Placement Philosophy

Not a Tryout -- Matching skill levels, filling team roles, growing skill sets, having fun

I've been asked a lot about how tryouts are going to work, this isn't a tryout to test your skills against your teammates. This is not a "figuring out who the best players are". This is aligning your skills so you are successful and have fun.  

Players will excel in different roles.  Different skills, fitness levels or experiences will give some players an advantage in certain situations. We as coaches have to determine what each player's strengths are and align them to the roles for the situations we will face. We will define the team makeup with the players that are ready for the level of competition and the players we need to fill each role (Draw, Goalie, Offense, Defense, Transition/Ride, Low D, X, Ground ball queens, and more).

We will assess players based on their strengths and align them to said roles. Speed, strength, stick skills, dexterity, knowledge of the game and attitude.  We will select the pool of players that are ready to learn advanced offenses and defenses and study the teams we will face. The players best prepared to face this level of competition will carry the banner of Parkway South. They will be expected to put in the effort required to represent our school at the top level. This will be a commitment to the team and the team's goals. This is the focus of the varsity athletes.

The junior varsity will focus on growing skills in a lower pressure situation. Opponents will also be developing skills, lowering the pressure in these games. We want to win these games. We will do this by executing the fundamental skills well. Ground balls, completed passes, defensive footwork and teamwork on offense. JV will be a point of pride for developing skills that will be leveraged strategically in the future.

We intend to book games with other developing teams. It is fun to play against others! This will be an opportunity to just play. More experienced players will use these to work on a skill (draw, defensive play, assists, off hand, goalie). Players need game speed opportunities to grow their skills. New players will get experience with refs. Everyone will have fun and level up their game.

Each player is allowed 6 quarters of play in a day. I will frequently ask varsity players to sub into JV games to work on skill. I will ask JV players to attend development games to work on new skills or strengthen weaker parts of their game. We are here to have fun. It is fun to just go on a field and play!

The point of all of this is to find the right challenge to make it fun, build skills and gain confidence in our abilities. It is my intention to build a pipeline within the program to ensure our success as future players progress through the program

We will constantly re-evaluate players and the roles they serve on the team. We will always be looking for players to step into new roles and build new skills for the benefit of the team. We will support and encourage them as they grow. There are a lot of roles and a lot of situations we need to cover. I look to you to step up when asked to support our team.

If you want more information about this philosophy, see my parent meeting notes.  If you have questions, please reach out to me at pshgirlslax@gmail.com.

Go Patriots!