Different Ways to Run High School Tryouts

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Jun 6, 2016
2,714
113
Chicago
Looking for some different ways people have run high school team tryouts before. Not so much looking for specifics in terms of how/what you measure. I'm thinking more logistically.

Last year we had 26 girls, so the tryout was just to split them into Varsity & JV teams. Nobody got cut (which I think is important, because it made the tryout a little bit less important from our evaluation standpoint since we could always move a girl up if we realized she deserved it).

This year is going to be a lot different. Through two days of signups, we already have 23. At this point, I expect 35-40 players sign up.

It is very difficult to run a tryout with the limited space we have (at best we'll be able to get outside in the parking lot for some drills, but most of the tryout will be in our small gym). If we get as many girls as I think we will, I'm not really sure how to cram them all in.

We usually run two days of tryouts, but I can go with a third if necessary.

Should I split them into different sessions (half at one time, half at another)? Should I have "Varsity tryouts" and "JV tryouts" where the girls get to pick which team they're trying out for? Should I have our better players only come to the first day (let's assume the half dozen I'm thinking of show up, do what they're supposed to do, and earn their spot) so I have more time and space to evaluate the others? Any other ways to structure I haven't thought of?
 

Chris Delorit

Member
Apr 24, 2016
343
28
Green Bay, WI
JD,

If you've done some fundraising and have a team account balance, consider renting an indoor field for a couple hours while covering the bus back and forth as well. District probably covers a portion of that transport cost relative to conference mileage.

If you don't have the funds to utilize, then you maximize the opportunities with what you have available. At the HS level, I would suggest against branding tryouts by individual teams or even by skill levels, as you're potentially initiating expectations for the athletes/parents. 4 grades, 1 hour each. Tryouts are generally not necessary if you're making room for everyone. However, they do matter if you plan to cut down rather than adding a team.

Since your participation levels are improving YOY, I don't think cuts are a consideration, yet. Most important is that you and you your coaching staff are available to view and judge each station of your tryouts. If you end up with a Freshmen team, then that's another positive step that you've acheived developing your program. At some point, the combination of participation success may force your hand with cut downs, but until then, maximize the opportunities by filling uniforrms.

Chris
 
Feb 21, 2017
198
28
First don’t divide the groups into Varsity/JV because you want to been seen as a coach who evaluates based on talent not a preconceived notions. Plus you never knows if it suddenly comes together for one girl and you would not want to miss that.

If you are stuck with your gym here is what I would do. Estimate the number of players the gym holds where you can efficiently run drills. Divide into 2-3 sessions and assign players randomly to a session. When assigning players make sure to divide the best half dozen returning players assigning them evenly to each session. Have those players lead the drills in each session. You are having them tryout but in reality your objective is to see which players keep up the best to that group of returning players. Day one should be no or maybe for potential varsity players.

Day 2 repeat process but shuffle the girls randomly again although you can do a bit pairing together players who seem to fit a certain level. I would probably lock my half dozen best girls to a session and shuffle kids under them. The objective is to focus in on your maybe group and confirm anyone who got a “no” just didn’t have a bad day.

Day 3 I would divide try and sort by who has potential to make each team. Those you decide are capable of varsity plus any players on bubble in same group. This way if you are between a couple girls at then end of a varsity roster you can see them side by side. The definite JV would be now together and same with a 3rd team if you can get numbers.

Really you can run quickly through fielding, throwing, hitting form and weed so the sessions don’t have to be too long. Just some thoughts

Good luck and let us know

CoC


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

marriard

Not lost - just no idea where I am
Oct 2, 2011
4,312
113
Florida
Looking for some different ways people have run high school team tryouts before. Not so much looking for specifics in terms of how/what you measure. I'm thinking more logistically.
Last year we had 26 girls, so the tryout was just to split them into Varsity & JV teams. Nobody got cut (which I think is important, because it made the tryout a little bit less important from our evaluation standpoint since we could always move a girl up if we realized she deserved it).
This year is going to be a lot different. Through two days of signups, we already have 23. At this point, I expect 35-40 players sign up.

First - are you going to be able to do three teams? In our area it is just Varsity & JV so you can't have an 9th grade team or a JV2 team or whatever. That is important, because if you are going to have to cut players then have to run it differently.

Since this isn't your first year, you do know most of the quality that either was there last year or will be there this year. There may be a surprise or two, but for the most part you know. It isn't like a surprise #1 pitcher is suddenly going to appear. Most of your surprises come in athletes from other sports - the ones with natural talent you might be able to use (especially speed), freshman, kids who went through a rapid physical maturity and girls who have put a lot of work in during travel or in the weight room and have got better.

I would divide the players with softball experience into random groups as suggested, but I would also probably have a group of athletes-from-other-sports-but-not-softball and a group of never-played-before. I want to make sure I don't hurt anyone trying out, so keeping a girl who possibly can't catch away from your real players is always a good idea. I also would have someone looking specifically at these two groups on the first day who can alert you to someone you need to look at closely or move into a different group. Some of these two groups wont come back on day two anyway.

