Expert: Michael Muro - 10/13/2006

Question
I coach middle school.  I annually get 60-75 players trying out for 15 spots. I get 2  two hour practices for tryouts.  My gym is small, it only has two baskets.  Inevitably while conducting drills, players aren't always involved. I have one assistant. We try to get a good look at all players, but it is tough due to our restraints(#'s and space).  What drills do you like for evaluation and what drills do you think can work best in my situation.  I try to incorporate drills that keep tryouts and players moving consistently. School rules require I evaluate all players for both days.

Answer
Hi JP Morin,

It sounds like you have your hands full! With that many kids trying out and only two baskets you are definitely limited to what you can do.

I would break them up into 8-10 lines with 7 to 8 players deep on the sideline facing the court. I would have them do footwork drills from sideline to sideline. Change of pace, change of direction, jump stops with pivots(front right, front left, rear right, and rear left), and defensive slides. Demonstrate proper technique for each drill. Doing this you can see who listens and can follow directions.

In the same format you can do ball handling drills(crossover, reverse pivots, speed dribbles, etc....) This will give you a better feel for what players can do.

I would then teach a basic offense and then break the players up into groups of five and scrimmage. This would be the best way to evaluate them. Make the games quick like to 5 points and you don’t have to win by 2. Don't have winners stay on the court, keep rotating the teams so you get a chance to see everyone equally.

Another way is to divide them in half and have your assistant take one group for half the practice and test them for speed, quickness, jumping, etc.....With the other half you can do lay-ups, shooting drills, and other evaluating drills. 30 players and 2 baskets is a little more manageable. Then switch groups at the halfway point.      

The other thing I was going to suggest is have half the players out on day 1 and the other half on day 2. That doesn’t look like it will work with the school rules.

I hope this helps and good luck with the tryouts! I think tryouts is the part of the game I dislike the most as I hate to cut kids, but it has to be done.