Youth Soccer: How to Make an ODP team (Part 2)

If you do not think that your kid made a team after tryouts, do you prepare them for it? I did.

My daughter, CC, started the tryout process for the Ohio ODP team (Olympic Development Program) in November.

The process started with fall training / tryouts for the District 1 team. Ohio has three Districts. The initial District tryouts / training took place over two weekends in November (outdoors) and one weekend in December or January (indoors). 

The District 1, November tryouts were held from 9 to 11:45 am, in a town about 30 minutes from our house. 

My daughter, CC, and I showed up about 30 minutes early to sign in and get warmed up. I waited in a long line registration line while CC put her cleats and shin pads on. When I got to the front of the line, the admin volunteer told me that the player needs to sign in herself. She told me that they want self-sufficient, independent players. I retreated to my daughter's location and explained the situation. I was happy that overbearing parents would not be tolerated. It was a signal to me that talent would be the driver of the roster selections and perhaps politics would not be a factor.

CC eventually signed up and received a number to pin to her shirt. I helped her affixed the #161 to the back of her tee-shirt before she ran over to the goalie training / tryout field. 

She approached 24 goalies by my count. I was quickly assessed the competition and quickly noticed that every single one was bigger than CC. CC looked tiny but she has always been the smallest player her teams so it was not a surprise. Still, I began to get a bit concerned because some of the girls were considerably bigger. I turned to another dad and asked if all of these girls were 12 years old. He comforted me when he mentioned that there were 5 groups of girls vying to make 5 teams (1998, 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2002). I quickly did the math and assumed that about 5 or 6 were in CC's 2000 age grop. CC told me later that, there were 11 goalies in the 2000 class hoping to make the district team and might be more because some teams had club matches that day.

There were 5 goalie trainers to manage the tryout. Each one carried a clipboard to collect notes on a player information chart. The trainers ran drills after drill and did so with intensity and purpose. They evaluated and taught at the same time. The girls worked hard for well over an hour. CC had experience with all of the drills, so she had no problems. I noticed that a few of the girls struggled with the fast pace of the drills. From a technical standpoint, I thought that CC did very well.

The field players went through similar paces on separate fields near by. From time to time, I roamed around to see CC's teammates.  Eventually, the goalies were told to join the field players for their age groups to tend goal for some shooting drills and small sided games. The goalies stood behind the goal and rotated in while the trainers with the clipboards kept watch.

The training schedule was repeated Saturday and Sunday for two weeks in November. During the last 5 minutes of the last November tryout, CC suffered a very severe ankle sprain. It happened so late, that she did not notify the trainers. I wrote about that story in an earlier post. As luck would have it, the next tryout was weeks away. CC wore a boot and was cleared to play again the week of the next tryout in December.

In December, the training / tryout moved indoors to a facility in Columbus, Ohio about 2 hours north from our home town. Both the Saturday and Sunday sessions were a bit shorter than the November sessions, but they were organized and conducted in a similar manner. CC and I drove up and back each day. I enjoyed the time in the car with my girl. CC's ankle was sore, but she hid it well from the trainer / evaluators.

After the final session in December, the coaching staff announced that the roster for the district teams would be selected on January 18th.

On the way home, I ask CC if she thought she did ok. She responded with a confident yes. I thought that she did well, but I was convinced that the coaching staff would overlook a goalie who was so small. I began to prepare CC for the inevitable. She has made every team that she has ever tried out for, so I wanted to prepare her.

The festival team was posted on the Ohio South Soccer website on Friday night at 9pm. On Saturday morning, I opened the website and looked for CC's name. As I expected it was not there. I looked for the names of other players that I knew. To my surprised, I did not recognize a single name. 

Then I realized I was looking at the wrong age group. I clicked on the 2000 team roster and started to see the names that I expected. Then I saw a name I did not expect to see. CC was listed. She had made it past the first phase. She will compete against the other two districts in what Ohio ODP calls the Festival Weekend. 

The Main Point

Do not prepare your kids for the worst before a tryout because that would introduce self-doubt. You can, however, prepare them for the disappointment after the tryout is complete, but expect the best to keep their confidence up. I did all of this except, I did not expect the best. CC surprised me yet again.

Growing Up and Away From Sports

There comes a time when one realizes his or her sports career is coming to an end. It is a depressing time. It was for me.

My youth sports career was limited by my lack of focus. I played soccer and basketball and baseball and tennis and golf. I did not play any of these sports at a high level. I didn't even know that there were higher levels above town leagues. And I guess my parents were not too eager to find out about them either.