In terms of assessment you are looking at the edges. With this many you probably know some girls who absolutely WILL make Varsity or WILL be on JV - you don't need to spend a bunch of time watching those girls - those decisions have been made unless something weird happens. You are going to be spending your time looking at the maybe/maybe nots. Those on the fringe of making one of the teams where you have to decide which team they should be on. The ones that may move up and down during the season depending on your needs, The ones who might have got better or might have something to contribute to the team. The freshman players you may not know as well. Players who have moved into the area. You are looking at the less-experienced for those that have something you can work with - speed, size, natural throwing motions, quickness, easy to coach, athletic ability, reputation from their #1 sport, etc, etc, to see if there is an area they may help.

Also, anyone who catches your eye on day one TALK TO SPECIFICALLY at the end of day one so that they come back day two.

Day Two I start putting together the maybe/maybe not fringe groups. A group for Varisty/JV and a JV/JV2(or Cut) group so you can concentrate your time on these decisions. Others will be in groups of of 'already decided' or even 'Nope' if you have to cut.


This is not to say everyone doesn't run through the same drills or assessments. It is just an arrangement where it is easier for you to spend most of your time watching and making reasonable decisions.
 
Jun 6, 2016
2,714
113
Chicago
Thanks for the replies. Some good ideas here.

I guess I wasn't clear enough on one point: We won't be having three teams. I expect 35-40 to sign up, which means we will have to have cuts. I won't keep more than 30 between the two teams. Last year's 26 would have been the perfect number, though at a couple points during the season we happened to have two games on the same day a couple girls were ineligible, injured, etc. I suppose that will happen every year, so I'm looking at 26-30 for the rosters.

Where I think we differ from other places is that while I've generated a ton of interest in playing softball, the talent/experience is still not where it needs to be. So if I get 40 girls signed up, 10-15 of them will have never played before (and about 1/3 of those probably won't have any sport experience). So evaluating them will be almost entirely on projecting based on athleticism, coachability, how quickly they pick things up, etc. I'm excited for this, but I also don't want to make a mistake, so I really want to be sure I see as much of these girls as possible.

In the past, I have always "randomly" put girls into groups. In reality, I would try to get a mix of talent based on what I know about them. I would also try to separate or put certain people together. Usually best friends were split up, and while we haven't had too many situations where girls truly didn't get along, if I knew one girl didn't much care for another, I'd put them in the same group at tryouts just to see how they handle it. So it wasn't random exactly, but it wasn't based on anything like perceived talent.

I would divide the players with softball experience into random groups as suggested, but I would also probably have a group of athletes-from-other-sports-but-not-softball and a group of never-played-before. I want to make sure I don't hurt anyone trying out, so keeping a girl who possibly can't catch away from your real players is always a good idea. I also would have someone looking specifically at these two groups on the first day who can alert you to someone you need to look at closely or move into a different group. Some of these two groups wont come back on day two anyway.

I really like this. I try to have equal numbers in my groups (it helps with timing out the tryout and moving everybody from station to station without much standing around), but I think I can work with this. I may even do two sessions based on "has played before" and "has not played before," at least for the first day. If I do it this way, I can put 100% of my attention on the brand new girls during their session (While I trust my coaches, I'm not going to make the final decision to cut a girl without personally seeing her as much as possible). I could even change what we do during this session to remove some of the more difficult or potentially dangerous stations (probably wouldn't do pitching machine fly balls with these girls in the parking lot, for example) if I think that's necessary.

Also, the way the schedule works out this year, Day 3 also happens to be a half day at the school for the kids. We won't practice until later in the day, so if I wanted, I could have something of a Last Chance tryout (I would not actually call it that) for the girls on the bubble. I won't have all my coaches during that time, but I'm thinking if I'm still struggling with who has the most potential after two days, I can invite the handful of girls I'm deciding on for one final evaluation right after school, and then we can have the full practice later on as planned.

Thanks again to everybody for all the suggestions. I will definitely not divide them up into defined groups based on perceived level, though I do think putting girls who have never played before into a single group at the beginning is a good idea.
 

NBECoach

Learning everyday
Aug 9, 2018
408
63
If at all possible with 35-40 players try to have 3 teams, Varsity, JV1 and JV2. Yes your JV2 will take it lumps because most have never played or have played very little. You will need an instructor type coach who is not measured on wins and losses, but rather on player skill development. We have had players from JV2 develop into serviceable players the next season because they got a chance to learn and play whereas they may have sat the bench as the last player on JV1. This is also insurance for players on the other teams who become injured, and 3 teams keeps the program vital for the school.
 
