Please read and/or print out the below IMPORTANT details about annual tryouts. The information below details what to wear and bring to tryouts, and also outlines the process.

WHEN TO ARRIVE?

Arrive 20 minutes early to your first tryout session. 

WHAT TO BRING?

Shin guards (required)
soccer cleats (non-metal) or turf shoes
water (extra!)
a ball (inflated properly)

WHAT TO WEAR?

Wear a WHITE shirt (as plain as possible) plus whatever else is weather appropriate. Please wear black (or dark) shorts and socks if possible. Do NOT wear anything with the logo of another youth team or youth club. Pipeline players should NOT wear jerseys with Pipeline.

CAN MY CHILD PLAY UP IN AGE?

Yes, but this is up to the discretion of the club’s Director of Coaching in conjunction with the coaching staff. DO NOT have your child attend a tryout of an older age group. Such decisions are made after tryouts. A player will not be allowed to play up in age unless he/she is able to start and play most of the game on the older team. Further, playing on the younger team must be a hindrance to the player’s development. A player’s development is the priority of this club (not loyalties to teams or pursuit of winning). A player in our organization will play up if it benefits the player’s development. That is always our priority.

HOW MANY TRYOUTS SHOULD MY CHILD ATTEND?

The more tryouts attended, the greater the opportunity a players has to exhibit his or her skills. We encourage you to attend all of the tryouts in your respective age group and you must attend at least one of the tryouts to be considered for placement on a team. We have a limited number of tryouts because we have found that when players are spread out over many sessions it is very difficult to fairly make selections.

WHAT ARE COACHES LOOKING FOR IN A PLAYER?

At all ages, coaches are looking for: attitude, competitive drive, technical skill, pace of play, athleticism, and tactical understanding. A player’s position is not a factor at the youngest ages. Those players will play all over the field at teams to aid in learning. At the older age groups, players do increasingly play specific roles/positions on teams and coaches will be taking into account teams positional needs to some extent.

WHEN & HOW DO I FIND OUT

After the last tryout, staff will inform parents by email or phone about a player’s status on a team. This will happen within 1-3 days. A deadline will be placed on players making decisions. This is necessary to be fair to all players who tried out for the team. All general information regarding costs and commitment is on the website www.pipelinesoccerclub.com

To reserve a spot in an age group, a per player fee is required when accepting an offer of a spot. This will be your first payment towards club fees. This early payment is necessary to be fair to the players who do not make certain teams or a team at all. If a player initially accepts, then changes his/her mind, we then have to call back another player after already turning a player down. That is not fair to the players and we need to avoid that situation as much as possible.

WHAT DOES IT COST TO JOIN A PIPELINE TEAM?  ARE THERE SCHOLARSHIPS?

There is A LOT of misinformation out there about club soccer, so please take us as the source about our fees and not what others tell you. Costs vary drastically by team, age, level of play, and a team’s goals. Of course, we also offer our Pipeline Development Academy for much less. We also have need-based scholarship program HERE. For the club teams your son or daughter is trying out for, CLICK HERE for the costs per year. 

WHO MAKES THE SELECTIONS AT TRYOUTS? WHO ARE THE COACHES?

The head coach of the “Black” team in an age group oversees the tryout for an age group. He or she chooses players for the “Black” team first. When that is complete, he or she assists any other coaches in the age group in picking the other teams. All coaches for an age group will be at tryouts helping one another assess all players throughout. Coach designations for teams and their coaching resumes will be posted on-line before tryouts in the teams area.

HOW MANY TEAMS ARE IN AN AGE GROUP? WHAT ARE TEAM NAMES AND DESIGNATIONS ? 

In the younger age groups (U12 and below), we will field 2-4 teams in an age group. We will not field more than that. How many we field is based on player interest and the if the level of play warrants the formation of the teams. At U13 and above, we will field 1-3 teams in an age group. Our teams are designated ECNL, ECRL, Black or Red, for their team names. ECNL being the strongest. Regardless of team level, all teams get the same level of training, facilities, and commitment from the club so that the only difference is the level of play (i.e., certain leagues or divisions + Sports Science equipment) they play at so that it is developmentally appropriate for their progress as players. Our goal is not to have the most club teams, but to have the best run and best coached team for the enjoyment and development of the players.

WHAT IS THE ECNL?

Even if you’re brand new to the youth soccer scene, you’re bound to have heard of the Elite Clubs National League (ECNL).

Founded in 2009, ECNL has risen to prominence as a destination for American youth soccer player development, having produced a majority of NCAA Power 5 women’s soccer recruits in recent years. The ECNL has now grown into a pioneer on the boys side with Pipeline placing the most players in College through ECNL over the past two seasons. 

HOW DOES A PLAYER’S EXPERIENCE DIFFER BETWEEN TEAM LEVELS?

We value all our teams. We do not slight lower teams in any way. All teams will be treated equally in terms of training resources. They have the same level of coaching and field access as any other team. This means that a player on any team in an age group has the same chance to develop to his or her potential as a player on another team. Further, a player may be moved up or down over time if that is better for the player’s development. This happens regularly, even on the best teams. Our goal is development of every player in the club. The only difference is the level of competition.

MY CHILD IS ALSO TRYING OUT ELSEWHERE, OR WILL SOON. WHAT DO I DO?

We know this can be a difficulty, but this is not something we can work around. We schedule our tryouts based on field availability and hold them before kids go away on summer vacations. Each year, we announce our tryout dates well before anyone else announces theirs. We do this to help to families plan. It would be unfair to other players at tryouts to wait for a decision while a player tries out for another team or plays teams/clubs against one another. Our hope is to get dedicated players and supportive families who believe in the Pipeline model of player development, our coaches, and the Pipeline approach to youth club soccer as a whole.