Does anyone have good try-out formats. I have been involved in coaching baseball for 25 years. I am still looking for other ideas to us for try-outs.
Frozenrope
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What format are you using now?
We use an objective format that looks at pitching ,hitting,bunting, speed ( 60 yard dash Swing to first and swing to second), baserunning,Fielding and outfield. They are rated 1 - 5 on mechanice of each area plus personal comments relating to each individual
I'm not a HS coach, but we did something similar (rating 1-5 with various attributes) when I helped coach younger kids (8-9).
I've gone back and looked at some of those ratings, comparing the kids then to what they are doing in various high schools. Our ratings were pretty accurate. The kids that rated higher in tryouts at that time were the ones who usually made the all-star team. Many of those same players are making significant contributions to their high school baseball, basketball, or football teams.
Our school has used voluntary workouts and fall ball to measure a player's interests. Those playing other sports (e.g. football) are given an opportunity to try out prior to the spring season. The coaches can have little or no input into the off-season programs, but they can keep their eyes open and get feedback from the volunteer coaches.
Another thing that our high school has used is a scrimmage type game. Kids will face live pitching (pitchers are facing live batters). Each batter gets 3 pitches. Teams rotate in the field every couple of innings. This allows 30 or so kids to show their skills in game type settings.
No matter what criteria you use, I hope it's fair and objective. Unfortunately, I've seen politics and personal relationships enter into some players being selected.
I'm not sure if this is the type of info you were looking for or not. Hope it helps.
I've gone back and looked at some of those ratings, comparing the kids then to what they are doing in various high schools. Our ratings were pretty accurate. The kids that rated higher in tryouts at that time were the ones who usually made the all-star team. Many of those same players are making significant contributions to their high school baseball, basketball, or football teams.
Our school has used voluntary workouts and fall ball to measure a player's interests. Those playing other sports (e.g. football) are given an opportunity to try out prior to the spring season. The coaches can have little or no input into the off-season programs, but they can keep their eyes open and get feedback from the volunteer coaches.
Another thing that our high school has used is a scrimmage type game. Kids will face live pitching (pitchers are facing live batters). Each batter gets 3 pitches. Teams rotate in the field every couple of innings. This allows 30 or so kids to show their skills in game type settings.
No matter what criteria you use, I hope it's fair and objective. Unfortunately, I've seen politics and personal relationships enter into some players being selected.
I'm not sure if this is the type of info you were looking for or not. Hope it helps.
Frozenrope-
You have to use ratings systems, and you need to be able to see the kids a bit before the tryouts. You have too many kids for too short a time to give an accurate scouting report just during the tryouts.
The idea is to test everything possible in the shortest amount of time. I run my tryouts as very intense auditions for playing time...the players are expected to display in these 3 days the type of player that they can be expected to be all year long. We start indoors, so this is tough...but we set the atmosphere up to force kids to prove themselves in every facet we can.
Good luck!
You have to use ratings systems, and you need to be able to see the kids a bit before the tryouts. You have too many kids for too short a time to give an accurate scouting report just during the tryouts.
The idea is to test everything possible in the shortest amount of time. I run my tryouts as very intense auditions for playing time...the players are expected to display in these 3 days the type of player that they can be expected to be all year long. We start indoors, so this is tough...but we set the atmosphere up to force kids to prove themselves in every facet we can.
Good luck!
Thanks Bizazz
Coach Knight,
What type of rating system do you use and what are some examples if you would?
What type of rating system do you use and what are some examples if you would?
How many do you expect to tryout?
How many new faces?
How many actual spots are available?
I think the main thing about tryouts if you are the incumbant coach is to have a good feel to where your weaknesses are and address those foremost.
How many new faces?
How many actual spots are available?
I think the main thing about tryouts if you are the incumbant coach is to have a good feel to where your weaknesses are and address those foremost.
The program that I have taken over three years ago had four teams with 16 kids per team with 85 kids going through try-outs. The past few years the numbers for try-outs have moved to 186 kids tring out for five team. Great for the program!
