I coach a middle school team. We have our meeting in October and have about 60 show up, but it is for both boys and girls. Last year we ran 2 miles at the beginning of conditioning everyday and I had just under 20 guys try out. This year I dropped it to a mile and we were back over 30. I have figured out that off season conditioning needs to be the conditioning that hides the fact that that they are getting into shape so that they will still show up at tryouts.
The biggest thing I tell all of my players and parents is that they need to get as many touches as possible. Play rec or club. Go to camps. Play soccer as much as possible. I am lucky that my school gets out at 2:30 and our practices are over by 4:30 which allows the kids to still go play if rec or club which again, gets them more touches and practice.
