Basketball Tryout Coaching Strategy

[tag]Basketball Tryouts[/tag] Stink.

There is no way around it- athletes, parents,
and coaches alike tend to have a bad feeling
in their stomachs before tryout day.

The fact of the matter is that as basketball
gets more competitive, tryouts and CUTS become
a necessary evil.

If you are coaching at a level where tryouts
“come with the territory”, here’s a tryout technique
that is worth its weight in gold:

*DOCUMENT YOUR BASKETBALL TRYOUTS*

Don’t just write down where you had them and who
attended.

You need to have a log of every kid who came out and
detailed notes on how they stacked up to their competition.

This is critical.

You know why?

It is your paper-trail in case your selections are ever
brought into question.

Quick Story–>

I had the ever so uncomfortable job of cutting the
Superintendents son 2 years ago.

He tried out for the Freshman team and it was a train wreck from day 1.

Basically, he was far from being even “on the bubble”.

So- The kid gets cut.

I get a call from the Athletic Director the next day
(big surprise).

He takes a “what are you thinking cutting this kid tone”.

Luckily for me, I had a copy of my“
“Team Selection Matrix” from the tryouts.

I developed my Team Selection Matrix years ago and use
it during EVERY TRYOUT.

The matrix makes the selection process more scientific,
and gives you a tremendous amount of credibility if your
picks are ever called into question.

And if you coach long enough, trust me, it will happen!

This is why I’ve included an entire Bonus Book Devoted
to holding basketball Tryouts with my basketball Drills & Practice
Plans:

The Bonus Book includes the basketball matrix, you can print it
out and use it yourself.

Bottom line: tryout documentation is KEY!

Cheers,

Pat