What do coaches look for at a baseball tryout?
Five things, roughly in this order:
- Athleticism and body control. First step, footwork, ability to change direction. Mechanics are fixable. Coordination takes longer.
- Arm accuracy and release. How quickly the ball comes out and whether it gets there on a line. Velocity is part of it, not all of it.
- Quality of swing, not result. A kid can square one up by accident, or take four great swings and hit four hard outs.
- Coachability. Every coach makes a small correction and watches the very next rep. Can he hear something new and try it.
- What he does between reps. Engaged and hustling, or on the fence looking for his parents.
I am not evaluating who is best today. I am evaluating who I can help most in twelve months.
When does the tryout evaluation actually start?
Before your son picks up a ball.
By the time a player takes his first ground ball, I already have an opinion forming. It came from watching him walk in, unpack his bag, and warm up. Did he get here early enough to throw and build up, or is he jogging in from the parking lot pulling his jersey on.
None of that is talent. All of it is information.
What matters more, the swing or where the ball goes?
The swing. Every time.
In the cage I am watching whether he has a plan, whether he finishes balanced, whether the barrel stays in the zone, and what he does after a bad swing.
That last one tells me more than the rest combined. A kid who fouls one off, resets, and takes a better swing at the next pitch is showing me something I need. A kid still mad about the last pitch when the next one arrives is telling me something too.
How much does coachability matter?
More than almost anything, and it shows up in about four seconds.
I make a small correction on purpose and watch the next rep. Some kids try it immediately. Some nod and do exactly what they did before. Some get defensive.
I am not testing whether the adjustment works. It usually will not work in one rep. I am testing whether he can hear something new and stay open. If a player cannot take coaching at thirteen, I will spend two years fighting him instead of developing him.
What should my son bring to a club tryout?
- Glove, bat, helmet, cleats
- Turf shoes or trainers as backup
- More water than he thinks he needs. Tryouts in Scottsdale are hot even in the evening
- Sunscreen
- Catchers, bring your own gear if you have it
Wear something plain that fits. Nobody has ever made a team because of what they wore, and a kid fighting his pants all afternoon is a kid not playing well.
How should a player prepare for a club tryout?
Throw during the week beforehand so the arm is not cold. Take regular swings. Sleep and hydrate, which matters more here in Arizona than most places.
Then arrive twenty minutes early and warm up without being told to.
What should parents do?
Helpful: get him there early, make sure he has eaten and has water, let him warm up on his own, sit far enough back that he is not looking at you between reps.
Not helpful: coaching from the fence, telling me his stats before I have seen him play, reacting visibly when something goes badly.
That last one matters most. When a kid strikes out and immediately looks to the fence to read his dad’s face, I notice, and so does he.
Does he need club or travel ball experience to try out?
No. Plenty of players come to their first travel tryout straight from rec ball.
I am evaluating potential and coachability, not what his last team was called.
Remember you are evaluating us too
A tryout is the only look you get at a program before you commit a season and real money to it.
While I am watching your son, watch how we run this. Are coaches teaching or just moving kids through stations. How do we talk to a player who just booted three in a row. Is this a group your son wants to be around three days a week.
Youth baseball club tryouts in Scottsdale, AZ
AZ Lions Baseball is a youth baseball club running 13U and 14U travel teams out of South Scottsdale. We hold club tryouts throughout the year for families in Scottsdale, Tempe, Mesa, Chandler, Gilbert, and Queen Creek.
Tell your son to show up early, warm up on his own, and try the thing I ask him to try. That covers most of it.
Sign up for a tryout or call (623) 396-3759.