Tryout season ugggh!!!

[texasck1]

While I don't think parents are expecting step-by-step instruction on how to throw or hit, my plan for our upcoming tryouts is take a few minutes at the very start to review what it is I'm looking for / what we teach - throwing as a continuous motion, butt up / chest down when fielding grounders, timing / moving BEFORE the pitch is released, etc.

If they struggle with those concepts, that's OK, b/c I'm not looking for them to have already mastered the skill. It's more a way to determine "coach-ability" - are they willing to try to incorporate what I'm showing them with what they already do or know?

As a parent, this is what I am looking for at a tryout. I want to see coach interaction with players. I want to see them interact with my DD as well as observing how they interact with other individuals and the group as a whole. I don't expect a coach to fix my daughter in the 3 minutes he sees her at a tryout, but I do what to see him coach in the brief amount of time they have together. Just give me little bit of how you coach so I can evaluate if my DD fits with your team.

The key for me is, you are trying to sell yourself and the team as much as find the kid that best fits your team.

 

[texasheat]

Nothing worse than a tryout where the coach treats it as a cattle call.

Step 1 --"line up here, run to there while we time you"
Step 2 -- "line up here, field the ball and throw it over there"
Step 3 -- "line up here, come to the plate when we call for you, hit the ball"
Step 4 -- "Thanks for showing up, we'll be in touch"
Talk about UGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. Any coach that handles tryouts like this deserves any criticism they get.

I would bet big money that the coach who started this thread is a 25 ish year old ex-player. They are NEVER prepared for parent/coach dynamic that this job includes. That part of the job always takes them by surprise and often puts them in a tailspin. They're just too young to confidently interact with parents who have certain expectations (often times unrealistic) because they are paying their salary.

 

[Gags]

They're just too young to confidently interact with parents who have certain expectations (often times unrealistic) because they are paying their salary.

Wait - what?! People get paid to coach TB? I feel guilty taking the cost of my coaches shirt out of the team budget!

Clearly I've been doing this all wrong.

 

[badmonkey]

I provided much knowledge on my skill set however, I’m not going to give girls instruction on what they need to do when I’m assessing their skill set during a tryout. I give encouragement and empowerment but for me, instruction doesn’t really need to take place during a tryout. If you have 50 girls showing up, you can’t provide instruction for each individual girl.


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My DD is aging out of her team this year, so we are experiencing tryout season for the first time as well. I can tell you that I'm not looking for instruction from coaches at tryouts. I will watch the interactions between the coaches and all the players to see how they respond to each other, but I'm not expecting instruction.

I will also say that we have tryouts scheduled with four teams so far, and on paper we have a favorite, but all four offer something different and are at different levels. We are just looking for the best overall fit in a 12B/C team. Our first tryout was Wednesday. It was for the highest level team we will tryout for. She did well, but they are at different level than my DD. She didn't make it, but even if they made an offer I would have declined, as it means she would sit on Sundays.

And not everyone is looking for the same thing. Some parents think the coaches should be the sole source of their DDs instruction. Some coaches don't want to give any hitting/fielding/pitching instruction, and put that on the girls to do on their own time. They want to focus on how to play the game, not the individual skills.

All I'm trying to say is that there are a ton of things that go into make a team and a girl a fit for each other. As a parent I'm going to take my DD to as many places as I can to find the best fit for her, and I will have no qualms about telling a coach if it's not a fit. You should at the very least be happy you got a straight answer from the parent. The second best answer you can get is "NO". An "I dont know" or "let me think it over" or any other non-committal answer are the aggravating ones.

Try not to get too frustrated and remember, everyone involved hates the process as much as you do.

 

[SiB57]

Nothing worse than a tryout where the coach treats it as a cattle call.

Step 1 --"line up here, run to there while we time you"
Step 2 -- "line up here, field the ball and throw it over there"
Step 3 -- "line up here, come to the plate when we call for you, hit the ball"
Step 4 -- "Thanks for showing up, we'll be in touch"
Talk about UGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. Any coach that handles tryouts like this deserves any criticism they get.

How are the tryouts you've been at that are run well, in your opinion, structured? My DD is a second year 10U and only plays on a town travel team, I've been involved in helping the coaches that have been in the program for years run the tryouts and every one I've been to has been exactly this structure. I'm willing to help them improve them as my daughters get older if you have any tips.