How do you run your tryouts?

[Lothar241]

My DD has been playing travel softball for 4 years. I was a an assistant coach this past season and took mental notes in prior seasons. I would love to bring back many of the girls we have on our 14U team for our upcoming season. This may be a little difficult because many of the girls and their parents expressed their (not so good) feelings for the current manager. It is unknown, if he steps down, who will be managing this upcoming season.

My dd has participated in many tryouts. Many had coaches scoring girls on sheets and running specific drills (many of them the same from tryout to tryout).

I would just like some input as to what some of the coaches do and how you "score" the girls on their performance?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[CycloneSoftball22]

I actually invite some of the girls that are interested in my team to participate in some of the Fall tournaments. This way I get to see them in a live action situation and also see how they interact with teammates , etc.

 

[cmustangsfp]

We do drills. We also see how they react to mistakes and how their parents try to "correct" them. Is the parent encouraging or discouraging, that tells me the most during a tryout (although some parents are good at hiding it at first glance). We do a lot of throwing to the bases from the different positions. We then put them in a batting cage and watch mechanics, listening for parental input. We then go back and do outfield drills, as the batting cage practice gives them time to cool down. We then finish it up with timing runs and then pitcher and catcher work, if required. I don't care so much about their mechanics, as I can attempt to correct them. I look at how they respond to any corrections I offer them. Do they look at me or their parents when I suggest a correction. I look at how their focus is. I look at hustle, etc. I also time them, but it is more for establishing a baseline rather than raw speed. I plan to improve their running scores, but if they have a bad attitude I won't worry about it. I can teach them to run better, it is a lot harder to teach them to try harder.