Football trial preparation is very important, and whether you are getting ready to train with a professional squad, academy team or semi-professional outfit, you have got a lot to do to be ready. Depending on the type of team you have been invited to workout with, your football trial preparation will most likely differ based on the club. This is due to the difference in the ways teams and clubs evaluate talent. Regardless of the level the team plays at, you will need to be ready for the trial, and the right preparation can make all the difference in gaining a contract and being sent home.

Get in Condition

The first thing that a trialist must do once an invitation to a football trial has been received, is to get into the best physical condition possible. Your training intensity needs to be increased prior to the first day of trial. This includes your running and stamina being ready for the riggers of the training sessions. If you cannot keep up with everyone else and you are sucking wind, the group will leave you behind.

Technical and Tactical Prep

Prior to your trial, it is important to train your dribbling, passing, shooting and defensive skills thoroughly. The coaches, technical directors and/or scouts will be watching you closely, and will be making notes about how well or poorly you perform with a ball at your feet. In addition, it is important to review your awareness of where to be on the pitch in your position, and you should prepare for a variety of situations. By watching a professional football match and picking out a player that plays the same position, you can see how the pros do it.

Visualisation

Visualisation is one of the most overlooked aspects of sports, but if you cannot see yourself doing it, then you won’t. By picturing yourself in various situations on the pitch, you can see yourself playing the game and completing the objectives of your position.

Before your trial, it is important to do everything you can to be the best on the day. Train, train and train some more, that is the best way to complete football trial preparation before your big day. As the old saying goes, if you fail to prepare, you prepare to fail.