Freshman Tryouts

Wear a jersey with your name on it. e.g. My nephew got cut from his MS s***** team couple years ago - 4 games into the season, middle of the game, coach yells "Where's Pat Smith, I want to put him in?" Kid on the sideline says "You cut him 2 weeks ago coach!!"

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Originally posted by CoachRobert:
Tryouts for my son's school start Monday, here's some tips his select coach passed along if anyone is interested:

*Get a haircut
*Be attentive, make eye contact with coaches
*Be at the front of the group during instruction
*Don’t be last, hustle always
*Be early - on time is the same as being late
*Wear school colors at tryouts, look like you belong on the team
*Have long sleeves - under-armor is not long sleeves, have cotton sleeves also for layering. Dress for cool weather, it bugs to coaches to see players not prepared.
*Gray pants for practices – no white
*Wear a clean uniform everyday
*Make sure your colors match(i.e. no burnt orange with purple)
*no, jewelry, hats backwards, walkmans, etc.

Anyone else have anything?

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Clean and polished shoes.

Bring a clean dry towel, change of T-shirt, and a sweat shirt...warm-up jacket if a pitcher.

Running shoes...

...and four baseballs

Be able to hit it, catch it, and throw it!

Hit well or bring the heat!

Dont get hair cut too short. A bit of extra hair can make you look 1/2 taller.

Dont be nervous. Go in there confident and show that you want to be a team player and that you deserve to have a sport on the team. Make sure all your equipment is ready and be willing to help out WITHOUT BEING ASKED TO. Say your team is using a batting cage and after a hitter is done, instead of sitting there looking pretty, help put the baseballs in the bucket. Little things like that are great. Don't act like you are the best thing in the word becasue you are only a freshman. Treat your teammates with respect and have fun with them, but don't exceed the boundaries. I mean when it's time to play, focus up. Help other players out with small things that you see, but remember that you are NOT the coach. The coaches will have the final say, but make it too tough for them to turn you away. Best of luck to anyone that trys out for anything, regarless of age. And if you dont make the team, work your butt of so you can exceed to a higher level. I am a sophomore in HS that was cut with the last cut and it stung but I soon realized that I needed to get things in gear or I would never make a team. Last of all, have fun and remember why you are playing baseball.

Bring a GOOD ATTITUDE!! and lots of HUSTLE!!

Another important thing is body language on the field. For most of these kids this will be the first time the coach sees them. He will be developing his first impressions of these kids and i guarantee you that body language will be the first factor of his first impression!!!
There is a kid at our school that can hit as good as any of the others and can throw it pretty good as well. But he has HORRIBLE body language and does not hustle when he is just moving around on the field. And he made a negative impression because of it and he has not overcome it yet (2 years).
So you might want to have a little body language practice before Monday. It won't hurt!!

Be flexible. On your first day it might be a good idea to try out as a pitcher if you are the 8th best catcher showing up. Consider changing name from John Doe to Lefty Doe.
(even if you're right handed )

Most teams won't cut pitchers who can throw strikes no matter how slowly.

Find out as much as you can about other kids trying out.

Stand next to a really short kid to appear taller.

Bring a beat up glove and well worn shoes. Look like you've played ball since birth.

Pitchers should use every opportunity to warm up. You'll get more speed that way. But speed will almost never be a major factor in pitcher selection.

Ask older kids how the tryouts work. Be prepared.

If all else fails, learn to write good English like stangsbaseball24. Many sophomores can play ball; few can write well. Keep baseball in perspective.

Well I did get a 96.4% A in English . Speaking of school, it is imparative that you get good grades because if I'm not mistaken, some coaches check grades randomly, I know mine do anyway. GOOD LUCK BROS.

CoachRobert,

Your son's select coach gave you a great list. To expand on the attentive tip, make sure your son knows that means no talking when the coach is talking and to always look the coach in the eyes when he addresses you and say yes sir or no sir in a voice loud enough and firm enough to show confidence.

In addition the 1st week a freshmen enters school he needs to start trying to make an impression on the coach by:

a) Getting good grades
b) Show all teachers respect and don't get into trouble.
c) Attend all voluntary workouts possiblet hat may take place in the fall and winter. This includes weight training, conditioning etc.

Good luck to your son and be sure to tell us how the tryouts turn out.

To add to your list of already great ideas:

A nice smile.

Stay after practice to pickup the equipment goes a long way as well.

Talk the talk & walk the walk !

CV

Relax dont be nervous and have fun. Coaches want to be around guys that enjoy being on the field. We understand that you are a freshman we are not expecting you to play like a senior. Do the things that should be expected of you and dont worry about the things that are not. Hustle, listen, be attentive and support the other players trying out. Play your game and dont try to be more that what you are. Yes sir not sir or no coach yes coach. Be respectfull and be confident. Dont get down on yourself at anytime. If you boot a ball go get it and want another one. If you swing and miss dont pout just get ready for the next pitch. Alot of good pointers here. Most of all be excited about the opportunity and go out there and have some fun playing baseball.

Find the best hustling kid at the tryout and chase him. You don't have to be side by side, but use him as your "rabbit".

Pay attention to detail and follow through.

Don't ask questions just to ask questions. Whoever said there was never a stupid question, never sat around someone who didn't listen, or, enjoyed listening to himself talk.

Be a leader not a follower

volunteer but don't "suck-up".

Push others you're competing against to do well. Here comes that "team" word again.

And #1- Show no mercy and take no prisoners. You can be the best team player in the world but when push comes to shove, you had better be playing to win.

When you are throwing in warmups, make sure you pick a kid out ahead of time that can catch and throw - nothing worse than spending half your warmup time chasing a bad throw. We sometimes watch and count how many bad throws/dropped balls in a 2 minute span.

Just went thru that at a tryout. I figure a minimum of 40-60 throws are needed to get fully warmed up for top speed. Was assigned a kid who mostly held the ball after every pitch and then threw wild a few times on the return. Once he stopped to chat with a kid next to him

As a result, only got in 15 lame warm up tosses before hitting the mound in front of scouts.

Thanks for the question and all the great responses. I have printed them out for my son since he will be trying out for the American Legion team for his high school in May.