What were some of the good/bad tryouts you attended

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while hitting from a machine isnt akin to live pitching and hitting for a situation, it allows the coaches to see their form and adjustments. at Laser tryouts, some of the smarter girls moved to get a better bead on the ball and it's drop, did quite well, the ones who didnt struggled.

and as far as not using stopwatches, hey if they make em, use em
 
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On the timed running, it is "bat ping" to "base thump", whether ball is foul or not.

That is what we are trying to time with Explosion. We do not actually pitch the ball or use a machine. We just toss it in to make sure they hit it. It really doesn't take any longer than lining them up and saying go. By the time the girl running is finished, the next kid is ready for her turn.
 
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A couple of things:
1. If the org is only looking for two players, why have an "open" tryout, especially when you had already targeted 2 players, and start talking to the parents and kids while the other 40 girls are still doing thier thing? You might miss the girl who lights up your returning "Elite" pitcher 3 straight at-bats.

2. If you want to eval a pitcher, give her a catcher who can catch.

3. If an ump is calling balls and strikes, make sure he knows that SOME girls can actually throw pitches that move around the strike zone. It's really bad when you couple a bad catcher with a bad ump--he can't call balls and strikes when he is duck and covering on every pitch.

4. Have a dozen or so pitchers line up along the fence and just throw pitches to the catchers. The coaches don't even ask what pitches a girl has or what kind or location the girl is trying to pitch.
Are the coaches just looking for raw speed. Now that the rubber will be moving back to 43, girls that are 6 foot tall and only throw 60mph fastballs across the plate(meatball pitch). Won't be successful, even though that worked in 10's thru 14's.

5. Why have tryouts with all age divisions in one big group.

6. Why have open tryouts, but only looking for one girl and have most of your girls that are already on the team going thru the drills. Especially when all they are doing is goofing off and laughing about all of their errors. When you have 30 girls trying for one spot. Then you add your 10 players. You have 40 girls going thru one station at a time. ( waste of time)
 
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Very rarely does a coach extend an automatic invite to (potential) returning players. They all try out regardless of whether or not they were on the team. There are occasions where a player(s) that was on the team previously are no longer a fit with the team.

A player can choose to play for a team, but, ultimately they are chosen to play for a team.
 
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On time to first, we have them bunt 5 balls, first 3 are for bunting ability (they were instructed 3rd base, middle, first base sequentially) .... then drop the bat and run on the last two. Done with live "coach pitch". On the timed running, it is "bat ping" to "base thump", whether ball is foul or not. Point of this station, we get the following in a quick & combined session:

1. ability to follow directions
2. ability to bunt (and place bunts)
3. time H to 1B from their (real) stance in the box
4. a look at their footwork out of the box, running ability, "hit/run" coordination
5. We record the times for comparison of course, but also make notes. Example "very fast runner, but slow out of box", or "lefty slapper" ... we are left with an impression of "current ability", and "potential" ... (fwiw - just what we like for a specific, overall, and potential overview)

That worked very well this past weekend, and for all the reasons that you stated. Combined bunting, following instructions, and base-running in order to have an efficient use of our (and the players time).

Bat ping to base thump is a good indicator which takes some of the gray area out of when to start/stop their times.

On several players, we actually had 2 stop-watches going, and surprisingly, recorded identical times several times. If I had felt that I either hesitated or jumped the gun on a start or stop, we used the more accurate time of the two. They also had 2 opportunities to do this, so we averaged them out.

Some may see the stopwatch as splitting hairs, but it just gives us a general idea of their skills and quickness, and it's fair to the player. Many times, comments were made about a player "didn't look that fast", or "she looked faster than that", so perceptions might not meet reality. In this instance, a stopwatch is an un-biased indicator.
 
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My daughter attended the Diamonddogs tryouts on Saturday August 8th and it went really well. The coaches treated all of the girls like family and offered assistance when needed. The coaches explained to the parents what was expected and ran them through a series of warmups and drills. Although it rained for most of the day, the coaches kept the girls moving and I know my daughter had a blast! I have nothing but good things to say about their organization.
 
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My DD is a newbie to all of this and this year was our first real try-outs with several organizations. While not naming team names, the second organization she tried out for had horrible try-outs. The coach at the pitching machine did not use arm motions, used foam balls, shot the balls to the outside and instead of correcting it or seeing it, decided to measure the speed rather than think about why they were not batting. The stations were not staffed with enough coaches/volunteers to evaluate girls accurately. One coach apologized to a girl because the girl actually missed the fielding...what? In comparison, the third try-out was very well organized. You completed the paperwork, and before the try-outs the coaches talked to the parents about the organization, what was expected of the players as a player and as a team, logistics of fees, practice and tournaments. I was impressed because they were addressing the parents and our DDs. They were disciplined, organized and the stations were well ran to thoroughly evaluate each girl trying out. They followed up communication via email to provide a status of 1) she made it 2) she didn't or 3) they're interested but still have try-outs. We also experienced this with the first try-out as well. Overall, it was a positive experience for us. I appreciated the time and efforts the coaches make in evaluating the girls. One coach approached us and stated that our DD was watched on the field and off the field for attitude and poise and it was stated our DD was very "coachable". So players, yes, they do watch you on and off the fields. But we as parents should watch the coaches as well. You can really tell a lot by verbal and body language, how they talk and treat the girls. The example I used of a coach apologizing...well that told me that coach most likely will be disrespected by the players and you can't have that. Players must respect their teammates, respect their coaches, respect theirselves and respect the game! :)
 
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We measured home-first and home-second times by front tossing a ball at them. Clock started with bat contact. It worked out great. We told the girls to make contact first - then run... it gave us a look at their bunting technique and how well they got out of the box. My DD is a lefty, slaps... had her do a straight bunt then the 2nd attempt (each girl went twice) had her slap bunt.. amazing difference in time .. by slap bunting she shaved off a big chunk of time.....

