Competitive Youth Soccer Tryouts in Norwalk

We encourage the players to attend each night if possible. Your player will have a tryout jersey with a number on the back. We will have multiple coaches evaluating the group of players. Please register your player online for tryouts.

We ask that the kids play hard and listen to the coaches and have fun. We want this to be a positive experience. They should treat it as a practice. We will likely do less coaching than we would at a normal practice. We will have them do a variety of activities. We are evaluating these main areas:

Technical: dribbling, passing, receiving, shooting
Tactical: attacking awareness and decision making, defensive awareness and decision making
Physical: speed, strength, balance, endurance, agility
Psychological: attitude, effort, competitiveness, response to coaching
Transition to Attacking and Transition to Defending which incorporates all 4 areas above.

Each night we will do some type of small sided game 3v3, 4v4 or 5v5.

Goalkeeper Philosophy & Integration

At Apex Rush, we believe in developing well-rounded athletes. Our evaluation process reflects this through the following approach:

11U/12U Development: At this stage, we do not encourage early specialization for Goalkeepers. They will participate in many drills as field players to build essential foot skills and tactical awareness.
Modern Goalkeeping: We expect our keepers to be active participants in the game. Evaluations will focus on their ability to handle back-passes, distribute accurately to teammates, and execute goal kicks independently.
Advanced Specialization: For older age groups, we offer dedicated evaluations for players specifically looking to compete as full-time goalkeepers.

Evaluation & Team Placement

Once tryouts conclude, the Apex Rush coaching staff will review all performance data to finalize team rosters.

Holistic Assessment: While tryout performance is vital, coaches also consider historical data for returning players, including performance in practices, games, and skills sessions throughout the year.
Team Formation: We aim to place every team in a competitive environment that matches their skill level. Placements may include various divisions within the Iowa Soccer League (ISL), Iowa Development League (IDL), Club Development League (CDL), or relevant Midwest Regional Leagues.
For 13U and older players that wish to compete at the highest level of competitive soccer in regional leagues and national tournaments, we encourage them to try out for our partner VSA Rush.
Alternates: In certain scenarios, coaches may identify alternate players to ensure roster depth and continued development opportunities.

High School Tryouts

Based on the rules of invitations (bids) for Level 1, the bids will go out on the date set by Iowa Soccer Association (ISA). Bid Dates:

Bid Date/Time for 11U-15U age groups: June 11, 2026 between 8:00am - 8:00pm.
Bid Date/Time for 16U-19U age groups: June 24, 2026 between 8:00am - 8:00pm.

The players have 12 hours to respond. An Alternate player was evaluated and deemed to be very close to that level. If an invited player(s) elects not to accept the bid, the alternate player(s) are then offered a spot and should respond to the club within 12 hours. All bids will be sent via the email used in the registration system.

Declination notices will be sent 2-4 days after bid date. Apex Rush will encourage players that are not selected to consider playing Level 3 soccer with their local soccer club.

Note: While at first receiving an alternate bid may be disappointing, the tryout and evaluation process is not perfect, and there is a chance that the player will still be able to play with the team. We understand players and parents need to make decisions. However, based on bid acceptance and timing, an invitation to a team could be sent 2-3 days after the initial bid date.

If you have questions regarding the bid or invitation process, please contact Technical Director, Mark Gavin at markgavin@apexrushsoccer.com