For some youth baseball players, tryouts are intimidating and
can affect a player
’s self esteem for the upcoming season, especially the younger
ones who will be facing live pitching for the first time. It’s not
easy for most kids to perform in front of group of adults who are
evaluating their skills.
For some youth baseball players, tryouts are intimidating and can affect a player’s self esteem for the upcoming season, especially the younger ones who will be facing live pitching for the first time. It’s not easy for most kids to perform in front of group of adults who are evaluating their skills.
However, it doesn’t have to be an uneasy day for the players or parents. Relaxation and preparation are the keys. If you know what’s going to take place at the tryouts then practice those things. And you need to start right now, not two or three days before the tryouts. If you want to make an impression with your talent and skills then go out and start working on them.
With hundreds of players trying out each year in thousands of leagues nationwide, no one has found a surefire way to get these kids though in one day and really showcase their true talent. There just isn’t enough time. I’ve seen Major League tryout camps and it’s the same scenario.
As a player, you’ll have to make an impact in a limited amount of swings, groundballs and fly balls. Your running speed and how hard you throw the ball will also be evaluated. Knowing this, parents should go out and spend some quality time hitting grounders to their kids, play long toss to get the arm in shape and hit some balls – whether it’s off a tee, against a screen or live pitching. Going to a batting cage is also good.
So what are coaches looking for in a tryout? Well, it’s a given they’ll want to snap up the good players. But what coaches are really looking for is that diamond in the rough – the player who can complement their team and who has a lot of potential.
From a physical standpoint, coaches are looking for bat speed at the plate, arm strength on the throw after fielding a ground ball and hand-eye coordination on catching a fly ball. Running speed and the ability to pitch are pluses.
Keeping that in mind, players need to swing the bat hard and make solid contact. They need to cut loose and throw the ball with some authority across the infield.
Don’t worry how far you hit the ball or about throwing it over the fielder’s head. And don’t worry about making mistakes. Everyone in baseball makes them, and the coaches doing the evaluations aren’t concerned about one or two missed grounders, or a swing and a miss.
As parents, make it easy for your kids by telling them to focus on one skill at a time, take deep breaths and treat the tryout like a practice. And tell your kids to hustle and have an enthusiastic attitude. It doesn’t take talent for that.
If you prepare your player in a relaxed mode, they won’t be nervous and tentative, their expectations won’t be confused and they won’t worry about what everyone thinks, including their peers.
Putting all these ingredients together will have your children feeling good about themselves at the end of the tryout day.
And most likely, some coaches will be feeling good about their showing on the field!
Rich Taylor is the owner, head instructor and CEO of Taylor Made Baseball. He is a former pitching coach at Pepperdine University and Chicago White Sox scout. He founded the West Coast Baseball School. He has 26 years of youth coaching experience and wrote the book ‘Molding the Young Pitcher.’ His column appears on the first and third Tuesdays of the month.
