Season Start

There will be a minimum of 3 trials to help determine team selections.

TRIAL 1 | will be predominantly small-team (5 or 6 players) matches on quarter or half fields to allow selectors to have greater visibility of all players.

TRIAL 2 | players will be assessed in full field matches in positions at the discretion of selectors.

• Some players may not be required to attend this trial, at the selectors’ discretion.  These players will be notified before the trial.  

• At the completion of this trial selectors may request that players attend either an early or late session for the final trial. A small number of players may have to compete in both sessions. We will advise you as soon as possible to help with your planning.

TRIAL 3 | players will be assessed in full field matches in positions at the discretion of selectors to determine final team placement. This trial may have players asked to attend at different times so that they are competing with players of similar ability.

GOALKEEPERS | are asked to attend the 2nd and 3rd trials and may also be requested to attend a specific session where our specialist goalkeeping coaches may assess their performance.

Unless advised otherwise on the day, every player will work with the administrators and identify the position they want to play in for the next available trial.  There will be sign-up sheets.  

• Note however that we want to see you in different positions; for example, not many of you have identified Defender as your positional preference.  

• That means that striker roles at trials tend to fill up fast, and defender roles remain open.  But it's far better if the selectors see you playing more, even if it's not in your preferred position.  And each team will need roughly 30-35% of players who play defence.  

• So - by all means aim to play some games in your preferred position, but please put your name down in unfamiliar positions too - it will help the selectors, and it will help you!

Selections and team confirmation

Positional balance and individual skills and ability will always be important overarching selection principles, dominantly so for the top teams. However, in recent years the lower teams have been selected with significant weights given to the players’ year groups, to support a more cohesive social development environment. The skill margins in this segment are typically quite small, players develop at different rates, and the teams play in the same grade and therefore against the same opponents.  There have been real positives with this approach, both socially and in terms of results, and accordingly we intend to continue this for 2024.

• The total number of players selected to each team will be predetermined by the selection staff and the Club Captain.

• At the completion of the trial process a squad/team list will be displayed on the Club website within 7 days of the final trial. This may not be the “final” team, and it should be noted that the trial process may include pre or early season matches.

• Players have 5 working days from notification date to confirm their place in the team via the online registration process, this will include subscription payment or structured payment plan arrangements.

• Failure to confirm your place will indicate to the Club a negative registration response and placement will be offered to the next available player.

• Only those players who are being moved down will be contacted prior to public announcement.

• Due to the fluid nature of “Youth trials” the Club reserves the right to interchange players between teams within 21 days after the final announcement. The club does this in response to player departure after trials and in an effort to balance the needs of social interaction (age/stage), competitiveness and team/grade requirements.