What to expect - Travel Ball Tryout

[YOCOACH]

One thing that I am surprised about is that no one has mentioned to avoid private tryouts if at all possible. Remember, the tryout for your DD is a two way street. As a coach, I not only look at the players but make a point of talking to the parents as well. I don't need crazy parents on my TB team. By the same token, this gives the parents an opportunity to find out something about me, my coaching philosophy, playing time expectations and other various questions they might like to ask. I also encourage them to talk to other parents of players on my team from last year. This is very difficult to do if you have a private tryout. It's also much easier for an unethical coach to sell a bill of goods to you if no one else is around to contradict him/her.

As for tryouts for my players, I look for the basics. Attitude, athleticism, skills at batting/fielding, knowledge of their chosen positions and knowledge of game situations are what I look for in a player; pretty much in that order. As for parents, I look at only two things; temperament and attitude. If I feel that the parents will be a problem during the upcoming season, their DD will not make the team no matter how good she is. That may sound cruel but there is no quicker way to take a good or even a great team down and make it miserable for everybody involved than crazy parents that constantly complain about every little thing that they feel slighted on from DD's playing time to coaching philosophy to game strategy etc. etc. etc.

 

[shockcoach]

Do a few tryouts for teams that you don't really intend to join before trying out for a team that you might like. Choose BETTER teams to try out for first, rather then worse teams. This will help your daughter get up to speed and get the jitters out so it's routine by the time it counts.

The rest of the advice here has been very good.

As a coach, I always look for Attitude, Effort, Athleticism, and Ability, in that order. The reason for this is that it is a coaches job to teach the skills that make up ability, the other three are intangible and very hard to teach. The kids that come with these first three skills do much better in the long run. However, the older the kid is, the more ability they are expected to have. At 10u and 12u, it's all about the intangibles. At 14u the kids should have a solid base knowledge of the position they're trying out for, and at 16u and 18u they should be experts.

The other thing I look for is coachability. I always make sure to spend a few seconds instructing each kid, to see how they respond to the coaching and how quickly they incorporate it into their skill. This is usually done during fielding, infield or outfield, but it can be done during hitting, such as saying "I only want you to hit the inside pitches this time", or some such.

Hustle everywhere. Never walk from station to station, or anywhere else on the softball field. Be respectful, and thank the coaches for their time.

Good luck!

-W

Ditto what is said here. I would add to this to have your daughter be vocal. "HIT ME HIT ME HIT ME!" "MINE MINE MINE!" "HEY, NICE CATCH 22 (or whatever number)"

Also, wear something a bit out of the ordinary. When coaches talk, they usually say stuff like, "I like the vocal kid. The one wearing the red shoes!" Sell yourself!