For many of the players attending the Player Evaluations / Tryouts in early September this will be the first time they’ve participated in a “tryout”. In an ideal world, we’d be able to provide every player attending the evaluation an opportunity to play on a Bombers team. Our limitations on the number of teams we can accommodate is driven by our available practice gym space and the number of coaches willing to volunteer their time. Our purpose for the evaluation is to get a feel for the skill level of the players and to do our best to match skill levels when creating the teams.
Why is matching skill level important?
For several reasons we’ll do our best to match skill levels when assembling teams. It’s possible we’ll only have one team in several of the grade levels so separating players based on their current skill level won’t be necessary. In those grade levels where we do have enough players to support multiple teams we will be looking to strategically assemble teams to afford all players the best chance to enjoy their experience and develop as a player.
When players of varying skill levels are on the same team it becomes difficult to structure practices tailored to the specific needs of the individual players. Additionally, when teams aren’t as evenly matched the less developed / less experienced players just don’t get the touches and opportunity to learn how to incorporate the skills they are developing in game conditions. These less experienced players just naturally tend to defer to their more experienced teammates which inhibits growth and development. Kids mature at different speeds and its important we take a long term approach to developing these young athletes, so there’s no need to rush a player into a situation that will only turn them away from the game if we can prevent it. I can go on and on about this topic but you hopefully understand where we’re coming from here.
So what should your child expect when they arrive at the gym on evaluation night(s)?
When players arrive at Wentzville South Middle School they will check in with us before entering the gym. Each player will be assigned a number which will be attached with a safety pin to the back of their shirt.
Each player should be in comfortable athletic clothing and bring a basketball with them to the tryout
Players will be taken through a dynamic warm up before quickly moving into a series of simple to perform drills in the following areas –
- ball handling
- passing
- shooting
Throughout each of the various phases and drills the players take part in, it’s important to understand players are being evaluated on their energy level, effort level and general attitude during the practice. We realize we’re working with kids here and if mistakes aren’t being made they aren’t pushing themselves outside their comfort zone. We, as coaches, aren’t worried about mistakes at this point and we’ll be sure to communicate this to the kids before they take the court. We’ll do everything we can to create a fun environment for the kids to showcase what level they are at in the various fundamental skill areas.
We will then randomnly separate the players into teams for a variety of competitive games. We’ll rotate the teams around so they get the chance to face different opponents during this phase of the evaluation.
Players are invited to participate on any of the nights specified for their grade level, however we realize the kids are involved with other activities and may have conflicts. If they are only able to attend one of the sessions, we’ll want to know that when they check in so we’re sure to note that on our Evaluators Checklist.
We will be recording each session on video which will make it easier for coaches following the evaluation to go back and put a face to a name to a number.
Following the players session they will be asked to leave the gym area to make room for the next group / grade level coming in.
It will likely be the end of the second week before any decisions are made regarding how teams will be assigned. More information on the schedule following our Player Evaluation / Tryout will be available as we get closer to September.
If you have any additional questions about what to expect in early September, please feel free to email Dustin HERE.