In 9th grade, my best days of baseball were behind me and I had fallen behind in soccer to players who knew that there was another level. Additionally, I was not tall enough for basketball and did not have the great ball handling skills to make it as a guard. At the time, there were no HS golf teams, so playing competitively did not cross my mind. That left tennis. I was really good at tennis, but it was not my passion. I decided to tryout for the tennis team. My high school was highly ranked, so I knew that it was not going to be an easy team to make. My dad belonged to a tennis club, so we played a couple of times a week in the mornings to prepare. He also invested in some lessons for me. When tryouts came around, I thought that I was ready. Unfortunately, the coaching staff did not. Very few freshman made the team and I was not one of the chosen few.

I immediately called the baseball coach and asked if it was to late to tryout for the baseball team. He allowed me to join in the later rounds of the tryouts, but I realized he was not paying any attention to me. When he posted the cut list, I saw my name. I wallowed in self-pity for the entire season. It was the first season that I did not have a sport to play. I didn't even pick up a racquet that season to play for fun. In fact, I never picked up a racquet to play competitively ever again.

Luckily, there was a new sport emerging, lacrosse. Few kids had played the sport growing up so I was not too far behind. My lax friends encouraged me to play. I picked up the game very quickly and found my passion. I made the JV team and eventually played on the varsity team. The game made me much much tougher. The game made me much more fit. And most importantly, the game gave me confidence and not just on the lax field. If I had all of these qualities before, I could have made the squads in any of the other sports I had played previously.

My son is going through a similar cycle and this fall is the first fall that he did not have fall ball baseball or golf or basketball. He was the last freshman cut from the golf team despite playing well. His baseball team broke up so he tried out for 4 club teams. He did not make any of the teams, his lingering arm problems finally caught up to him.

He felt the same way I did when I was in 9th grade.

The Main Point

I gave up on tennis after my setback, I will not let Nic give up on golf. Looking back, he wished that he had dropped baseball before last year to concentrate on golf. His friends that made their teams had played all spring and summer long to prepare for golf, Nic only played the three weeks between the end of baseball and the golf tryouts.

Then this fall he did what I did. He found a new sport. He found boys volleyball. He joined a pre-season club team and learned the game. He fell in love with it. He signed up for tryouts for the club season, but a stress fracture in his back have derailed those plans for now. Hopefully he can get back to playing so he can prepare for the HS season.

Regardless, there comes a time when competitive sports stop and real life begins. Luckily, real life includes intramural sports and co-ed adult leagues.

I swear I didn't make my daughter play injured.

I do not miss many games at all. I am lucky to have a job that I can manage my own schedule fairly easily.

I do not miss my kid's games because I do not want to miss the action. I want to be there when my daughter sinks a three at the buzzer or when my son makes a birdie on 18 to win a tournament. I want to see their faces when it happens. I want them to see my proud reactions too. I also want to be there just in case something happens. If they get injured, I want to be there to help comfort them. We all know that injuries are a part of youth sports. It is just a question of when, where and how bad.

I missed a game on Sunday.

I dropped CC off at soccer tryouts for the Ohio South Olympic Development Program. I normally stay to watch, but I had to leave to get to the Cincinnati Bengals / NY Giants game. 

I'm a huge Giants fan, so my wife bought me the NFL tickets for my birthday. What she did not know when she made the purchase in September was that my daughter would be competing in the finals of the 6th grade CYO Girl's Basketball Cincinnati Division I Championship. When I realized the conflict, I did not want go to the football game. I would much rather watch my daughter play. I contemplated not going to the NFL game, but the tickets were very expensive. I could have sold the tickets on StubHub, but it was going to be my wife's and son's first NFL game. They were very excited to go. I was torn, but had to go to the Giants game.

During soccer tryouts, CC got hurt in a freak accident. She was on the sidelines next to the goal awaiting her chance to get into the game. The coaching staff was rotating three goalies in each goal. CC was stretching and talking to the other goalie while the other girls on the field were showcasing their skills for the evaluators. CC was not really paying attention to the game. 

A striker in the game took aim at the goal and fired a really hard shot. The ball missed the goal and hit the very top of CC's foot. She was relaxed and not expecting the impact, so her  ankle snapped back. It hurt a lot, but CC did not want anyone to know. ODP Goalies need to be tough. 

She hopped up to walk it off and get the ball that ended up 20 yards behind her. She was trying desperately not limp. Just as she retrieved the ball, the tryout ended. Luckily, she did have to get back in the goal with a bum ankle. 

After the training session was complete, she found her club teammates and her ride home.  She arrived home to an empty house. She iced her ankle which was now really swollen. She then found an ankle brace, tied it on tight and awaited her ride to basketball. She was not going to miss the Championship basketball game. 

A basketball teammate picked her up and took her to the game. She participated in warm ups trying not to limp. She did not want the coaches to bench her. She ended up playing the entire first quarter and the first half of the second quarter before she got a break. During her down time at he end of the second quarter and half time, the ankle swelled more. She tried to play in the third quarter, but could not play at her normal frenzied pace. She sat out the rest of the game unable to take another step. 

