Please see below our County Trials & Nominations FAQ, which has been composed of the most common questions asked by Schools and parents relating to nominations and trials.

 

1. How does the nomination process work?

The Association will contact via email all Primary Schools to seek nominations for our Primary School (U12/11s Girls & U11s Boys) trials between January and March every year.  Due to the high level of standard of football at county level, we ask as a  guideline for a maximum of 3 boys to be nominated per school and we have no limit on the number of girls that can be nominated due to the developing nature of the female game. We contact Secondary Schools in September each year seeking nominations for our older age groups.   Being nominated for a county trial is in itself is an achievement and should be recognised so by players and parents. 

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For our Development Squads (U7-U10), we typically undertake an open nomination process at periodic times through the school year.  This is not a schools based nomination process, this is generally open for parents/guardians to nominate, please keep an eye on our social media platforms for nomination calls.

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We will also contact Secondary Schools to seek any nominations for our U12s Boys squads by the end of the winter term. We manage the trial process in stages to breakdown the trial process into manageable chunks.  It is important to emphasise that the Association is entirely volunteer led and as such there will only ever be limited capacity to manage a trials process which will involve hundreds of pupils from across RCT.

 

2. Do all schools nominate?

Before the pandemic around 75-80% of Primary Schools nominated pupils for our trials.  For understandable reasons this has dropped marginally in 23/24 due to the legacy of the pandemic and related priorities; but generally, the buy in from schools is high and was growing year on year leading up to the pandemic.  We expect this year's nomination levels to return to pre pandemic levels or even higher.

 

3. How can I ensure that my school nominates?

The simplest way is to speak to the School when the nomination window opens.  Typically, the window will open every year in January for Primary Schools and September for Secondary Schools.

 

4. How does the nomination process work?

The Association will contact all RCT based Schools and we share our nomination letters.  These letters are shared with the pupils whom the Schools wish to nominate for County Trials.  It is then the responsibility of the parents/guardians to book their place at the appropriate trial via our trial portal on our website.

 

5. How does the trial process work?

We host our Primary Schools trials in the summer term, generally in June and July. We put together a pool of selectors and hold trials over many days; however, there is a limit to what we can ask of unpaid volunteers. The selectors include - Welsh Schools coaches; highly qualified coaches working for Premier League/ Coaches working for Cardiff City/Swansea City/ PE teachers and coaches with extensive experience of taking County teams. The Secondary Schools trials will take place in the autumn, usually during county training sessions, we aim to complete these by mid-October. 

 

6. Do the current RCTSFA squads retrial along with new nominees? 

No.  We're not an academy, as a Schools Association we do things differently. As a rule we don't drop children in and out of our "system", this is a conscious and deliberate decision. Instead we have the option to retain players, support them and offer them the opportunity to stay within the Association on the Development Pathway - this means that they stay with their squad and train with the hope that they continue their development with us. The door remains open for them to return to the squad as a core player if their development accelerates - we have seen this happen many times, particularly where the coaching is focused on improvement and development. This also inevitably means that squads are not limited by capacity in absolute terms when trailing new players.

 

7. My School has yet to nominate during the window, what should I do?

We respectfully and politely ask that you contact the school directly and raise it with the PE Teacher or Sports Co-ordinator.

 

8. What happens if I've missed the nomination deadline?

The opportunity to trial remains open until U16s for Girls and U18s for Boys, so if you've somehow missed the opportunity to trial the door is open in future years. 

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9. What should I expect on the evening of the trials?

Please arrive promptly at the requested time slot.  Dress appropriately for the weather and always bring plenty of fluids and ensure that all trialists are hydrated beforehand.  If your son/daughter has any known medical conditions, be sure to inform the RCTSFA Volunteer Staff beforehand.  Before the trial starts, each player will be assigned a numbered bib to help the selectors identify each player and the format of the trial will be a small, sided game in accordance with county football. Please be aware that no spectators will be permitted within the playing facility, this is to allow the trialists to focus on what they do best, play football!  

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10. How long will it take for me to hear about the trial outcome?

Typically it will take up to 3 weeks from the end of the trial process to hear your outcome. But do please bear in mind that there may be more than trial per age group, so it might not be 3 weeks from your trial date if there are additional trial dates scheduled after your trial. If unsure, please query this with the RCTSFA Volunteer staff at your trial.

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11. Can I have personalised feedback from my county trial?

No, we're afraid that this is not possible due to the volume of trialists that we assess throughout our trial processes. Upon completion of each trial process all related paperwork and documentation is destroyed safely to ensure that we comply with GDPR regulations.

 

12. Does RCTSFA have a balanced cohort of players from across the RCT area?

Generally, yes. There is a good balance of representation in our squads from across the RCT area, Selectors are not told which schools players attend and all player details are anonymized - there is no conscious or unconscious bias against or in favour of any town, village or area of RCT.

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13. Why doesn't RCTSFA ask clubs to nominate?

We are affiliated to the Welsh Schools FA, and as such we are here to provide pupils and students across RCT with the opportunity to play representative football. Our players are part of RCTSFA as representatives of their schools and not their clubs.  In tandem with county football, RCTSFA also provides inter schools football opportunities and provision at Primary and Secondary School level. There are many other opportunities for clubs to nominate players for FAW pathways, including FAW Academy football but it is important to understand the distinction between what we do and the FAW club pathway

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14. What if I'm dissatisfied with my experience at a county trial?

We are incredibly open to feedback and we are content to receive comments and observations, simply email us at trials.rctsfa@gmail.com with your feedback

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And some information about us...

RCTSFA is a volunteer led Association. We now have some 300 pupils playing in our squads across 14 boys and girls squads. It is now an operation of some scale, which is led by volunteers who drive forward county football in RCT in their spare time! All of our Committee are busy people with families, careers and a range of other commitments, so please do bear this mind when engaging with our activities and provision. There are no pay rolled staff or highly paid support teams, all of our volunteers go the extra mile to provide children with incredible opportunities.

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January 2023