This week.....Team Try-outs!!!!

Team Try-outs?!?!?!?!?!?

I have been doing a lot of player evaluation the last few months from helping with USA Baseball’s NTIS Series in North Carolina, Houston Area high school MERTO Scout League, and I have been working a lot the last few weeks helping local youth teams with their try-outs for the up coming spring season. I live in Texas so spring baseball starts on the 2^nd week of January. I have a few thoughts for both coaches and parents during this the try-out season for youth teams and soon for the high school parents as your sons go through try-outs next month. We will talk to Youth Coaches…today the neighborhood team……

Youth Coaches: The best player on the field is not always the best player for your team. What!!! Are your crazy!!!!!!! What if that player comes with a dad that was the league batting average champ 4 years running at the Southfield Little League back in 1960s and knows everything about everything? What if the player says that he will only play SS and Pitcher, nothing else? What if the dad comes up to you with the kids stats from the last 3 years and shows you that the kids hits best in the three hole on day game, but hits better in the 4 hole at night games. This might seam crazy but this are all true statements that I have heard over the years.

The most important key in evaluating players for your team is know what is your “team and/or coaching philosophy”. I have been a part of teams were the team philosophy was winning a high school state championship was the only goal, or winning the elite worlds series in the youth division, or winning AUU Jr. Olympics. I have also been parts of teams where the philosophy was to develop players that have yet to reach their true potential. There also the neighborhood or little league team philosophy where everybody gets an at bat and plays one inning and gets a trophy.

NEIGHBORHOOD TEAMS:

When picking this type of team as a coach you are restricted by rules of the league. Most of the time this means kids who live within a district are the only kids eligible for your team. All those kids from that district come out for a try out and the coaches have a draft right after that. The key to getting the best players from these types of open drafts is to ask the best players’ dads to be your asst. coaches. During the try-out list the kids in alphabetical order with the letter “A” next to the best player and so on and so on. You will want to pick kids that are athletes. Not that all athletes are good baseball players but at the metro/little league level the athletes will help you with speed, strength and natural reaction. You can take a good athlete and turn him into a very good baseball player. Also look for kids that are not afraid of catching the ball. A key to winning is being able to play catch. You can teach them all to throw the ball but many are still afraid of catching the ball. So rate the kids that are not afraid catching balls high. So build your team on athletes that are not afraid to catch the baseball and have your list ready before you sit down with the other coaches.

Any thoughts from coaches that have been through this process?????????