Our inaugural open tryouts will be held February 5th and 6th. Here's a link for more information: http://www.orlandocitysoccer.com/news/index.html?article_id=15
why are they charging people $175 tryout? Charging people in the first place is IMO exploitative, but that kind of money to try out for a 3rd division club? I imagine OCSC will be laughing all the way to the bank if anyone is stupid enough to pay the fee. Just goes to show how serious they are about local players.
OCSC is just one of many teams charging for their open tryouts. I have taken the charge as a way a weeding out those who are less than serious about making a career out of soccer. And remember they aren't starting from scratch with around 12 players already under contract - so it's not like they need to get many players from these tryouts.
I wonder what they'd do if I paid my $175 and my old half-crippled self shows up for tryouts in my 1994 original predator cleats and holding an extra large tube of BenGay? Refund? I think I could maybe make half a beep on the beep-test...
Because the $175 keeps Joe Bloe - not really up to snuff - from trying out. A little money keeps it serious. How can you run a serious 6 v 6 when you have 7 or 8 "real" players and 3 or 4 guys who just have nothing better to do that day? Makes absolute sense.
No $50 keeps the rifraf out, $175 is just a money grab to pay expenses down the road (or hopefully not to line someones pockets). Lame City, you can do better. They better get a real nice t-shirt for this!
Lame City......I like it. A serious soccer player is likely to read between the lines and understand that a club can't be very serious when they are charging people like that to have a look. As far as the "rifraf" goes, these are potentially the team's fans. How enthusiastic will they be when they realize they've been ripped off. Charge a tee-shirt fee, fine. Charge them nearly the price of 2 season tickets......sorry, this potential fan finds it rather insulting and inconsiderate of the local community.
Ok, seems I'm the minority on this one... but at least you guys agree they should charge something - just that it's too high. I can go with that. I don't know about the insulting and inconsiderate part though... The Galaxy charge something similar for tryouts... (ok, that's a bad argument from the get-go)
Having worked the Orlando Predators tryouts twice, $50 is no where near enough to keep the rifraf out. BTW, the $300 option includes two nights at the Westin Lake Mary and transportation to and from the fields.
110 players tried out over the weekend?? Holy tryouts. I was thinking 20-40... maybe. As a former (crappy) coach, I can't imagine running tryouts with that many players... talk about logistical nightmare. I wonder how many - if any - will make the cut?
Show me the money. $175 * 110 = $19,250 that's if no one took the $300 hotel option. Nice City, nice. Wonder how many make it, none?
Just to better understand everyone - how much would have been a fair amount to charge? To be fair, imagine if the price was smaller and how many more people would have turned up? It seems to me with a smaller charge and higher turnout everyone ends up getting less for their money by having everyone get lost in a sea of prospects. I'm not sure what a "fair price" would be myself.
if there really were 110 of them there, I going to guess that 109 of them are going to be feeling a bit ripped off soon enough. What is a fair price? How about the cost of a tee-shirt and a small admin fee? Would there be a lot more players? Probably and so what? The more the merrier if the club is really interested in building community. If there coaches are talented enough to spot talent I'm sure they would have no problem separating the good ones from the local amateurs that just want to experience the tryout. I would not consider them "rifraf", I would think of them as potential fans.
Interesting points. I guess I can see both sides to an extent. Perhaps the club could do more of a community building event where the fee is much smaller (tee shirt and participation) where the goal is more about engaging the community rather than filling roster spots? http://britsinamericanetwork.us/pro...62215:Comment:1505&xg_source=msg_com_blogpost Interesting article talking about the tryouts
$175 seems about the going rate. I can only speak for the Battery and the USL trials obviously Admin fees - postage, envelopes, paper, staff to "rack and stack" the players Insurance-club has to have insurance if something happened to them while at the trials Training kit - battery give the players a training kit Additional staff - Typically these are battery players in the off season but they pic up a few bucks to come in and either help evaluate or play during the trials as a gauge of the level of talent. Transportation - to and from the hotel or site Referee fees - # of games x 3 plus what ever the ref fee is Trainer-with all his gear Food - provide lunch and/or dinner feild usage - if they dont have their own training facility Video? equipment - Balls, cones, nets, pennies, it adds up. Im not saying the club isnt making a few bucks per player but it is far from all gross profit.
I've made this point elsewhere before, and this is another good place for it: one great new revenue stream would be for a soccer version of a Fantasy Camp aimed squarely at players in their late-30's to ??? who are quite far past their playing days (if they even had any to start). Many teams in the major sports have camps for youths, from per-K's through teens, but it stops there. It makes little sense since those youths' parents are the ones with the $$$ to pay for it. And how many of those parents, especially the fathers, would otherwise love the chance to run through some drills, and probably get smoked around the corners a few times by some hotshot development player---not to mention a club's prime-time players, for example---and then take home a training jersey for his trouble, along with some sore muscles and a few bruises from one too many ill-advised tackles? The risk for all concerned could be minimized fairly easily: any customer who either clanks another camper or even breathes on an actual team player could be red carded from the camp with no refund given. That way the players could remain safe, but the sales potential of the appeal of the camp would be preserved so that weekend warriors could still expect to step on a training field for two consecutive afternoons with actual professional soccer players who will proceed to run circles around them. There would be no expectation that any aspect of the camp was for anything other than entertainment and a good bit of exercise. And the club could spice things up just the tiniest extra bit by suggesting with a wink and a nudge that some couch-pilot who happens to impress them just enough could be invited for an actual trial with the club, even if the chances of that trial turning into an actual roster spot would be a gazillion to one. But in the end, the club makes money so it can grow, the fans have some fun, and the relationship between club and supporters continues to grow.
I think it would be smart to sign some local talent to generate some buzz I do not know who city has targeted outside of the tryout. The Head coach said on the city website they were talking to college players and I would think some USl players and watching to see who gets cut from MLS preseason but there were some players better than some of the 1st 11 of most USL teams I saw last year including Austin. Players ready to start on some USL team or MLS with the reserve league back. I think the 38 yr old Englishman was correct that the first players called were the ones in considerations and the coaches put the best defensive on one team and offensive on the other which made sense to have them go at each other. If any players are selected it will be those players . a late 20s GK who I was told has played a few years in USL, a quality Left Back early to 20s who was great going forward creating more offense than the center mids and had the intensity for the pro game, 2 youth players I think 17 center mid and left mid good to develop if not college bound and some offensive guys from maybe the Caribean and South American.