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The title of this post might seem like a trailer for a scary Halloween movie or a Mike Lupica book. But it can happen and does happen. The big question is how does it happen and then more importantly how should a coach approach the season.
Some grades will have a low turnout for a variety of reasons, but there is always hope until the 1st tryout that a few more bodies might show up.
The goals of a youth basketball tryouts are:
- Evaluate the Talent: The tryout should include drills, half-court, and full-court games that will allow the evaluation committee to see the skills level individual players
- Select 1 – 4 “Travel Teams:” This is often the most challenging aspect or a tryout because the differences between skill levels of youth basketball players, particularly at younger ages, is not always clear. Many parents will be sending emails to the coaches and directors once the teams are posted.
In this particular situation, 11 players showed up for the tryout. To put this in perspective the grade above this team had over 70 players tryout and there were 4 travel teams. The grade below also was very competitive and had over 50 players tryout.
What Should a Coach Do?
The best thing for a coach to do is stick with the tryout schedule. The coach surely spent a great deal of time preparing a variety of drills and games to assess the skill level of the players. This would be the team he/she will be coaching so it is an amazing opportunity to really focus on the players. The coach can evaluate basketball skills, but additionally work ethic and the ability to listen.
At this particular tryout it was clear there was one particular player who really had no interest in being there. Asking questions like “When will this be over?” and “Are we done yet?”
The good news was there were no cuts and no nasty emails to respond to. The bad news was there were no cuts and there were several, if not ALL players who did not possess the skills be on a “A” Travel Team.
Here is the 4th Grade Tryout schedule
Stay tuned… our next post will be about How to Coach the Worst Team in the League?