Lastly, we had them slide into second ... got to see speed, bunting and sliding in 1 drill ...
 
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How many times do you see girls that can't slide??? Should be a part of a tryout as well. Costs way too many runs during a summer when they can't.
 
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What do you guys think about coaches hitting balls to the outfield using bats? I understand that an outfielder will never know where or how a ball will come to them but what is the purpose of having a girls get to a spot and having a coaches hit the ball so far out of her reach it just make them look bad! I can see using this method in outfield practice but what are you looking for at a tryout! Most of the girls will not be playing outfield and I thought the intent was to just look at form! We were at a tryout and this happened for almost 45 minutes where a coach just through the ball up and hit it! Most of the time the balls were uncatchable! What does that prove!

my 7 yr old dd can catch a flyball if she does not have to move i like to see them move take angles round ball properly
 
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Just my 2 cents! Have everyone register then divide into equal teams and scrimmage live, rotate the kids every inning and evaluate. I've seen kids that bat .800 off a machine and then hit .125 for the season, seen kids that can catch the ball that is right at them, but nothing left-right or over their head. Seen kids run like the wind, but couldn't get the required jump off the release to steal a base. There is no exact science to this, but we all know an athlete and a ball player when we see one! JMO
 
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"Very rarely does a coach extend an automatic invite to (potential) returning players. "

4Carrs? I ask with all due respect, are you out of your mind? I went to a tryout recently where they had about 50 girls show up. They had you fill out a form. One of the questions on the form was: "Would it be all right if outfield was your primary position?" Two of the girls there were absolute standouts-- hitting, fielding and running. One was a shortstop. One was a third baseman. Each answered the the question about being primarily an outfielder, "NO." Neither was offered a spot on the team.

Clearly, they were looking for one or two outfielders-- maybe a pitcher-- and nothing more. Clearly it didn't matter how good of a hitter anyone NOT willing to play outfield was. The infield spots were NOT open.

If it had been a subtle character test, the question would have been worded differently: "Would you be willing to play outfield part time?"

It's absolutely amazing gall to me that some coaches and organizations can lie, cheat and manipulate players and parents at will --- and then criticize the players and parents who say something about it.

Here's a tip: As soon as I saw that question on the form, I said: "There's no way I'd want my daughter to play for this team. How could the coach be fair about ANYTHING if he/she wasn't willing to consider putting a new player on the infield if that player proved she was better than the ones returning?"
 
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Just my 2 cents! Have everyone register then divide into equal teams and scrimmage live, rotate the kids every inning and evaluate. I've seen kids that bat .800 off a machine and then hit .125 for the season, seen kids that can catch the ball that is right at them, but nothing left-right or over their head. Seen kids run like the wind, but couldn't get the required jump off the release to steal a base. There is no exact science to this, but we all know an athlete and a ball player when we see one! JMO
^^^ words of wisdom !
 
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I agree with the pitching machine, but any coach that is only looking to see if you can hit off a machine isn't worth much! I watch a kid swing to see HOW they swing, not if they hit the ball. I have also seen kids that can't hit worth a **** off a machine and bat over 400. Had one last year . So coaches must do some work, or at least know how to judge players skills. I think that is more of an issue. Do the Barry Bonds drill off the machine and you will find out more than just standing there hitting balls. I did see a post above about a kid pounding them off the machine, but I know that kid can't hit a change up if her life depended on it. Those are weaknesses that a coach must observe, or know how to teach a kid to correct.
 
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I got an idea, lets use the machines at the batting cages because they have an arm. A batting machine at a tryout could be used to throw ground balls and flyballs, lol! Most Org's have a team at each specific age, so I cant think of a reason not to hold a 2 way or 3 way scrimmage to get a true evaluation since it is only known as 10U 12U 14U 16U 18U, and not 11U 13U 15U 17U. SBFamily, any kid can hit a change up as long as they know its coming, but if you do the scrimmage then you will be able to confirm what you say with about 50% of the kids at a tryout. LOL
 
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I agree with the pitching machine, but any coach that is only looking to see if you can hit off a machine isn't worth much! I watch a kid swing to see HOW they swing, not if they hit the ball. I have also seen kids that can't hit worth a **** off a machine and bat over 400. Had one last year . So coaches must do some work, or at least know how to judge players skills. I think that is more of an issue. Do the Barry Bonds drill off the machine and you will find out more than just standing there hitting balls. I did see a post above about a kid pounding them off the machine, but I know that kid can't hit a change up if her life depended on it. Those are weaknesses that a coach must observe, or know how to teach a kid to correct.

Totally agree. DD hates pitching machines and would rather read the pitcher and show that she can hit the off speed and motions pitches. It's what counts in the end.
 
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Wow, this thread has 12,000+ views. And I thought some of the tryout threads had a lot of views.
 
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Truth, that was more like wishful thinking on my part. Traditionally, our coaches have not extended an automatic invite to the team for returning players. All must earn the position. On the subject of being out of my mind, talk to my wife.
 
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we invite all of ours back on the last day if they have automatic "bids". All of my players usely choose to come to all tryouts. This year I asked several not to come back till the last day to make sure we can evaluate the new comers early on.
 

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