If you want to do good at soccer ID camps and tryouts…
If you only have a short amount of time to impress coaches or scouts…
The secret is to FOCUS ON THE 99%.
Focus on the 99% and you ARE going to walk away from the tryout or camp having made a positive impression on whoever was watching. This article is all about HOW to do this, how to maximize your impact in front of people, in a short amount of time – keep reading if that is something you would like to know how to do.
This Post Contains:
First, what is the 99%?
Did you know that in a game, scrimmage, or any type of full-field open play, you are only actually ON the ball about 1% of the time? (ish).
Sometimes it’s more, sometimes less. It’s not the exact number here that matters, it is about understanding that for a VERY LARGE portion of the time you are playing, you do not have the soccer ball at your feet… About 99% of the time in fact.
Think about that, if you are playing for an hour, there are going to be about 59 minutes that you are NOT touching the ball! That is A LOT of time, right? And, if you are at a college ID camp or a soccer tryout, and you don’t have all day to leave a good impression, it can be very frustrating when you feel like you aren’t getting the ball from teammates or don’t have as many opportunities to show your stuff as you would have liked.
This can distract us and upset us while playing, and have us leaving these events feeling like we did badly. Or sometimes feeling resentful about how the activities were run, or towards the people we were playing with. When we do this, we are focusing on the PROBLEM, and not the SOLUTION. Because there is absolutely a solution here. A solution that, if implemented, will allow you to do good at soccer ID camps and tryouts EVERY TIME. REGARDLESS of whether people are passing you the ball or not…
If we only focus on the 1%, we limit ourselves
Many soccer players get tunnel-visioned and see their game ONLY as a reflection of the time ON the ball. That 1% of time that they have the ball at their feet. That 1% of time they are dribbling, shooting, passing, etc.
Often times we can get WAY too hung up on that 1%
So much so that we fail to even consider all of the other stuff that goes into leaving a good impression. If we go into soccer tryouts or college ID camps thinking only about “I hope I don’t mess up when I’m shooting, dribbling, passing…”, when all of our focus, energy and effort goes towards thinking about THAT time only (the 1%), then we are not setting ourselves up to be able to play our best.
The truth is, it is absolutely possible to leave a VERY GOOD impression on coaches and scouts, even if that ball never comes your way. If we want to do good at soccer ID camps and tryouts, we must go in with a mentality of fully understanding the importance of that 99%, that time OFF the ball. And then we need to plan ahead of time how we will take action. Keep reading for both.
A golden opportunity to do good at soccer ID camps…
The 99% of the time we do NOT have the ball at our feet is a golden opportunity to impress, one that many of us do not even think about when heading into a tryout or ID camp.
What do I mean? Well: What can people tell about you in the time you don’t have the ball?
What can they tell about you even if you NEVER touch the ball?
What can they see when you are maximizing that time OFF the ball?
In the moments you DO NOT have the ball, they can see all of this:
- your decision making skills
- your on-field leadership
- your game IQ
- your positional awareness
- your fitness
- your intensity
- your speed, agility, quickness, change of pace
- your motivation, investment in the game
- your focus, composure, ability to lock-in
- your resiliency, your problem solving skills
- your confidence
- …. SO MANY THINGS
A coach watching you can TELL ALL THESE THINGS based on what you are CHOOSING to do with your time off the ball. What you are CHOOSING to do with the 99%.
The big important word here is CHOOSING, which means being intentional and purposeful with what you are doing with every moment. If you spend all your time off the ball fretting that you don’t have the ball, you are doing a huge disservice to yourself because, remember, you DO NOT NEED the ball at your feet to show the coaches and scouts at the tryout or ID camp all those things above.
If you want to do good at soccer ID camps and tryouts, you must go in with a mentality of being locked into that 99%, that time OFF the ball. Treat the game like EVERY moment matters, because IT DOES. Even the seemingly not important moments when you do not have the soccer ball, THEY DO MATTER. A whole lot more than you think too.
soccer Is 90% Mental
So what are you doing to train that part of your game?
Introducing the Mindset Mastery Academy
A 12-week 1:1 mental skills mentorship experience for female soccer players
You have full control over what you do OFF the ball
See, the thing about the 1% of time you have the ball at your feet (shooting, dribbling, passing) is that there are other people involved. And when other people are involved, things happen that we don’t have full control over.
Here’s the magic to this ‘focus on the 99%’ mindset: you actually have FULL CONTROL over everything that happens. All of the things that can happen when you don’t have the ball (movement off the ball, change of pace, assertiveness, relentlessness, situational awareness, sharing information, directing traffic, checking in and out of space to draw defenders, etc.) are things that NOBODY CAN STOP YOU from doing. They are controllable objectives. They are the HIGH EXPECTATIONS you should have of yourself, and they are the things your confidence should be attached to. NOT to things you can’t control.