We keep 16 players on Varsity, 16 players on JV and 18 on Soph - the two freshman teams. We have 5-6 days to get it done (try-outs) and one week later the season starts.
As for spots on the team every year the field is clean and ready for new players no one is given there old position back they must earn it. Even the ones that have D1 colleges looking at them. If I give special treatment to one player, I could not look at myself in the Mirror!
I'm looking for a tryout evaluation system, form, ect..... I would be willing to share my evaluation with others. However, I would have to e-mail it to you.Would like to see others if they are willing as well?
We keep 16 players on Varsity, 16 players on JV and 18 on Soph - the two freshman teams. We have 5-6 days to get it done (try-outs) and one week later the season starts.
As for spots on the team every year the field is clean and ready for new players no one is given there old position back they must earn it. Even the ones that have D1 colleges looking at them. If I give special treatment to one player, I could not look at myself in the Mirror!
I'm looking for a tryout evaluation system, form, ect..... I would be willing to share my evaluation with others. However, I would have to e-mail it to you.Would like to see others if they are willing as well?
rz1,
you have a son that goes to u of chicago? Does he play baseball for Mike Dee????
you have a son that goes to u of chicago? Does he play baseball for Mike Dee????
Coach, if you haven't done so already, you might try posting your question to the COACH'S TIP forum. You might get some additional responses there.
Frozenrope,
you have a pm
As far as special treatment, I agree completly. However, with 180+ players at tryouts and only a few days to access talent, the hardest decisions involve "bubble" players and how they will fit. Sometmes the no-brainer picks are subconciously made in order spend more time determining the bubble creatures.
you have a pm
As far as special treatment, I agree completly. However, with 180+ players at tryouts and only a few days to access talent, the hardest decisions involve "bubble" players and how they will fit. Sometmes the no-brainer picks are subconciously made in order spend more time determining the bubble creatures.
All good suggestions but you also need to test their dedication to the game. One way to do this is to make it a requirement to run the mile in say 7.25 minutes, the next day 1.5 miles in 11 minutes and finally 2 miles in 15 minutes*. If they don't make the time they come in the next morning before school and run it again. This shows you the players who were dedicated enough to show up in shape and if they didn't think far enough ahead to do that at least they are willing to pay the price by coming in early in the morning.
Dedication to the game is very important and this is only one way to test it but you need to put them through the paces someway to find out who wants it.
* The times in my original post were probably a little to fast so they have been edited to reflect something more realistic for a highschool baseball player.
Dedication to the game is very important and this is only one way to test it but you need to put them through the paces someway to find out who wants it.
* The times in my original post were probably a little to fast so they have been edited to reflect something more realistic for a highschool baseball player.
BBFORLIFE
In this day and age of lawsuit happy parents this can be a dangerous means of culling players.
Most HS kids are not in shape for extensive running and many of todays parents consider it "child abuse".
I for one am old school and I have no problem with running but I ceased coaching LL teams because of the child abuse mentality of todays parents.
We recently had a HS coach suspended because of "running abuse" here in our area.
TRhit
In this day and age of lawsuit happy parents this can be a dangerous means of culling players.
Most HS kids are not in shape for extensive running and many of todays parents consider it "child abuse".
I for one am old school and I have no problem with running but I ceased coaching LL teams because of the child abuse mentality of todays parents.
We recently had a HS coach suspended because of "running abuse" here in our area.
TRhit
TRhit,
I hope your comments are tongue in check, because asking a kid to show up in shape and then asking them to run a mile or two is hardly abuse. Just a way for players demonstrate their dedication by showing up in shape and if they don't show up in shape they have to report in the morning before school for extra running to get in shape. This serves as a great way to see who is serious about baseball and who is not.
By the way this is nothing close to what football players at any school in Georgia and I assume the rest of the country have to go through so I don't see how there could ever be any legal action.
I hope your comments are tongue in check, because asking a kid to show up in shape and then asking them to run a mile or two is hardly abuse. Just a way for players demonstrate their dedication by showing up in shape and if they don't show up in shape they have to report in the morning before school for extra running to get in shape. This serves as a great way to see who is serious about baseball and who is not.
