Tryout Evaluation Forms

Print one player form for each evaluator and each player, and one ranking sheet for the whole tryout. Each evaluator scores every skill from 1 to 5 as the player works through the stations, writes a note while it is fresh and adds the total. After the tryout, copy each player's scores to the ranking sheet and rank by total, then talk through the close calls as a staff.

A tryout guide for coaches

Before the tryout. Decide what the team needs: pitchers, a catcher, a shortstop, speed. Pick two to four evaluators who do not have a child trying out, and agree on what a 3 looks like before the first player arrives. Number every player at check-in so evaluators score a number, not a name.

Run stations, not a scrimmage. Five or six stations (hitting, ground balls, fly balls, throwing, a 60-yard dash and a short scrimmage or situations round) get every player the same looks. Rotate groups of four to six players every ten to twelve minutes, and have each evaluator stay at one station so the scoring stays consistent.

Score as you watch. Score each skill on the 1 to 5 scale right after the player's turn and put a number and a few words in the notes. Evaluators who wait until the end of the day remember the best and the worst players and little between.

Rank, then decide. Add each evaluator's totals, average them on the ranking sheet and sort. The numbers settle the top and the bottom. The middle is where the notes, positions needed and attitude decide, and where a second look at a callback day is fair to the players.

Tell every player something. Players who made it need practice dates; those who did not deserve one honest sentence about what to work on. Keep the forms for a few weeks in case a parent asks how the decision was made.