Tryouts Obsvervation, younger ages...

[volleykmk]

I am anxious to hear how coaches truly evaluate the players at the younger ages.... U9/U10 levels. Supposedly these teams are looking for full teams. Yet these organizations already have 5-6+ "parent helpers" already. Add on to that when you have 15-20+ girls show up to one session, and you hit a few balls to them in the field, throw/hit a few popups to them in the outfield, take a few swings, and have them run a couple of times - all the while the head coach is walking around talking to the parents/coaches and not watching every girl do every drill - how are you TRULY evaluating these girls? Especially at the 9U level - very few girls stick out among the rest - so how are these coaches coming up with the 10-12 best girls??? Just curious!

 

[CARDS]

I am anxious to hear how coaches truly evaluate the players at the younger ages.... U9/U10 levels. Supposedly these teams are looking for full teams. Yet these organizations already have 5-6+ "parent helpers" already. Add on to that when you have 15-20+ girls show up to one session, and you hit a few balls to them in the field, throw/hit a few popups to them in the outfield, take a few swings, and have them run a couple of times - all the while the head coach is walking around talking to the parents/coaches and not watching every girl do every drill - how are you TRULY evaluating these girls? Especially at the 9U level - very few girls stick out among the rest - so how are these coaches coming up with the 10-12 best girls??? Just curious!

At 8-10U it is about developing a foundation for player growth and to have fun. As the players grow the Ws start to grow as well.

Tryouts at this age group is a scary time for players so the coach should actually spend a little more time talking to them and modeling what they are looking for.
I know a lot will say that a tryout is to see what skill sets the player brings not a practice but at the younger ages they have not developed skill sets yet and most learn by watching not by having a coach tell them what they are looking for.

A lot of times coaches and parents have unrealistic expectations of the players abilities and the team at this age. Over the years I have seen a lot of young ladies show up with dads 14" glove and big brothers bat, no helmet or one they have to look out the ear hole, flip flops etc so, it is a learning opportunity for mom and dad as well.

As far as what I looked for in order:
1st Desire, did they want to be there or was mom or dad making them go.
2nd Focus, could they stand in line and follow basic instructions
3rd Feedback, would the player ask questions, cheer and support the others trying out.
4th Fear was the player scared to be there, not wanting to field or hit and not interacting with the other players.
5th Overall Athleticism

 

[Ri-domination]

I think there is a lot that can be seen easily. Such as, hustle, attitude, athletic ability, do they track the ball well to the bat and glove, are they scared of the ball ( that's a big one IMO), ect. A good coach will be willing to develop at a young age, but I would think things like I just mentioned give a good platform to start with. With that all being said, kids get missed. Its easy to pass on a kid you've only seen for a couple of hours, they may be having a bad day, not feeling well, nervous, whatever. Its not a perfect process but there are things to look for that aren't hard to notice.

 

[volleykmk]

That is what I thought coaches would be looking for at these young ages... athleticism and willing to learn. My DD tried out for 3 organizations and got offers at 2/3, but didn't get an offer at the 3rd place, the one she really wanted. I really felt like no one really watched her at this 3rd organization. She is extremely athletic (as mentioned by the 2 other coaches) - extremely quick, has a good glove, can play any position. But she is raw. She had never bunted before, only hit off a pitching machine twice. But when you crank the pitching machine up in the 50s and the 10 year olds that had your organization's uniform on was missing every single ball - how can you expect the 9 year olds to get there and hit the ball? The head coach wasn't there for most of the tryout, and when he did show up - he spent the entire time talking to a 3 sets of parents. It was just a poorly run tryout by a supposed "high-end" organization, IMHO, of course.

 

[FastBat]

Good luck, 9u is a rough age, plus this is a hard time of year! I think parents should look for a coach, that genuinely like their dd! I think many parents (I'm not suggesting you, and I'm including myself at one point!) worry too much about what team their child is playing for, rather than your child feeling comfortable and wanted! If coaches aren't giving your child a look, maybe it's not your child's fault, maybe the coach just likes a different type of player or coach already has that position filled.

I feel like when things like that happen (coach not paying attention to your child at tryouts), consider it a blessing, would you rather your child make the team and coach ignored her all year? Keep going to tryouts and something will happen! I promise keep working hard, tenacity will be the key, never let some stupid (tongue in cheek, no offense) 10u coach, discourage your daughter at softball! But, actually that can be applied to anything in life, that's why we want our daughters playing softball...Right?!

 

[SMc4SMc]

My family attended four tryouts this year versus 2 last year, we always arrive very early and stay late. With that being said, I've seen tryouts 9/10U and 11/12U where nearly 3 teams could be formed in each division immediately from the 30+ girls who were there. The girls are so close in each category, but familiarity seemed to be a difference maker even in the case of some better athletes. Gut instincts, Sabemetrics, networking. .. its tough... best success to all and the proper growth of youth fastpitch softball.

 

[frenchy101010]

My 9u tried out for one team (private tryout), it was the team she really wanted to be on. We missed all of the other tryouts due to us coming to Florida. We really took a big chance by just doing the one tryout, but last night we got a call, and she made the team. Even for a private tryout we had 3 other team mates show up and another girl trying out too. They really made it easier for her having other girls there. The three team mates went through all the same drills as my DD, they timed all, they watched all, Head Coach treated everyone the same, really good private tryout.