what do coaches look for in tryouts?

We have a limit of 13 players per team, ideally 12. No one is cut but it is first come first served.

If numbers get out of whack the player is turned away but we try to find them another team.

cvsoftball said:

try outs at 8U and 10U? sign them all up and see what you have. make more teams if you need to. then coach, mentor, teach, train, evaluate, improve, and always encourage. 12U is where it gets a little more serious. I can't really put it into words but you just know who the players are.

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Less of a "tryout" and more of an evaluation for the rec draft.

we do the same thing, tryout is just to try and balance teams, but I often think random would end up with more balanced teams.

If balance is your aim, make certain each team has at least one P and one C, and spread pitching around. have someone with no interest in the division/people involved decide what round each HC's child is slotted (might very well not be same for each child, one HC kid may be stud, other may just love the game but not have a lot of skill, slotting them both in same round shorts one team or the other). no players "reserved" because HC says "well that is my assistant coach", asst coaches should be distributed among teams as well.

I was rec HC for four years (3 8u coach pitch, 1 10u player pitch with no runs by walks), only one year were the teams balance (that year it was me in my 2nd year and other HC in two team division was a 1st year HC, every other year of the HCs in the division managed to convince other HCs to basically give him a stacked team (this AC and i like to work together, these girls are all on my travel soccer team so it will be better schedule wise if we are on same team, etc., but each of them knew exactly what they were doing).

This will be Dd11’s first year not to play rec which means my first year of no coaching. I looked for athleticism, aptitude, and attitude. Also, if the parent(s) yelled at the kid, I didn’t take them. I did one year with a couple of sets of crazy parents, and I swore it wouldn’t happen again! Actually, I don’t even want them coaching the kid at tryouts.


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Evaluations are a good thing. I got thrown by the "try outs." I know in our rec leagues, coaches and parents are always cherry picking and trying to stack teams. The residency rules in place now help quite a bit.

CoachChristine said:

This will be Dd11’s first year not to play rec which means my first year of no coaching. I looked for athleticism, aptitude, and attitude. Also, if the parent(s) yelled at the kid, I didn’t take them. I did one year with a couple of sets of crazy parents, and I swore it wouldn’t happen again! Actually, I don’t even want them coaching the kid at tryouts.


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Dang you, you are emberesing me!

(Parent yelled this out)

Prepare your kiddo

rebeldesign said:

We have our rec league evaluations(tryouts) coming up soon. Was wondering at the rec level what do coaches look for other than the obvious softball skills? For example, the girls that haven't played at all or very little, what would you look for that may point to a successful, coachable softball player? And how much do you take into consideration the parents of players at the rec level? The age groups that will be at the evaluations will range from 8u to 12u. I will be coaching my oldest DD's 12u team and my wife and I will be helping with my youngest DD's 8u team. A lot I know, but we are short coaches so we help out when and where we can.

thank you for any insight...

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I do watch for enthusiasm but some kids are shy or nervous at first so not written in stone. General coordination, if they listen, if they adjust when corrected. The kids who have prepared stand out pretty quickly. As a parent and/or coach you can search softball drills/teaching to help your daughter prepare...highly recommend this. USA softball coach and others. Find people who teach it well and copy the heck out of them. As a dad I tried to sandwich a good comment, idea on how to improve, good comment. Teach them to self evaluate. Now my daughter tells me what she felt she should have done and we discuss. Don't dwell on it too much though. Try to keep our relationship about more than softball She will be playing in college next yr on scholarship.

rebeldesign said:

We have our rec league evaluations(tryouts) coming up soon. Was wondering at the rec level what do coaches look for other than the obvious softball skills? For example, the girls that haven't played at all or very little, what would you look for that may point to a successful, coachable softball player? And how much do you take into consideration the parents of players at the rec level? The age groups that will be at the evaluations will range from 8u to 12u. I will be coaching my oldest DD's 12u team and my wife and I will be helping with my youngest DD's 8u team. A lot I know, but we are short coaches so we help out when and where we can.

thank you for any insight...

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In a flock of new and newer players, I'd be looking for athletes - smooth running, good general body coordination ,etc. I can teach skills. Natural athleticism, not so much. Kids with experience in other sports will often make the transition to softball pretty easily, too.

Parents are a crapshoot. Unless you already know there's someone who will be a cancer on your team, you're generally better off just focusing on the players.

Eric F said:

Kids with experience in other sports will often make the transition to softball pretty easily, too.

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From my limited experience, this is true with everything except throwing, since those movements just aren't learned/needed in other sports (soccer/basketball/volleyball specifically).

It was actually a little jarring the first time I saw a girl who looked like a tremendous athlete throw like someone who's never picked up a ball before. That said, those girls usually do pick it up faster than the others, so don't let poor mechanics in sport-specific skills stop you from taking an otherwise good athlete.

CoachJD said:

From my limited experience, this is true with everything except throwing, since those movements just aren't learned/needed in other sports (soccer/basketball/volleyball specifically).

It was actually a little jarring the first time I saw a girl who looked like a tremendous athlete throw like someone who's never picked up a ball before. That said, those girls usually do pick it up faster than the others, so don't let poor mechanics in sport-specific skills stop you from taking an otherwise good athlete.

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I've encountered those girls, too - soccer players, especially - lol.