NWSC operates a 6-7 month assessment period starting in September and ending February/March, depending on the age group.  The assessment, selection and placement process is comprised of:

• In-season assessments by the team’s head coach
• In-season assessments by NWSC’s technical staff and director of coaching
• Post-season evaluation sessions which normally incorporate 1 to 3 evaluation sessions (dependent on age and attending numbers). Evaluation sessions are observed by an evaluation team comprised of the director of coaching and NWSC’s technical staff.

​Player performance in training and games between September and April is the most significant evaluation period. This period is the main opportunity for players to showcase their abilities and earn selection to the team for the following season.  This is a players most natural environment where anxiety and stress levels are low allowing for individuals to showcase their greatest potential.

Who actually evaluates and selects the players during the 6-7 month evaluation period? Is it the team coaches, or the club staff? What are the roles and responsibilities?

The head coaches provide feedback to the director of coaching based on the following criteria;

• Players ability on the ball (in possession)
• Players actions off the ball (out of possession)
• Physical (endurance, speed, balance and coordination)
• Psychological (emotional control, focus, team player)
• NWSC’s director of coaching is responsible for managing the Player Development Pathway, providing oversight of the evaluation process and the player selection decisions.
• NWSC’s director of coaching, technical staff, and head coaches (in that order) are responsible for selecting the players. Final selections are verified by the DOC to ensure an unbiased, fair, and honest process.

Note: If necessary, club staff (as unbiased and independent evaluators) will challenge and overrule a coach’s selection if they are thought to be unfair, dishonest, or inaccurate.

Are player/team selections pre-determined prior to the postseason evaluations?

No, player/team selections are not fully determined prior to the postseason evaluations. While coaches/evaluators will have reached some decisions on players as a result of their performances throughout the season, there are still many unknown factors that prevent teams/players from being fully determined until the end of the post-season evaluations. Some of these factors include:​

1. Existing players moving up
2. Existing players moving down
3. Existing players leaving the club
4. New players arriving at the club
5. Players attending from other clubs who don’t declare their intentions
6. Addition of teams due to high numbers and ability of players registered
7. Reduction of teams due to low numbers and ability of players registered

Post-season player evaluations are necessary in order to:​

1. Understand what players are interested in returning to play at the corresponding level
2. Further evaluate/compare players from lower levels
3. Evaluate players new to the community
4. Evaluate players attending from other clubs
5. Assess the ability to add another team if high numbers and quality allows
6. Assess whether to reduce teams due to low numbers and ability of players

What role does NWSC play to ensure player selections are fair, honest and accurate?

It is the responsibility of NWSC to ensure a fair, transparent and honest process with respect to final player selections. As such, the DOC and NWSC’s technical staff will provide oversight of the entire process. This consists of:

1. Management of the Player Development Pathway
2. Periodic observation of players during training sessions or potentially games
3. Delivery of training sessions every 4-6 weeks
4. Ongoing consultation with team coaching staff regarding player abilities
5. Observation of post-season evaluation sessions
6. Facilitating post evaluation selection meetings
7. Ensure evaluators are fair, honest and accurate by challenging and overruling selection decisions if necessary
8. Approval of final roster selections

While we may not all agree on the final selections, it is important to know that NWSC goes to great lengths to ensure that the process is fair, transparent, and honest. We believe a 6-7 month evaluation of players through the Player Development Pathway, coupled with strong leadership and oversight from our clubs DOC and technical staff allows the final selections to be as accurate as possible.

​Player evaluations are somewhat subjective and selection decisions are largely determined by the opinion of the DOC and technical staff. Opinions often differ between coaches, evaluators and parents and rarely does everyone agree.​

Decisions to select a player are based on a multitude of different perspectives such as:​

• Overall impact and influence on training and games
• Technical ability
• Tactical ability
• Athletic ability
• Attacking attributes
• Defensive attributes
• Positional attributes
• Attitude
• Attendance
• Positional needs of team
• A combination of everything above

When players are similar in ability, the coach will often choose the player that possesses a slight advantage (in the evaluators opinion) in the specific individual attributes listed above, or for specific positional needs of the team.

Example: Players may have a similar level of impact/influence during training or games, but their attitude and attendance may be very different.

When players are similar in ability, how does the club select players from outside the club/community versus those currently within it? 

In situations where all things are deemed relatively equal, the club will select those players currently playing in the club, residing within the club’s catchment area, or those returning to the club.