How To Have A Super Youth Baseball Tryout In 90 Minutes

By Chip Lemin

While there is no great way to see exactly what a particular player is capable of (short of inviting)
18 candidate players & staging a pick-up scrimmage game), Try this system with the goal of getting the players (& their parents) ready to go home within an hour & a half:

Sign up 20 candidates (or less) per time slot & ask them to show up 30 minutes early to warm up. Make sure an official from the team or league is there to greet them and get them warmed up.
Have at least league V.P. along with 2-3 young men (high school players if possible) (NOT team coaches) to assist.

Each candidate is to hit two ground balls at the shortstop position. The candidate fields them both & throws to 1st base

Each candidate is to hit two fly balls to approximately short left-center field. Both flies are fielded & throws are made to 2nd base & then to 3rd base on respective catches

The candidates are asked to report to the dugout for batting five at a time, with the remaining 15 or so to stay in the field to "shag" the hits. Each is given seven pitches from a pitching machine: the first two are bunted & the remaining five are hit "swinging away". After the last pitch, whether hit or missed, the candidate is requested to run the bases. The candidate returns to the field to "shag" the hits & to allow all candidates to rotate through the hitting cycle

At the end of the tryout, the candidates are asked if they pitch and/or catch.

With the fact in mind that these are still kids, we have our tryouts on consecutive Saturday mornings. This allows those who may have had a "bad day" on their first tryout to come back for a second chance. Only one tryout is mandatory to attend. If the candidate feels his/her best performance was done at the first tryout, there is no requirement to have them return for the second.

This tryout system will give you results equal to having a long involved 2 hour plus work out involving additional base running and pitching. Pitching and catching tryouts can be performed at a later date. It will eliminate long lines and bored players.

Players should workout prior to their scheduled tryout time. Going on the field cold, lowers your chances of performing well. Many young players feel nervous, which is natural. Prepare for your tryout as you would a game. This way, you can combat the nerves, because you know that you are ready to play.

With spring coming up quickly, it's never too early to plan ahead. Youth Baseball Coaches who plan ahead will benefit when spring hits and you start to run out of time. I hope you find this article of help. Come on spring!

About Coach Chip