It’s that time of year again...time when 7th graders everywhere around the country are sweating their tryout for the basketball team. It does not matter if you are the best player to have ever set foot in the school’s gym or if you sat the bench for your rec team last year – you are nervous. At some point we will discuss what you should have been doing all summer long and the plan that you should have created at the end of last season and all the conditioning you should have been doing to develop your body, but we will cover that at the end of this season.
Here are my best tips as you get ready and then participate in the tryout:
1) If you have a couple of weeks, or even a couple of days, get out and play. Work on your mid-range shot, your free throws, make all your layups (especially with your off hand). If you have not been playing for a while you need to get the feel of a ball back in your hands. Get a good workout video or set of drills to do and work up a sweat doing them. The feel of the ball will make a big difference when you start working with the other players during the tryout. The football players typically have the hardest time getting their feel back and throw a bunch of bricks during the first week of practice.
2) Try to gage your competition. Figure out who is trying out (most schools have a tryout signup sheet) and rank yourself accordingly. If your school is large this may be hard to do, if it is small you probably already know where you stand. Look at a regular team of 12 players – a coach will keep 4-5 guards, 3-4 forwards, 2-3 centers and normally a couple of good hustle-type defensive players. Figure out where you stand on a depth chart, even if it is only in your own mind.
3) At the actual tryout, make a point to get into drills with players that you are slightly better than. My son had a best friend in 7th grade who was the best player in the class (he was the second best). The two of them would always want to square off in the drills with my son normally coming out on the short end of the competition. While I was always impressed with this type of attitude and desire for competition I have been consistently surprised at coaches who are always ranking the players by position. My son would have been beaten several times by this same boy in drills for a guard spot and his ranking would have likely been low. If the coach had only memories of my son getting beat when the cut was made, he would have faced a challenge to be on the final team roster.
4) Be the hustle guy at the tryout. Each team has a hustle guy who is rewarded with making the team when perhaps the talent is not all there. Hustle is free, you did not have to work all summer at it, you just need to provide it, and you should provide it all the time. I will discuss practice attitudes in a later post but please understand that coaches know and remember the players who hustle, almost as much as the ones they remember who do not. Hustle means to hustle everywhere and to everything – not just in the sprints but during everything – even to and from a water break. If you find yourself talking, walking or hanging out during the tryout, wake yourself up and start moving. Believe me, the coach is watching.
5) Have a sense of common courtesy. You are trying out for a team, not an American Idol audition. Let your play and your desire make the team, keep your attitude and cockiness away. Look your coach in the eye when you speak to him/her, look at him and listen without talking when he speaks. Practice a firm regular handshake, full hand covering each other, your coach will notice. I always shook my players hands to see if they were mature enough to know how to do it correctly. Keep the jokes and the quick witted comments off the court, even if you know you can get a great laugh from it. Don’t knock anyone’s game – ever. You might be the next player to shoot the ball over the backboard on a free throw (you never know). Be on time. Have your equipment with you. Don’t wear clothes that stick out too much from the other kids. Don’t let yourself be judged by anything other than your positive attitude and your basketball ability.
6) Think about the types of drills a tryout typically has in it and physically/mentally prepare for them. 3-man weave with a good catch and release while on the run, off hand layups on the run, shooting drills off the dribble/curl/screen, one on one drills. Lots of coaches do full court drills (11 man drills) to judge players with the ball on fast break, these drills also keep the group moving and can be done by large groups easily. If you have an open gym prior to the tryout and the coach is there, ask him/her what types of drills will be done at the tryout so you can mentally prepare.
7) Know your strengths and try to get them on display. If you know you are good dribbler/shooter/rebounder - be sure that you are able to find a way to showcase that talent without showing off. Do it often. I once knew a boy who could make shots from 15 feet. That was his range – period. He would shoot bricks from 12 and could not throw it in the ocean from the 3 point line. He spent his entire game right around the free throw line so he could get a screen and shoot. He knew and stuck with his strengths.
8) Find a way to tell the coach about yourself. If you played for 5 seasons with a select team, make sure he knows it. If you were your team’s best rebounder last season, be sure to tell him. Even if you are very talented in another sport – be sure he knows. Do it in a way that is factual without being a bragger. Your coach will remember it when he has to make the final cuts.
9) Take a charge and always box out. Find a way to take a charge in a scrimmage. Get good position, feel the contact and then flop on your rear. Coaches love it and you will stand out immediately. Always box out your man. If a shot goes up from anywhere, no matter where you are find your man and box him out (especially if he just shot the ball). So many players will turn and watch the shot, allowing a hustling offensive player to get a ball and an easy stick back while you look silly for letting him by. Remember to box out.
10) Have fun. It’s 7th grade basketball, not exactly a breaking point in your life. If you get cut, find a team to play with so you can keep playing and enjoy it. Congratulate the guys that made it, go see some games during their season and tell yourself you’ll be back next year. If you get the chance, ask the coach for feedback on your game. Most will tell you what they thought and give you some solid advice on what to work on for next year. Be friendly if you end up getting bad news on the last cut. That same coach could end up being your coach next year and you do not need to burn a bridge with him. Every school has the story each year of a couple of kids who got cut from the 7th grade team, worked hard over the summer and made the 8th grade team. (did I mention how important the summer is to improve your game?)
Good Luck,
Coach Chuck
Check out other great coaching aids at the following link:Basketball Coaching Aids
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