff how much a player has progressed throughout the year, as well as give them an opportunity to evaluate new players together with other players.
Q: How are the teams grouped?The numeric designation with each team indicates year of birth not school graduation.Q: Can a player play up in an age group?
It is the intent of the Lauderdale Select Technical Staff to define the process of the "playing up" guideline to avoid any misinterpretation of its intent:
Determining Factors for Play ups:
The individual player must be identified as one of the exceptional players in the birth year by the technical staff and the age group coach. It will be deemed at this time that the indicated player will have secured a place with the team in his/her birth year. Next, the identified player will be invited to the older age group tryout, where he/she MUST demonstrate that they are in the top third (one of the best five players) on that team. Based on this assessment by the technical staff and input from the older age group coach, a determination will be made on the individual playing up a birth year. The coaches also look at the physical readiness and emotional disposition of players when evaluating decisions to move a player to an older age group. Players are rarely moved full time to an older age group, but rather are given occasional opportunities to play in games with the older players to challenge them and augment their development.
Team and Club Considerations:
We want to be sure that in this process, we create a fair opportunity for everyone involved. A major concern is that we place a player in an environment in which they are challenged, have an impact on players with whom they are playing and are having the success necessary to enhance their development. A club and team consideration is the displacement of players whose roster spot will be filled by a younger player. Here lies the reason that the technical staff must be certain a younger player will have the impact necessary to justify displacement of an individual who is birth year eligible for a team.
Monday, May 17
