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Keep Tryouts Moving and Organized
Tryouts must be run just like your practices. They must be organized, well run and on time. I make sure that every minute of the tryouts is accounted for. In the league I am currently coaching, I am in charge of the seven, eight and nine year olds. This group consists of mostly first and second year tackle players. In the past I was in charge of 13 and 14 year old travel teams. Both of these tryouts have difference, but the similarities are both were run efficiently.
The preferred tools of the trade I use are an organized practice plan, whistle, clipboard, roster, pen and stopwatch with a clock. I keep the whistle and stopwatch around my neck and everything else on the clipboard. I am organized and ready to go.
Our league gives you the first five full days, two hours apiece to evaluate the talent. If you can get the squad cut, that leaves two weeks to get ready for your first game. This is not a lot of time so you must be prepared. You will have to deal with the following situations the first week
- Hot weather
- Travel Baseball
- Family Vacations
- 3 days with no contact
- 2 days of contact
- Keeping track of players required time
- Organizing the data
I have written earlier that it is important to have many help with the tryouts. You want to make sure there are no mistakes when you cut the squad. I personally make sure that I keep any question marks with me for another day or so. I also get a look at any new players that show up.
The biggest difference between running a practice and the tryouts are the time breakdowns. During a practice, I usually limit each drill to ten minutes maximum, while I will limit station to about 20 minutes. When I am running tryouts 20 minutes is the minimum time I will allow for each of the skill evaluations. I will usually make it 30 minutes but it depends on the amount of players and helpers that I have.
The weather is always hot so we break for water every 20 minutes, or sooner as needed. You need to allow time to run all the evaluations, log all the data, explain all drills and allow for water breaks.
You will be on display for all the parents so it is important to be organized and not waste any time. You also want to make sure all players are treated fairly and get an equal shot in each drill. You should explain to the parents that the teams will be split based on their son’s ability.
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