If you actually understand this and embody it, you can go into any tryout or ID camp situation and guarantee that you present as a leader, as a difference maker. That you present as someone who believes in themselves and understands the game. As someone who adjusts and puts effort into solving problems. As an IMPACT player.
And THAT leaves an impression.
Of course the 1% matters if you want to do good at soccer ID camps
Now, I fully understand the importance of the 1%, the time on the ball. For sure! But here’s the thing, even if you play fantastic during the 1%, if you are doing NOTHING with the 99%…. Well that’s not a good look.
What we do when we have the soccer ball obviously is a big piece of performing and leaving a good impression, but do NOT undervalue all that time off the ball. That time is equally as important when it comes to showing people what type of a player, and person, you truly are. And, honestly if you level up what you are doing with your time OFF the ball, you are going to end up with more time ON the ball. It’s just math at that point.
Also, let’s say for example, you DON’T have a great day ON the ball during the 1%. Even if you have a rough time when you do have the ball, coaches that actually know what they are doing and what they are looking for, WILL BE ABLE to see your potential and drive in that time OFF the ball. The 99%, your time off the ball, is a window into so much more than you think, and when we discredit it and think we can only do something impressive and good after our teammates have given us a pass, then we are standing in our own way and limiting the player we can be.
Coaches are often willing to take a player onto their team and help them correct technique and level up their skills on the ball. What they CAN’T DO is create that authentic motivation and drive, or that intensity, that leadership, that ability to bounce back, adapt and problem solve. And, all of these are traits that you can show them when you DO NOT have the ball.
Coaches are more willing to give you more leeway with the 1% when you BRING IT in your time off the ball. When you maximize that 99%.
Coaches can work with you to help you improve your shooting, dribbling, passing skills, etc. And THEY OFTEN WILL DO THIS if they know you are invested, hardworking and resilient. Which they can SEE when you choose to use that time off the ball wisely. And again, everything you do off the ball is fully within your control. You CAN CHOOSE to take action in these areas to do good at soccer ID camps and tryouts.
I like to think of it like this: leave the impression with the 99%, put the icing on the cake with the 1% 🍰⚽️🔥
Grow your confidence through preparedness.
Subscribe to our email list to
Get your FREE Weekly Soccer Planner!
We respect your privacy. Unsubscribe anytime.
Have a plan in place to do good at soccer ID camps
To be the best soccer player you can be, you need to show up to college ID camps and soccer tryouts with a plan in place. This means be proactive and have thought things through beforehand. If you just show up to the tryout or ID camp ‘hoping’ to do good, but you aren’t doing anything to prepare, you are essentially just showing up with your fingers crossed and hoping all goes well. And that rarely works.
Players that are able to talk to themselves (which is called inner coaching) and get themselves fully onboard with this ‘focus on the 99%’ mentality BEFORE heading into high pressure situations like tryouts or ID camps where people are watching them, are consistently able to perform better than players who don’t.
Players that LISTEN to the self-defeating voice inside of their head are the ones that get their attention fully wrapped up on the 1%, and get so caught up in what they are doing ON the ball, that they end up not being able to show anyone the best version of themselves on the pitch.
So the plan, if you want to impress and do good at soccer ID camps, is to go in with the attitude of controlling everything you can control in all that time off the ball! Meaning, make an actual list of the controllable things you can do when the ball isn’t with you, and then YOU GO OUT THERE AND YOU DO THEM.
Example, maybe my controllable things today are: overlapping runs, telling my teammates when I see opportunities to distribute to different channels, and taking a decoy step to try and lose my defender before making my run or checking into space. Remember, the only things allowed on this list are things that nobody can stop you from doing. So there’s actually no excuse, these are not things that someone can prevent you from putting into action.
Prioritize the 99% to leave a positive impression
Head to your next college ID camp having a plan in place to maximize your time off the ball. If you make this plan beforehand, it will have you feeling good and prepared going in. When you feel prepared, you also feel more confident and are able to navigate the pressure better when you get there and see the coaches and scouts.
You’ll be able to navigate the pressure better because you’ve come in with a plan and you already know what the solution is. You will be able to take your focus off of the ‘problem’ (performing well in front of people) and put it onto the ‘solution’ (guaranteeing you leave an impression because you are going to push yourself to fully maximize your time off the ball).
When you choose to prioritize focusing on the 99%, you will do good at soccer ID camps and tryouts.
Hi everyone! I’m Jenn and I create content to help female soccer players and coaches maximize individual and team potential by developing healthy mindset skills. Join other subscribers and sign up for the newsletter for all my best tips and advice!
We respect your privacy. Unsubscribe anytime.
