Soccer at Berkeley High

Trying out for girls' soccer as a junior

April 2010

Hi, My daughter might want to try out for soccer next year at BHS. She will be a Junior. She played soccer (including one season of Class III) for 4 years but has been doing another sport for the last 2 years. She's in better shape than she was when she played soccer and is a decent goalkeeper. What are her chances of landing a spot on the BHS team next year and where would she play -- JV? Also, any recommendations for summer camps that would help get her soccer skills back up to speed? Thanks for any feedback. BHS Mom

BHS has an extremely competitive soccer program - all girls on the Varsity are Class I players and have played continuously, year round, for many years. JV is also heavy with Class I, with some Class III. I imagine it would be quite hard to make the team unless your daughter is an exceptional athlete, because she'll be competing against girls with many years of experience and advanced training/skills. That said, her most likely avenue is as a goal keeper. If the same girls try out next year, I think that the two GK spots on Varsity would be taken, but I don't know about JV. Try this summer camp @ Cal State East Bay: http://www.soccerplus.org/camp/schedule_date.html. It's a great camp, but also stuffed full of very competitive kids. I think Lacrosse and field hockey are a lot easier to take up at this age than soccer, so you may want to try that instead. BHS soccer mom