CC's team went on to win the Cincinnati City Championship and ended the season undefeated with a 26-0 record.

We arrived after the game. As soon as she saw us, she started to cry. We knew she was hurt because we got a text telling us that she sprained her ankle. We were not expecting it to be too bad. We took her sock and shoe off. It did not look very good at all. 

This morning, she could not walk. We took her for an X-ray. The X-ray was negative. The doctor was concerned about the ligaments on the top of her foot, so he gave her a boot to wear for a week. We will go for a follow-up next week.

The Main Point

Some parents push their kids to play even when they are hurting. Some kids push themselves.

Youth Golf: When Good is not Good Enough to Make the Cut

Every week in the PGA, the pros compete on Thursday and Friday for a chance to play for money during the weekend. The cut is typically established as the top 70 players. Sometimes a 10 stroke rule is applied and the tournament will take the top 70 players plus anyone else within 10 strokes of the leader. That seems easy compared to making my son's high school team.

My son, a freshman, competed for a spot on his high school team the first week of August. He was trying to make the JV team. The HS has two teams, JV and varsity. Each team has 12 golfers. The golf team has 24 total players for a school that enrolls 800 students. Needless to say it was very competitive. At the golf informational meeting prior to tryouts, the golfers were told that if they shot an 85, they would likely make the cut.

As soon as baseball ended in late July, my son, Nic, started practicing golf. He played at least 27 holes per day for 15 days. When the tryouts came around he was fairly confident that he could shoot 85. He was ready. I, on the other hand, was not mentally prepared for it. It would be one of the first pivotal youth sports events that I would not be able to watch. I would not be there to give him a supportive look. I would not be there to cheer him on or encourage him to keep his head up. He was on his own and I felt a deep void during the hours he was on the course.

The tryout consisted of three 18 hole rounds - Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. The tryouts started August 6th at noon. My wife drove my son to the course. I think that she was more nervous than my son was. She watched him hook his first shot into the woods and walk off down a hill and out of sight. She would call me 5 hours later from a position high above the par 5 18th green. She gave me the play by play as he approached and tried to read his demeanor.

That conversation went something like this:

"He hit a drive down the middle. It was a good drive, but he is walking to the ball with his head down low. Oh this does not look good. 

He hit his drive the furthest, so he will have to wait. 

He just hit his second shot. He is in the fairway in good position. I can't tell his demeanor. 

OK he is approaching his ball.... He's hitting... the ball is high in the air... it looks good...oh no, it's short of the green and rolling down a big hill. Ugh. 

Wait! He's walking up with a big smile. Oh, maybe he is doing ok. 

It is his turn again. He hit it up, it's on the green. stop, stop, stop... it just rolled off the green.  He is in the rough behind the green. He is sitting 4. He will need to chip in for a par. 

He chipped on. He has a 15 foot putt.

Long putt. It looks good. It stopped right next to the hole. He just tapped it in for a 7. 

He is smiling. Is that a smile of relief. Or do you think he did ok?"

Despite the 7 on the 18th, my son shot an 86. He was made the cut established at 100 for the first day.

On day two he had an 8am tee time. I drove Nic to the driving range at our club at 6:30 am. It was still relatively dark. The range was not open yet, but the night before, Nic hid about 40 range balls in some tall grass so that he could warm up prior to the tryout. The second day was more of the same. He shot an 85. I felt the void again until he called me with his score. I was so proud. The cut for day two was set at 90. He made the cut again and was thrilled.

One more day and all he needed to do was shoot an 84 to secure his goal of getting an 85 average over the tryout. As he approached the 18th green, my wife called me to give me the play by play. He played the hole well. My wife described his big trademark smile as he tapped in a putt for par. He shot an 83.

He was the first group off, so he had to wait and wait for the official results. Once everyone was done, the coaches called the players over. The coach gave out 8 spots. 4 freshman and 4 sophomores and he cut 6 players. My son was not on either list. The coach then explained that 2 freshman and 2 sophomores are on the bubble. That meant the he had to wait until the varsity team established their team before he could lock up the final spots. He explained if the varsity team dropped down 4 players, the 4 bubble guys would be cut. If 3 players dropped down, then the 4 players would compete in a 9 hole shootout on Friday for the final spot. And so on.

The varsity did drop down 3 players, so my son had to compete for the final spot. He was deflated because all of the scores from the previous 3 days carried forward. He had the 2nd best score of the 4 remaining bubble players, but he was 9 strokes behind one of the sophomores.

