As a coach, it's your job to create the best basketball team possible using the players you have at your disposal. Whether you're a recreation-league, middle- or high-school coach, assessing the skills and abilities of the players who attend tryouts is paramount to finding that diamond in the basketball rough.
Evaluate Your Strengths and Needs
Before you even set foot on the court for tryouts, one of the most important things you can do as a coach is evaluate your returning players, how they have progressed over the off-season and what your team's strengths and weaknesses are. This allows you to set goals and priorities for your tryouts. For example, if your star point guard graduated last year, you'll need to have your eye out for players who have decision-making skills and superior ball handling. Write down three to four of these objectives and focus on them as you conduct your tryouts.
Use Drills to Assess Players' Skills
Drills aren't just effective for seeing what players can do with specific basketball skills such as shooting, passing and dribbling, but they also help you see which players know how to listen to, process and follow instructions. Look for the intangibles while you're conducting tryout drills. Pay attention to which players are focusing on your instructions and which players are staring off into space. Look for players who make the extra effort during drills and who are earnestly seeking to improve, rather than those who are trying to show off.
Conduct an Organized Scrimmage
A scrimmage is one of the most effective ways for you to see which players have the complete package, but just throwing players out on the court for a glorified pick-up game can be a waste of time. Organize all of the tryout participants into groups based on position. Create team matchups that will help you learn more about a certain player's abilities and the way they interact with their teammates. Consider hiring a crew of referees to officiate the scrimmage to create the most realistic game environment possible.
Be Professional About Cutting Players
After the on-court action is done, cutting players is still a part of tryouts that every coach must face. Simply putting a sheet of paper on the wall with cut players may be the easiest option, but its not necessarily the most effective. After all, you never know which player will work hard and come back next season ready to be a part of the team. Talk to the players you cut and give them one or two points to work on for the next time they try out. If any of the cut players demonstrated leadership abilities but didn't have the skills to make the cut, consider using them as team managers or practice players.
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