Jun 6, 2016
2,714
113
Chicago
If at all possible with 35-40 players try to have 3 teams, Varsity, JV1 and JV2. Yes your JV2 will take it lumps because most have never played or have played very little. You will need an instructor type coach who is not measured on wins and losses, but rather on player skill development. We have had players from JV2 develop into serviceable players the next season because they got a chance to learn and play whereas they may have sat the bench as the last player on JV1. This is also insurance for players on the other teams who become injured, and 3 teams keeps the program vital for the school.

It's really not possible to carry a third team for a lot of reasons (equipment, finding opponents, finding a coach, transportation, practice time/space, etc.). However, something I've considered doing is offering something of a "practice squad" to a few girls. I realize that this is a tough sell for a high school kid, so it may not work at all, but if I'm at 30 and there are a couple more girls I want a longer look at, I might tell them they're welcome to practice with us. They won't play in games, but if they come to practice, work hard, and a spot opens up because of injury or someone quits or something, they might get on the JV team.

I haven't decided for sure I'm going to do this. Like I said, I know it's going to be tough to convince a high school kid to dedicate herself to practices with no promise of even getting a uniform, but it's one way I've considered having to cut fewer people.
 
Oct 11, 2010
8,337
113
Chicago, IL
I think you are over thinking this whole thing.

Pick your 30 players and move on.

We had some virus in our school and all 3 of our pitchers were out, we pulled JV pitcher up to pitch a game.

Hate cutting players but part of the deal and you will make some mistakes.
 
Jun 6, 2016
2,714
113
Chicago
I think you are over thinking this whole thing.

Pick your 30 players and move on.

We had some virus in our school and all 3 of our pitchers were out, we pulled JV pitcher up to pitch a game.

Hate cutting players but part of the deal and you will make some mistakes.

The issue is how to run a tryout in limited space with that many girls. I can't fit that many in the gym, so I'm trying to come up with a creative way to do it in just a couple days.
 
Sep 21, 2017
230
43
PA
Thanks for the replies. Some good ideas here.

I guess I wasn't clear enough on one point: We won't be having three teams. I expect 35-40 to sign up, which means we will have to have cuts. I won't keep more than 30 between the two teams. Last year's 26 would have been the perfect number, though at a couple points during the season we happened to have two games on the same day a couple girls were ineligible, injured, etc. I suppose that will happen every year, so I'm looking at 26-30 for the rosters.

Where I think we differ from other places is that while I've generated a ton of interest in playing softball, the talent/experience is still not where it needs to be. So if I get 40 girls signed up, 10-15 of them will have never played before (and about 1/3 of those probably won't have any sport experience). So evaluating them will be almost entirely on projecting based on athleticism, coachability, how quickly they pick things up, etc. I'm excited for this, but I also don't want to make a mistake, so I really want to be sure I see as much of these girls as possible.

In the past, I have always "randomly" put girls into groups. In reality, I would try to get a mix of talent based on what I know about them. I would also try to separate or put certain people together. Usually best friends were split up, and while we haven't had too many situations where girls truly didn't get along, if I knew one girl didn't much care for another, I'd put them in the same group at tryouts just to see how they handle it. So it wasn't random exactly, but it wasn't based on anything like perceived talent.



I really like this. I try to have equal numbers in my groups (it helps with timing out the tryout and moving everybody from station to station without much standing around), but I think I can work with this. I may even do two sessions based on "has played before" and "has not played before," at least for the first day. If I do it this way, I can put 100% of my attention on the brand new girls during their session (While I trust my coaches, I'm not going to make the final decision to cut a girl without personally seeing her as much as possible). I could even change what we do during this session to remove some of the more difficult or potentially dangerous stations (probably wouldn't do pitching machine fly balls with these girls in the parking lot, for example) if I think that's necessary.

Also, the way the schedule works out this year, Day 3 also happens to be a half day at the school for the kids. We won't practice until later in the day, so if I wanted, I could have something of a Last Chance tryout (I would not actually call it that) for the girls on the bubble. I won't have all my coaches during that time, but I'm thinking if I'm still struggling with who has the most potential after two days, I can invite the handful of girls I'm deciding on for one final evaluation right after school, and then we can have the full practice later on as planned.

Thanks again to everybody for all the suggestions. I will definitely not divide them up into defined groups based on perceived level, though I do think putting girls who have never played before into a single group at the beginning is a good idea.

I think you're on the right track, here. If you have that much of a difference in talent, I'd do the "has played/never have played" split, for sure. Last thing you want is to be slammed in a small gym and someone get hurt. I've been there, not fun. Plus, you could then adjust your drills/skills appropriately for the majority of the groups. Or if your numbers are still really uneven, could you look at splitting up 9/10th graders and 11/12th graders?

I'd also add, at least, one more day. I'll probably have around 24-28 for "tryouts". We'll have V/JV, so obviously not cutting anyone, but we have a 4 day tryout with individual meetings on the 5th. Do a couple skills a day, with each group, then maybe have all who want to pitch come in together, if you have enough to catch, or throw into nets...whatever you need to do.

Wish you the best!
 

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