How to Prepare Your Child for a Football Trial

Football trials can feel like a huge moment, but I'd encourage parents to see them for what they really are: an experience, not a verdict.

Children often arrive feeling they have to impress, but I think that's the wrong mindset. Encourage them to try their best, enjoy the occasion and play the football that's made them good enough to earn a trial in the first place. If you spend the whole session trying to be someone you're not, you're unlikely to show your true ability.

As coaches, we're looking for more than talent. Positive attitudes, good communication and a willingness to learn stand out just as much as technical ability. At the team I manage, we host trials for roughly 200 players every season, and it's surprisingly easy to spot the ones trying too hard to impress us instead of simply focusing on their own game.

If your child isn't selected, remember that football is full of opinions. One coach may see something another doesn't. As a player, I saw children rejected by school teams who later signed professional contracts. As a coach, I've seen talented players get rejected by academies despite having the ability and attitude to succeed. Academy football isn't the only route into the game. Players like Jamie Vardy and Eberechi Eze remind us that setbacks don't have to define a football career.

When the trial finishes, I'd ask one simple question:

"Did you try your best?"

If the answer is yes, then they've already achieved something. From there, ask what they think they can improve before the next opportunity. That's where the real development happens. Whether they get in or not, they'll still have things to improve.

Many of the young players we work with spend time preparing for football trials or reflecting on them afterwards during our one-to-one football coaching sessions. The aim is never to create a different player overnight, but to help them feel confident enough to express the player they already are when the next opportunity comes along.