Serious Tryout Question - appricate Coaches input

[kc0602]

We have completed our first tryout after being 2 years in travel. Noticed our daughter had weak throws through the fielding portion. For the life of us we could not figure out if it was just the anxiety over trying out or what. We know she's fully capable of a great throw down, especially from 3rd - 1st. She was not happy with herself at all either, come to find out, she was trying to focus more on the feet movement the coach had discussed prior to the drill rather than showing her strength of a good strong throw. We told her she is better off showing she has a strong, accurate throw as the feet will always come and that is something she will learn as she progresses. She feels if she did not focus on the foot movement, the coach would view her as not listening.

So, the million dollar question..... as a coach, if a girl did not show the foot movement properly, but had a strong, steady, accurate throw, would you doc her points for that? All travel teams are different, different caliber, different coaching, and this is what we are looking for. That next level.

Our daughter is a strong competitive young lady and we have always stressed to listen to your coach, but we now have this fine line of what I guess she perceives as "don't listen" and throw the ball the way you know how to and can. I really would like the input.

Thanks!

 

[BigZ]

Sent you a private message

 

[Td16]

When I have a girl tryout for me I don't look at how she listens, I look at her ability to compete and how she will gel with our existing group, how can you expect a kid who you have never met to listen "trust" what you are saying. Obviously your player is comfortable with one particular footing and for a coach to ask her to change it on the fly after many years of ball is absurd.

 

[kc0602]

Thanks Td16. It was a situation where after once through the drill, the person running it stopped all the girls and proceeded to show what she was not seeing. To me, it was more of they just needed to attack the ball more. Our daughter is that of the 'literal' sense so if they said spin and throw, she will try to spin and throw. This was a particular try out that she really wanted to shine, which she did through other drills. It's our first go around as we have been with same team so I just thought I would through the question out there. Thanks again for input, it definitely confirms what we originally thought.. just do your thing!

 

[HITTER23]

You should watch what the player 'brings to the table" first, and not try to change something in the middle of a tryout. They are there to show you what skills they have for the purpose of making your team. A tryout is really not the time to be introducing different techniques to the player.

 

[WSHEELY]

when I hold tryouts, I let the girls know that I don't instruct at all. I want to see their ability and mechanics. Tryouts in my opinion are not meant to "instruct" or coach a player, it's strictly to evaluate what the player already knows.

 

[daytonfp]

I agree with these points....at tryouts, I believe, a coach should focus on the player and their current skills, are they athletic, are they a good fit for the team. As for coachability, you want athletes that are coachable, but I think that can be "taught" to the players by the coach if need be. IE...if you don't listen and work to correct mechanical errors, you may see less game time until you show me you can do that.

 

[kc0602]

I truly appreciate all the feedback. I am not sure if it was true 'coaching' necessarily, but obviously something they were looking for to what I am guessing is a fundamental. I'm truly confused by it and hate that in mentally got in daughters head. But, that too is a lesson learned. Since she has played travel 2 years, also on a 15U and filled in a few times for an 18U, her fundamentals must not be all that bad.

Again, only asking due to new experience since we are now trying to find that fit... extra drive.. learning, etc. for next level and competitiveness that will compliment and challenge an already competitive young lady who thrives off those around her. I plan on reading these to her to confirm that she needs to show just go out there and show her skill and not worry about the chatter. Which in reading, sounds like may not even be an issue moving forward. Thanks again all for your time responding!

 

[Run26]

IMO (highly stressed), coaches should not truly "coach" at a tryout. This is the time for the player to show you her talent/potential in a tough environment. Let them perform with the skill set they came to the dirt with. If you do too much coaching for one it could be misconstrued as showing favoritism which may be an issue for some.

Stress the mechanics/results you are looking for to the whole group versus singling out participants. If the player has talent and you offer her a position then work on the tweaks you think would make her a better player in your vision.

 

[wpaguy]

I'm going to take the other side just for the sake of argument. It's true coaches are tying out potential players. But Parents are watching coaches, coaching during a tryout is not a bad thing in my opinion. So think about it , the coaches are also trying for parents.

 

[CARDS]

You should watch what the player 'brings to the table" first, and not try to change something in the middle of a tryout. They are there to show you what skills they have for the purpose of making your team. A tryout is really not the time to be introducing different techniques to the player.

Our tryouts always had a lot of ladies in each age group. The drills we ran were demonstrated by existing players and included ball approach, some diving, directional movement, various throwing angles/directions.
If we used tryout time to instruct on technique or what the player is doing different you would never get through the process.

I would go with what the lady is comfortable doing. Good coaches can see potential in players or where a little tweaking can improve performance. Effort, Encouragement, Keeping head up goes a long way in a tryout...