Running basketball tryouts effectively requires some thought and planning. You don't want to go into tryouts and simply have players scrimmage for two hours. You also don't want to run a half hour of layups. So what do you do, then, in order to provide players the best opportunity to show you how they handle the basketball?
Here's the way I deal with tryouts: split each tryout practice into three sections, and use each section to observe a different skill set.
Section 1: Conditioning Start off with some drills that will test who is in shape and who isn't. The better shape your players are in at the start of the tryouts, the less time you have to spend on conditioning in pre-season and the more time you can devote to developing fundamentals and team play.
Run conditioning drills like the 30-30 conditioning drill for basketball and sprint drills, and note players' conditioning levels as well as their hustle. I find conditioning drills at the beginning of basketball tryouts are not just good for gauging fitness level, but attitude and determination as well.
Section 2: Skills There are different ways to test skills level. The usual method is to have them do layups and count the number made, or to shoot and count the number made, etc. What I have used that I feel works best for this is skills stations. You could use these at any time in the season to get a feel for how well your players skills are progressing, but tryouts is an opportune time to put these stations into action.
The stations you use can be any combination of skills drills that you want to test - if you want to know how well players can shoot, you can give them a series that includes one station for jump shots, one for foul shots, one for shooting threes, one where they shoot with a defensive player pressuring them, and so on. If you wanted to focus on passing, same idea but with passing drills.
The series I use has eight stations and includes a range of skills like shooting, passing, ballhandling, rebounding, and defense. Each station has points attached to successfully completing it, and so at the end you have a quantitative value to associate with each player, which helps you get a grip on their skills level not just overall, but also on who appears to be a good shooter, who will likely be the better ballhandler, the defensive specialist, and so on.
On a side note, I wouldn't use the stations in the first basketball tryout session. Instead, I would review the skills that will be used in the stations, having players perform each of the skills in pairs so you can observe and correct, and so players should be better prepared to use them in the next tryout session.
Section 3: Scrimmage You need to see how they handle themselves in a game situation, and here you can look for how well players will work in the bigger picture - do they see the open man and give up the ball to a teammate in better scoring position? or do they hog the ball and want all the glory for themselves? Do they hustle back on defense, or jog back after making a basket? Do they demonstrate leadership? Do they fight for loose balls? Do they go up for the rebound again and again until they get it?
Don't be afraid to mix it up a little - e.g., don't use the same drills every session - but at the same time you don't want to get too complicated. Most of your drills should be easy to follow, as you are really trying to observe skills or attributes. But tossing in one drill occasionally that may be a little complex would be a good way to observe who can follow instructions and adapt to change.
In all this, you want help. Preferably several knowledgeable people who can be more eyes for you and see things you may not. Especially important during the stations, where you would really prefer to have one assistant at each station.
Organizing and conducting effective basketball tryouts isn't easy, but it does set the stage for decisions you will need to work with all season, so you want to do a good job.
Good luck!
Here's the way I deal with tryouts: split each tryout practice into three sections, and use each section to observe a different skill set.
Section 1: Conditioning Start off with some drills that will test who is in shape and who isn't. The better shape your players are in at the start of the tryouts, the less time you have to spend on conditioning in pre-season and the more time you can devote to developing fundamentals and team play.
Run conditioning drills like the 30-30 conditioning drill for basketball and sprint drills, and note players' conditioning levels as well as their hustle. I find conditioning drills at the beginning of basketball tryouts are not just good for gauging fitness level, but attitude and determination as well.
Section 2: Skills There are different ways to test skills level. The usual method is to have them do layups and count the number made, or to shoot and count the number made, etc. What I have used that I feel works best for this is skills stations. You could use these at any time in the season to get a feel for how well your players skills are progressing, but tryouts is an opportune time to put these stations into action.
The stations you use can be any combination of skills drills that you want to test - if you want to know how well players can shoot, you can give them a series that includes one station for jump shots, one for foul shots, one for shooting threes, one where they shoot with a defensive player pressuring them, and so on. If you wanted to focus on passing, same idea but with passing drills.
The series I use has eight stations and includes a range of skills like shooting, passing, ballhandling, rebounding, and defense. Each station has points attached to successfully completing it, and so at the end you have a quantitative value to associate with each player, which helps you get a grip on their skills level not just overall, but also on who appears to be a good shooter, who will likely be the better ballhandler, the defensive specialist, and so on.
On a side note, I wouldn't use the stations in the first basketball tryout session. Instead, I would review the skills that will be used in the stations, having players perform each of the skills in pairs so you can observe and correct, and so players should be better prepared to use them in the next tryout session.
Section 3: Scrimmage You need to see how they handle themselves in a game situation, and here you can look for how well players will work in the bigger picture - do they see the open man and give up the ball to a teammate in better scoring position? or do they hog the ball and want all the glory for themselves? Do they hustle back on defense, or jog back after making a basket? Do they demonstrate leadership? Do they fight for loose balls? Do they go up for the rebound again and again until they get it?
Don't be afraid to mix it up a little - e.g., don't use the same drills every session - but at the same time you don't want to get too complicated. Most of your drills should be easy to follow, as you are really trying to observe skills or attributes. But tossing in one drill occasionally that may be a little complex would be a good way to observe who can follow instructions and adapt to change.
In all this, you want help. Preferably several knowledgeable people who can be more eyes for you and see things you may not. Especially important during the stations, where you would really prefer to have one assistant at each station.
Organizing and conducting effective basketball tryouts isn't easy, but it does set the stage for decisions you will need to work with all season, so you want to do a good job.
Good luck!
Gary has been coaching varsity basketball for over fifteen years. Read more of his coaching advice on his website http://betterbasketballcoaching.com/. You can find the stations Gary uses for his tryouts on the basketball tryout stations page of the site.
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