Preparing for Your Organizations Tryouts

Preparing for Your Organizations Tryouts:

As many organizations will soon be sitting down for their executives meeting and setting the date for upcoming tryouts. One has to wonder what kind of true assessment can be made on a number of players who haven’t touched a ball or bat since last season.  Sure some are in winter training and will do just fine and coaches will be able to give those a fair assessment, but others  will be tough to gage due to lack of baseball activity for the last few month.  It is true that some organizations set this date in February and for the most part the number of opportunities the players get to hit, field and throw will hardly give a coach a chance to make a fair assessment, especially if they try to hold the event outside on a cold day – Yikes, is it actually snowing……… As a coach/evaluator, I know I’ll notice those raw athletes, I know I’ll notice those that have done some winter training with a coach and those that are the grassroots player, but how do I decipher that huge group of Hmmmm’s.  As a coach/evaluator I think I’d have to be that guy that would try to look for the upside of a player and dare to dream on how good he could be once he’s tuned up and we shake off some of that rust.  Maybe we should do this in the fall when the weathers nicer – another topic – another day….. None the less, “it is what it is” and I guess our goal as a parent is how can we prepare our sons and daughters to put their best foot forward during these assessments.

Here are a few suggestions:

• Know the date of the evaluation, the duration of the evaluation and whether it is inside or out – whether could be an issue and we must dress and prepare accordingly.
• If you can find out the procedure of the evaluation – hitting off a T or a machine?, pitching from a mound or just playing catch? If you can duplicate the drills that might be done that day your child will be more comfortable with the process.
• Show up early to make sure your signed in and things aren’t rushed.
• In preparation for the day – Maybe dust off the equipment sooner that one week prior to the tryouts.
  • Get out or go to a gym and play catch with your child. Don’t be afraid to increase the distance of the throws.
  • Roll them some ground balls, throw them fly balls and have them execute the throw back to you.
  • Take some swings in the garage or get into a facility and have them actually hit a ball. If the evaluation is off a pitching machine, then see if you can use a pitching machine.
  • Dress them up to look like a ballplayer.  Jeans with the shirt hanging out and no hat – doesn’t cut it.
  • Let them know to just have fun and don’t worry about the guy with the clipboard. No matter what happens that day the ice cream at the DQ will still taste great.