(Aug. 26, 2008) -- For the next two weeks, Women's Professional Soccer coaches are on assignment.

From Aug. 28-31, the Women's Premier Soccer League (WPSL) will hold a player combine in Sacramento, Calif. From Sept. 4-7, the W-League will hold a similar combine for its players in Tampa, Fla.

Coaches from the WPS teams will be on hand to scout talent as they begin the process of composing their rosters for the first WPS season, which begins in April 2009.

But they will be scouting talent without knowing who their best players are going to be.

The allocation of U.S. Women’s National Team players will be held in mid-September, followed by the draft of international players. A general draft of domestic and other international players will be held in October.

So the upcoming combines will offer coaches the chance to identify players they want to draft…after they get the best players for their team via allocation and the international draft.

Interesting? You bet. Difficult? Not necessarily.

"If we knew who was going to be the core of our team, it would help; we could look for specific positions to fill," said Tony DiCicco, coach of the Boston Breakers. "But in this case we have to look for just the best player out there. It is a little bit more of a challenge."

"Even if you have good players, you are always looking for players to add to your team and make your team better," said Washington Freedom coach Jim Gabarra.  "Besides, this is an opportunity for the W-League and the WPSL to showcase their players. It's important for our league to support them and recognize what they have done for women's soccer in this country over the years."

Every coach evaluates talent differently, meaning two coaches can see different characteristics in the same player while watching her at the same time. Most of the players at these combines are already have name recognition with WPS coaches, so the coaches then are trying to fill out their scouting reports on each player.

"We have been doing our research for a while, watching players, speaking with coaches, building up a detailed profile of them," Chicago Red Stars Head Coach Emma Hayes said. "We have been building up our knowledge and watching players for quite some time, but we have been doing it obsessively since June.

"For me, in a league that has 18-player rosters, I would like to see versatility in the player," she continued.  "Versatility is crucial, as well as pace, technique and movement. What are they like off the ball, how good are they on it and how quick are they on both sides of the ball."

Gabarra said he is looking forward to the combine scrimmages to help with his selection process.

"I'm just going to see how players look against other players, in comparison to other players," Gabarra said.  "It's another good opportunity to identify players."

DiCicco is seeking players who stand out.

"Obviously, we look for players with a special quality, and you hope they have more than one special quality," DiCicco said.  "Is it speed? It is ball skills? Is it organizational skills? Is it tactics? Whatever it might be, having a player with special qualities, even if they have weaknesses, is more important than having a player who is average or slightly above average in a lot of things but don't have any special qualities."

While coaches search for certain skill sets in players, they also look for players who fit their preferred style of play. Again, not knowing who the best players on the team are going to be (and not having a full choice in the case of the National Team player allocation), coaches are going to have to be flexible with their coaching styles, at least initially.

"We have a way we think the game should be played," Gabarra said. "But you also have to adapt to the players you have and the players you want to put into the team."

"I have a philosophy in the way I want to play," Hayes said. "But you can't organize a system until you get those players. In an ideal world, I would like to play one system, but with this league, being a parity league, you have to be a lot more flexible."

DiCicco admitted he tries to get players to fit his system, and it doesn't always work.

"I look for certain qualities in players that will fit the system and style we play," DiCicco said. "Sometimes I probably give myself too much credit. I see a player and think I can change her into our system. I can see an attacking player, and I like some of her qualities, but I don't think she has the skill set to be a forward at the next level, but I think I can make her an outside back. Sometimes those experiments work and sometimes they don't."

All the coaches agreed the way teams are being built for the new league makes their jobs a little more challenging than previous coaching assignments. But the challenges are exciting and not unpleasant.

"We should have a pretty good core of players, between our full National Team, our Under-23 National Team, the best players in the W-League and the WPSL, and the interest we are getting internationally," said DiCicco. “I am pretty excited where this league can launch from, from a player level standpoint. I thought it was good in the WUSA, and I think it will be better this time around."

Kent McDill is a freelance writer and can be reached at kmcdill@aol.com. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author's, and not necessarily those of Women’s Professional Soccer or womensprosoccer.com.