By the way this is nothing close to what football players at any school in Georgia and I assume the rest of the country have to go through so I don't see how there could ever be any legal action.
frozenrope-
We simply evaluate the kid 1-5 like the rest. However, we also have an area for individual spontaneous comments by the coaches and we always meet at the end of tryouts to discuss the cuts as a staff. We hole up in my classroom and go over every kid (after we place the "automatics" on the team - no sense wasting time) thoroughly in every area we can.
We rate his skills, but we also discuss what we see from each kid in terms of: listening/coachability, intelligence (grades in school are posted), previous coaches' comments (from as many as I can find), ht/wt, ceiling as a player (if not a senior),etc.
I have subscribed to the Bobby Knight rule (no jokes about the last name, please - and I think he's a classless putz despite his genius!) about cutting. I keep the 12 kids or so that I can see really fitting into the rotation in some way, and then I fill the rest of the roster with guys that are either projects or one-talent guys (speed, developing pitchers, bunters, bullpen catchers, etc.). I have found that the biggest pain in the butts are NOT the kids who sit at the end of the bench...the problems come from the kid who thinks for whatever reason that he should be starting. This was B. Knight's idea, and it has worked for me over the years.
Be honest with the kids upfront as to what you are doing, and make sure every coach in the system is 100% on board with it.
We simply evaluate the kid 1-5 like the rest. However, we also have an area for individual spontaneous comments by the coaches and we always meet at the end of tryouts to discuss the cuts as a staff. We hole up in my classroom and go over every kid (after we place the "automatics" on the team - no sense wasting time) thoroughly in every area we can.
We rate his skills, but we also discuss what we see from each kid in terms of: listening/coachability, intelligence (grades in school are posted), previous coaches' comments (from as many as I can find), ht/wt, ceiling as a player (if not a senior),etc.
I have subscribed to the Bobby Knight rule (no jokes about the last name, please - and I think he's a classless putz despite his genius!) about cutting. I keep the 12 kids or so that I can see really fitting into the rotation in some way, and then I fill the rest of the roster with guys that are either projects or one-talent guys (speed, developing pitchers, bunters, bullpen catchers, etc.). I have found that the biggest pain in the butts are NOT the kids who sit at the end of the bench...the problems come from the kid who thinks for whatever reason that he should be starting. This was B. Knight's idea, and it has worked for me over the years.
Be honest with the kids upfront as to what you are doing, and make sure every coach in the system is 100% on board with it.
BB
Not kidding--we have had coaches around here suspended for "running" the kids-
Like I say I have no problem with it but there are many who term it abuse
TRhit
Not kidding--we have had coaches around here suspended for "running" the kids-
Like I say I have no problem with it but there are many who term it abuse
TRhit
The kids should be running sprints not miles. What's the longest distance you'll have to run playing baseball?
wvmtner,
I understand baseball players run short distances but that doesn't mean they shouldn't have a good base of aerobic conditioning. Being aerobically fit helps when the weather heats up and you are in long games and double headers and is especially important for pitchers and catchers. In addition I was using this as an example for the first few days of tryouts to see who is committed by showing up in shape and if they don't show up in shape are they willing to do a little extra.
I understand baseball players run short distances but that doesn't mean they shouldn't have a good base of aerobic conditioning. Being aerobically fit helps when the weather heats up and you are in long games and double headers and is especially important for pitchers and catchers. In addition I was using this as an example for the first few days of tryouts to see who is committed by showing up in shape and if they don't show up in shape are they willing to do a little extra.
bbforlife
You're right. The only difference is I think there are good sprint workouts to get the kids in good aerobic shape and work on the muscles they need to play baseball. Catchers and Pitchers especially need powerful explosive legs to get them through the year.
You're right. The only difference is I think there are good sprint workouts to get the kids in good aerobic shape and work on the muscles they need to play baseball. Catchers and Pitchers especially need powerful explosive legs to get them through the year.
Thanks all for the input!!!!!!!!!