STEP 2 – EVALUATION DATES AND ATTENDING

Within a week of registering, players will be contacted by the Staff Coach for their age group. The Staff Coach will share a set of dates on which players can be evaluated. It is each family's responsibility to ensure they are aware of these dates once they are communicated.

To be properly evaluated, players must attend at least 2 of these dates (although our staff aims to provide more opportunities for evaluations, and prefer to see players as much as possible). In some cases, our coaching staff may request additional evaluation dates for some players or extend the evaluation period altogether.

All communication will be done via email, by the coaching staff. Please do not email admin@aojuniors.com for dates.

STEP 3 – EVALUATION FORMAT

New players are typically evaluated by 5 or more different members of our coaching staff. These will include the coaches of the specific program the player is hoping to play in, but will also involve coaches from outside of that program to help give a fresh perspective and added objectivity to the process.

Evaluation sessions may take any of the following forms: within the context of the existing program's sessions, as a standalone evaluation sessions with only new trialists, or through objective testing exercises (running speed, dribbling speed, etc.).

STEP 4 – STAFF REVIEW

Once the evaluation period has concluded, our coaching staff meets and reviews each coach's evaluations. This includes all available data the club has on each player (past season performances, coach reviews, testing scores, evaluation performances, and more). With this information, the staff will form the most appropriate squads or teams for each level, placing each player at the level that currently best suits their abilities. Players may be placed at the Academy, Competitive (Advanced or Core, where applicable) or Open (recreational) level. In some cases, a hybrid approach may be considered by our staff if deemed most appropriate.

Decisions are ultimately formulated by each staff coach with their coaching staff, with the selections carefully presented to and reviewed by the broader technical group at the club. This includes the club’s Technical Director, High Performance Manager, all Staff Coaches and the General Manager. By the end of this process, all decisions have been reviewed by all staff at the club.

STEP 5 – EVALUATION RESULT & INVITATIONS

The bulk of evaluation results are communicated by our staff all at once for all programs. Players will receive an official invitation letter to join an Academy or Competitive squad, or if not selected, will be placed in our Open/Recreational programs at no additional cost. The base competitive fee will be transferred as a credit in their accounts.

All players sent to open programs are entitled to receive formal feedback from the staff coach on their evaluation. If you desire this, please contact your staff coach.

Invitation letters will contain important information regarding registration fees, uniforms, season plans and the upcoming parent meeting, along with the expectations of each player joining the program. Ultimately, each invitation letter concludes with an invitation to accept the offered position in the team or squad.

STEP 6 – ACCEPTANCE

Invitation letters must be accepted by replying to the email before the indicated deadline for players to officially join a program/squad. For higher level teams, an electronic signature is required for acceptance of an invitation letter.
Attending the first session also serves as an acceptance of the invitation.