How To Get Scouted In Soccer

Stand-out EVERY TIME You Play

You never know who’s watching.

For that reason, every time there is a ball at your feet you are on tryout.

And when you start thinking like that…

You will instantly improve the quality of your performances.

If you truly want to know how to get scouted in soccer you need ask yourself a few questions:

How would you play if you knew scouts were watching?

Do you play that way in your current matches?
Do you play that way in team practices?
Do you play that way with your friends in the park?

I had a professional scout tell me:

He scouted a player on vacation. He noticed a kid playing with his Dad while he was relaxing on the beach in Mexico and ended up making a connection with the player.

“Someone is always watching”

Keep that idea in your head, every time there is a ball at your feet. It’s your responsibility to do your best to stand-out every time you play.

Whenever players ask me about how to get scouted in soccer they also ask:

How to impress scouts?
or What do scouts look for?

Here are 4 easy ideas that will impress scouts and help you standout when you play:

1. Make an impact. Players who make a contribution to the outcome of the game get noticed. That means scoring goals, making assists, creating chances, keeping clean sheets, making big saves, and doing everything they can to help their team win.
2. Play your position properly. Strikers need to score goals and defenders need to keep clean sheets. If you want to impress scouts, learn to play your position properly. That means being the right place, making the right decisions, and executing with your position specific skills. For example: CB winning a header, CDM playing a cross field pass, or WINGER beating a defender and creating a chance.
3. Show your unique qualities. Multiple scouts have told me they always look for a specific quality that makes a player stand out. That could be your speed, physical strength, technical skill, passing ability. Whatever your best qualities are, demonstrate them when you play. Don’t try to overcomplicate your play. Do what you’re good at.
4. Display leadership. Scouts like to see players who can inspire their teammates to play better. Not only do they want to bring good players into their club, they want to bring in good people. For that reason, you can also standout with your communication skills. Motivate your teammates, give description advice, and help your team with your words as well as your feet.

Action Steps: How to get scouted in soccer

Ideas are nothing without execution. Let’s review what we’ve learned about how to get scouted for soccer (football) and make a commitment to act on these ideas.

How to get scouted in soccer (steps):

1. Understand the Process
2. Change Your Environment
3. Find Additional Exposure
4. Standout Every-Time You Play

Four quick ways to take this information and move closer to your goals:

1. Don’t blame your country. You live where you live. You can either use it as an excuse or find a way to work around it. Your ability to confront obstacles and overcome them, is what will make you successful in soccer (and life).
2. Review your situation. Have you put yourself in the best possible situation to be scouted in soccer? Or could you change your environment? Create a plan to get yourself onto the best team in the best league available to you.
3. Do some research. Get on Google and start searching for more exposure. Search for showcase tournaments, soccer combines, open tryouts, and soccer camps (for development and colleges).
4. Make a personal commitment. Every time you have the ball at your feet, remind yourself “someone is watching”. From now on you will always play like scouts are watching and this is your opportunity to impress.

Please Don’t Wait To Get Scouted

In my opinion, “getting scouted” is the least important method if you want to play college or professional soccer. You are basically waiting for someone to find you.

Being scouted is amazing if it happens (but please don’t wait for it to happen).

There are many other strategies you can use to make a higher level team, earn a college scholarship, or become a professional soccer player.

However, you must first understand… 

Getting to the next level (and achieving your long-term goal) is not just about being good enough. In fact, that’s a small piece of the puzzle. The bigger piece is finding your opportunity.

Your opportunity will not find you.

You must find it by making connections, attending events, promoting yourself, and putting systems into place that will increase your chances of playing at the next level.

There are millions of players around the world, who are good enough to play professional but they didn’t find their opportunity. They waited for someone to come and find them and it never happened.

My biggest mistake was letting the people around me tell me it couldn’t be done, that I would never become a professional, so I might as well stop trying. And I did.

In fact…

I never even started.

Looking back I realize I had to go through that failure, so I can help you find your success.

Please Don’t Make The Same Mistake I Did

If you want to play at a higher level or become a professional soccer player. Don’t let other people who gave up on their dreams, talk you out of going after yours.

Whether you make it or not…
You will never regret trying.

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How To Get Scouted In Soccer