tryout ideas
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- Feb 7, 2013
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My 12u DDs tryout was 3 hours. Some of the things they did:
- paperwork with playing history and 2 favorite/primary positions
- players set-up equipment
- dynamic warm-ups
- conditioning drills (e.g. ladder drills, sprints, etc.) things they do at the start of every practice.
- throwing (short toss, progressing to long toss)
- timed running from home to 1st and home to home.
- positioned players in a few infield positions and hit hard ground balls with throws to 1st, and then 2nd and 1st
- positioned players at all 9 positions and coach hit hard ground balls, line drives, pop-ups to all positions. Rotated positions frequently.
- catchers warmed up pitchers
- the older 14u pitched to all of the 12u's trying out.
- divided players into two teams and played a scrimmage for about 4 innings so all players got at least one at bat.
- players brokedown equipment and put in coaches cars.
Looking back, the tryout in many ways mirrored their normal weekend practice. Along with talent, the coaches wanted to see work ethic, hustle, good attitude, self motivation, and whether or not the players could handle a fast-paced and long practice. The older players from the upper division also helped run the tryout which is awesome on so many levels and they continue to work with the younger players throughout the season.
Good luck.
- paperwork with playing history and 2 favorite/primary positions
- players set-up equipment
- dynamic warm-ups
- conditioning drills (e.g. ladder drills, sprints, etc.) things they do at the start of every practice.
- throwing (short toss, progressing to long toss)
- timed running from home to 1st and home to home.
- positioned players in a few infield positions and hit hard ground balls with throws to 1st, and then 2nd and 1st
- positioned players at all 9 positions and coach hit hard ground balls, line drives, pop-ups to all positions. Rotated positions frequently.
- catchers warmed up pitchers
- the older 14u pitched to all of the 12u's trying out.
- divided players into two teams and played a scrimmage for about 4 innings so all players got at least one at bat.
- players brokedown equipment and put in coaches cars.
Looking back, the tryout in many ways mirrored their normal weekend practice. Along with talent, the coaches wanted to see work ethic, hustle, good attitude, self motivation, and whether or not the players could handle a fast-paced and long practice. The older players from the upper division also helped run the tryout which is awesome on so many levels and they continue to work with the younger players throughout the season.
Good luck.
So for most 'A' teams you pretty much know all the players so I suspect you have a pretty good idea of who is already in... and you are probably familiar with most of the other girls trying out. If so, what you are really doing is looking at who is going to be a good fit for the final few roster spots. If this is the case, then we do the following:
Any new pitchers or catchers you want to see first, so have them come a little early for initial assessment.
Then for the general tryout warm them up, then go into a game type warm up where they are throwing, hitting front toss/tees/tcbs and some fielding warm ups. With more girls you may need some extra help over game day here as you will also be assessing the players you want to look at. Normally by the end of this you have narrowed it down further.
Now just go straight to scrimmages. You can either do 3 groups (one hitting, one infield, one outfield) by spreading pitchers and catchers across three groups or you can divide it into two groups and simply have the girls you really want to assess play the primary positions and rotate pitchers and catchers in regulatory.
What ever group is batting get to get one at bat and then rotate. Move the fielders around as needed remembering that you are not really assessing the players you know are already going to be on the team. Keep rotating until you are happy with your assessments. Looking not just at the 'at-bats' but also attitude in the field, where they 'want' to play and how they react as you move them around.
How this worked last season:
We had 24 turn up for tryouts. We wanted a max of 12 on the team.
Girls who were going to make the team already: 8 (so 16 to really look at)
Girl who we were thrilled turned up to tryouts: (so now 9 spots taken, 15 to look at)
After warm ups, it was clear 8 were not going to make it (so now down to 7 we really want to look at)
After three complete rotations we knew the 4 we wanted.
Did the whole coach thing (Thanks for coming, we'll be contacting you shortly). Talked separately to the 4 we wanted and their parents. We ended up getting 3 of the 4 and staying with a roster of 11 for the season.
One last thing - we do have a parent or two in the stands with the new parents doing parent assessments. We check with these parents as well before we make an offer.
And we are doing it again this Friday for the new season
Any new pitchers or catchers you want to see first, so have them come a little early for initial assessment.
Then for the general tryout warm them up, then go into a game type warm up where they are throwing, hitting front toss/tees/tcbs and some fielding warm ups. With more girls you may need some extra help over game day here as you will also be assessing the players you want to look at. Normally by the end of this you have narrowed it down further.
Now just go straight to scrimmages. You can either do 3 groups (one hitting, one infield, one outfield) by spreading pitchers and catchers across three groups or you can divide it into two groups and simply have the girls you really want to assess play the primary positions and rotate pitchers and catchers in regulatory.
What ever group is batting get to get one at bat and then rotate. Move the fielders around as needed remembering that you are not really assessing the players you know are already going to be on the team. Keep rotating until you are happy with your assessments. Looking not just at the 'at-bats' but also attitude in the field, where they 'want' to play and how they react as you move them around.
How this worked last season:
We had 24 turn up for tryouts. We wanted a max of 12 on the team.
Girls who were going to make the team already: 8 (so 16 to really look at)
Girl who we were thrilled turned up to tryouts: (so now 9 spots taken, 15 to look at)
After warm ups, it was clear 8 were not going to make it (so now down to 7 we really want to look at)
After three complete rotations we knew the 4 we wanted.
Did the whole coach thing (Thanks for coming, we'll be contacting you shortly). Talked separately to the 4 we wanted and their parents. We ended up getting 3 of the 4 and staying with a roster of 11 for the season.
One last thing - we do have a parent or two in the stands with the new parents doing parent assessments. We check with these parents as well before we make an offer.
And we are doing it again this Friday for the new season
I did something different this year than I have done in the past (14A). The first hour, we ran our usual stations to get a baseline idea of their skills and athleticism. The second hour, I paid an ASA umpire to come and umpire a scrimmage. I split the girls into groups of 4 or 5 and mixed them in to the scrimmage to see how well they understood their defensive responsibilities, how they looked in front of live pitching, whether they could execute a bunt or steal, how well they ran the bases, whether pitchers could hit their spots to live batters, how well catchers blocked, etc. Basically, I wanted to see how they played in a game situation and how well coached they were in the past. I think the girls and parents enjoyed it, and it was different than two hours of skill stations and kids standing around. I don't know if I would do it again though, because I it didn't sway me from my initial impressions of which players I wanted and which I didn't.
Other than Pitchers, Watch them throw, catch, Home to first to see them run, then put them at their position and put several balls just outside their reach and see if they lay out (dive), The ones worth taking usually do.
