Pro11 Trials Arvostelua 

Having attended this event with my son, I wish to provide factual and objective feedback based on my experience.

1. Supervision of Youngest Group (U10)
The youngest group, positioned on my far right from where I stood, appeared to have minimal supervision during their games. Coaches and others, possibly scouts, seemed more focused on the older age groups (15/16). Given the vulnerability of children in this age group, this raised concerns about proper safeguarding and engagement.

2. Drills and Match Management for U12-14
The U12-14 group, which included my son, participated in basic drills that did not meet the standards we associate with academy-level training. During their match, the coach left the sidelines to engage in conversation with staff, and the match continued for approximately 50 minutes without a water break or team swaps. This resulted in visible confusion and disengagement among the players.

3. Identification and Presence of Scouts
While we were informed that scouts from nearly 10 clubs were present, only four individuals were visible, representing two clubs based on their attire. This discrepancy caused confusion and concern, particularly as identification for those interacting with children should be clear and professional for safeguarding purposes.

A further observation involved a parent who appeared to join the scouts with a clipboard. This was not explained and contributed to perceptions of a lack of transparency.

4. Results Announcement
We were informed during the briefing that scouting outcomes would be announced on-site at the end of the event. However, participants were later told to await an email, which led to disappointment for many, including my son. The subsequent generic email did not align with the expectations set during registration and briefing.

Overall Experience
The experience did not meet the advertised standards. Specifically:

Scouts were not clearly identifiable, and their presence was fewer than expected.
The promise of official on-site results was not properly fulfilled.
Supervision and engagement of children, especially younger groups, was insufficient.
While we understand the challenges of organizing such events, adherence to clear safeguarding protocols, transparent communication, and higher standards of engagement would significantly improve the experience for participants and parents.

I made the company aware of my concerns before writing this review.
Their response was less than satisfactory and a follow up request hasn't been responded to.

Edited to confirm the company is fully aware of my dissatisfaction as I have been in touch with them

Very good experience with Pro 11Trials Helpful advice and assistance from the staff, resulted with positive results for my child. An amazing experience! Would definitely recommend.

I would recommend it. Great experience for kids. Gives new opportunities and even if not successful still great training time. Price bit high but I think worth it.

SCAM
Not one single scout watched four year groups and all the scouts in attendance were watching the eldest age group only. The debrief at the end, when they list the clubs in attendance seemed extremely suspicious and I didn’t believe a word of it.
Also, a coach was not paying attention and it became a safeguarding issue
This is a huge con

Edit in response to their reply. If you claim to not know what age group the scouts are looking at, you should know and easily could!
The boys in my son’s age were absolutely kicking chunks out of one another and got into a tussle. The coach was not paying attention. You can threaten me all you like and I’m sure it’s been an effective way to remove other negative reviews, but you definitely don’t scare me.

Having attended a few different "open" trials providers, we've found that there are some very good and some incredibly poor.

Pro11 are neither. They are simply exceptional - younger players are made to feel welcome by clearly experienced staff and "shown the ropes".

The goalkeeping session was probably the best one-off training session I've ever taken my boy to. He was worked hard, given encouragement, given constructive feedback and was constantly challenged to deliver to his ability.

Feedback is delivered in a positive way and players are left in no doubt of where and how they should look to improve and develop, whether they've been successful or not.

Communication before the event was clear, concise and well-timed. For those who had turned up improperly prepared, they even had a box of spare kit!

Faultless experience.

One of my sons got scouted on first attempt..awaiting further information regarding way forward. For the U9,the players weren't so many which was easier to identify outstanding individuals, however for the U11s I felt like they should have divided them into smaller groups since the pitch was a bit small,they were overcrowded and it was always going to be difficult to pick outstanding players fairly. Lovely coaches and my sons really enjoyed the trials

Very well organised with a great team - all knowledgeable and friendly. Constructive & positive advice given.

It was a very well organised session. Considering the amount if players there, it was run really well

Professional and organised set up, great communication, highly recommend.

I recently had a trial with pro11 trials and it was better than anything amazing staff and coaches one of my best football playing experience yet thanks pro trials.

Very professional set up, scouts ready and watching, coaching very well carried out, information passed to the children in a sensitive way, and the staff being willing to give feedback at the end is a nice touch.

Very worthwhile for us as the coaching was good, the man who took the younger group was lovely with the kids and made sure it was fun and safe. My son has been invited to a few clubs which is a bonus.

The downsides was seeing some parents shouting cringy things, berating children in the breaks, putting pressure on 7/8 year olds telling them scouts were there and they needed to do better etc. The ability of kids there was very varied which made the match a bit limited.

I think it would be better to let the younger ones get off afterwards and find out at a later time whether successful or not as there were a lot of disappointed kids (again probably because of parents with unrealistic expectations).

I’d recommend this overall but parents need to approach with the outlook that it’s a couple of hours training with good coaches and a bit of feedback at the end and anything else is a bonus just like every other match day, there could be a scout there and you could be picked up but also there may not be or it may not be your day.

Can’t really knock pro11 though. Thanks

It was a well organised event and my son was really happy to have attended the trial and this happened to be his first trial. I am also happy with the transparent selection process as it's based on merit.

I attended the trial day on 26/07/24 and I can confidently say it was a well organised trial day, with tailored feedback at the end and a real opportunity to showcase what you can do

Really great day, all information was clear and easy to follow. Staff were friendly and helpful and the follow up emails happened in a timely manner.
It was a great experience.

Well organised event. My son had very good and productive time.
We liked that at the end we were told what scouts attended and who were picked.
My son was lucky, got picked, now just waiting for them to contact us.
Also small groups and grouped by the age, not like others when you have different ages.

Pro11 run a very well organised trial, with a great venue. Leonardo loved it!

Communication prior to event was very good via email and WhatsApp. Trial was well organised and my son thoroughly enjoyed it and was lucky enough to have been identified by a scout.

Very well organised,wonderful experience

Was actually very impressed. The quality of training was of high level. Also impressed with the fact we received feedback on the same day rather than wait 2 weeks. Excellent experience thank you