What's the deal with conditioning and HS tryouts?

[Ken Krause]

This is the week for high school tryouts. And with it come the interesting stories.

I've heard from several of my students who told me that much of their tryouts were spent not showing their skills, but running, running running.

Not to go all Seinfeld on you, but what's the deal with that? I know tryouts for the most part are perfunctory. Most teams, especially varsity teams, are chosen well in advance. Still, wouldn't you think that coaches would want to take as long a look at the skills of their players as they can, to make sure no stone is left unturned?

All I can figure is they're trying to weed out the girls who are just dabbling, or trying softball for the first time. That's a shame. A school sport should be more inclusive, at least at the lower levels. Why make it miserable right off the bat?

Some schools have trouble even fielding teams at all levels. Running the girls to death is no way to get them out. It's not that I'm anti-conditioning. It's an important part of sports performance. But why not ease them into it? Or build up to it? After all, it's not soccer or basketball. It doesn't take all the much endurance to play our sport. Conditioning is not the game-changer it is in continuous motion sports.

Start with a reasonable amount and work your way up. Better yet, work conditioning into skills training to maximize your efficiency. With a little effort and imagination it can be done. And that way, you're not turning off kids who might otherwise be able to make a real contribution to the team.

More...

 

[amanda_cake]

Must say that I'm rather torn on this. We don't want to turn any girls away, no one wants that, however if you don't have the dedication to run until you throw up then maybe this isn't it for you. When they make us run like that, they see who really wants it. Who has it in them, who is going to keep pushing because this is their dream.

They didn't make us run nearly as much this year as they have in the past, probably due to time crunch.

 

[GOINGDEEP]

We all ran a ton in baseball conditioning too. I have always been told the reason for all the running is the coaches want to see will power. Meaning a short fast sprint only shows a God given talent. The longer couple of mile runs come from the heart. They will watch the pack over the mile run to see who stays in the top to mid pack. The theory is the ones pushing themselves over the long distance will also push themselves over the long season. It's a mental thing/tool.

 

[Ken Krause]

That's an interesting thought. What's odd, though, is that in my experience the teams are pretty well chosen before they ever have tryouts. Still, I guess if you're looking to see who can fill those last couple of slots it might be a way of doing it -- all else being equal.

 

[GOINGDEEP]

We have about 50 girls tryout each year. Carry about 19-20 between JV and V. I guess it's a coaching 'tool' to weed some out. And yes, most are already well known from travel ball and their accomplishments at the middle school level. So I'm sure the tops are pre chosen.

My two least favorite things in baseball were.....running and rainouts.

 

[mudbug]

Run? Yep thats what we did. and also things for the returning players, and took care of the field.

When I was in HS BB tryouts lasted a week, it probably took one day for coach to determine who would make the team.

But honestly, hard work is how you weed out a lot of kids so you wont have to cut them. In football usually condition/practice for two weeks before making the cuts, before ever putting pads on. The goal is not to ever have to cut anyone, get the kids that arent committed enough to drop so that the kids that are committed enough can stay. It is terrible to have to cut a kid after putting them thru that, but when enough dont drop you have to.

 

[Jojo]

When my DD started college, she complained about the running. a 3 mile warm up and a 2 mile cool down.
When they were working on fielding, catchers and pitchers went and ran... (actually they "ran" to the training center and raided the coaches candy stash and coke machine.)

She asked me one day. "Do you know who runs the most out of the all teams in this school?" My best educated guess was "Soccer?" "Oh no, they run the LEAST!" The answer was the gymnast, followed by softball, volleyball, basketball then soccer.

 

[Kelly Clinevell]

When my DD started college, she complained about the running. a 3 mile warm up and a 2 mile cool down.
When they were working on fielding, catchers and pitchers went and ran... (actually they "ran" to the training center and raided the coaches candy stash and coke machine.)

She asked me one day. "Do you know who runs the most out of the all teams in this school?" My best educated guess was "Soccer?" "Oh no, they run the LEAST!" The answer was the gymnast, followed by softball, volleyball, basketball then soccer.

What school did your daughter go to? That list really demonstrates a poor understanding of the metabolic demands of their respective sports.