He arrived on Friday with nothing to lose. He had played conservatively on the tight course all week.  He rarely hit his driver, which he can hit 300+ yards, thinking he could make 85 without it. On the final Friday, he pulled out the big stick and went for it. He played some holes well, but got into trouble on others and could not make up the ground. He was cut and he was devastated.

The Main Point

While Nic was playing baseball all spring and early summer, the kids who made the team had been playing golf.  It is just too difficult to make a competitive team in a big school when you are not dedicated to the sport. Nic has decided that he is going to give up on baseball and concentrate on golf.

He is a good baseball player, but he probably has a better chance of succeeding at golf. The perennial state-championship baseball team at his school is ultra competitive too.

Well, the good thing about golf is that the score determines who makes the team, not politics.

I am proud of my son. He handed the pressure very well. He set a goal and met it, unfortunately it was not quite good enough this year. Next year will be different.

Youth Soccer (ODP): How to Make the Olympic Team

At age 11, jumping into ODP

Have you ever wondered how the National Teams are selected? 


Would you believe that the process to identify and train players starts as early as 10 years old? I am just learning about this because my daughter's coach is encouraging her to go to ODP training next month.

ODP stands for the Olympic Development Program.

Through this program, United States Soccer Federation identifies special players that will one day be considered for the US National Teams to represent the USA at the Olympic games and World Cup.

Every state has an ODP program. Phase 1 of ODP is open to all kids not just select players. 

ODP consists of several training sessions located in districts across every state. These training / evaluation sessions are usually held in November / December and early spring. They take a break for the club season and then pick up again in June.

These District Training sessions are conducted by ODP staff members and lots of hopeful kids participate. This is the end of the ODP experience for the 10 year olds, but kids 11 and up can advance.

The District Training is also a tryout that can lead to a tournament team selection. Players selected for a district team compete against other districts. These District tournaments are basically tryouts for the State Team. About 18-22 kids will make the State Team. Once on this team, players compete in tournaments against the other state teams from neighboring states. The top kids from these tournaments are invited to go to the US National Regional camp where kids from about 12 -14 different states compete for a spot on a Regional team.

The US National Teams are picked starting at the age of U14 through U23 and will represent the United States at International events all over the world.

The Main Point

This can be a great experience for your kid. It can also be is a tough and cruel process for the kids. As a parent you need to set the right expectations for your kid before you venture down this path. ODP is not for everyone.

My daughter wants to go to the District Training, so we are going to sign her up. At the very least, it will provide some good training. We will also be able to gauge how good she is or how much harder she needs to work if she wants to advance. 

We are realistic. We know that making the National Team, a regional team, state team or even a district team is highly unlikely, but the experience will help with Club soccer, High School or maybe even college. 


If you read this blog, you know that my daughter loves basketball too. So if she makes the State team she cannot play because her basketball team will be vying for an AAU National Championship in the month of June. Our objective for this year is to gain experience for when she is older. If, of course, she decides to concentrate on soccer over basketball. At age 11, she is too young to specialize.

I will be reporting about the process throughout so you can learn from my experience. If you have experienced ODP already, please provide your perspective in the comments below. Thanks

Youth Sports: Lessons Learned from Youth Sports Tryouts

I write about the drama and the pressure of youth sports all the time. There is nothing more emotionally and politically charged than tryouts and cuts. No matter the age U10 or HS, it can be a traumatic process.

Note to parents: Do not avoid the tryout process by opting for rec sports or not playing at all to protect your kid. Make it or not, this process helps teach young kids about life in the real world. A world which is very competitive.

More importantly there are three ways the process may just help a young kid find him or herself.

1. It may make a young athlete dig down to try harder and teach them what it really takes to succeed.
2. It may lead to a new team and a new coach. A better coach who connects with the player to help the player get to the next level.  

Youth Sports: They Do Not Last Forever

Youth sports careers can come to an end with one decision by a coach.

My son was working out with his personal baseball trainer last night. His trainer is an ex-Met organization catcher who is now a coach for a local high school team. My son's select baseball team and this local high school have formed a partnership. As part of the partnership, the school provides some coaching support and allows the team to use its facilities. The goal is to help develop more talent for the school, a school that has won numerous state championships.

Typically the facility is empty when my son works out with this coach, but last night the facility was loaded with high school freshman. Freshman players who were trying out for one of the HS teams (freshman, junior varsity or varsity).

Yesterday was cut day.

After the practice was over, the two head coaches set up chairs at the mound end of a pitching / hitting cage. Two chairs were facing the plate and one chair was facing the mound. The coaches took their positions in the two seats facing the plate. All if the kids assembled outside the cage behind home plate and waited to be called. As each was called in, they would walk the 60ft 6 inches and sit in the chair facing the coaches. Some walked with confidence and some walked with hesitation as they approached the seat and their baseball fate.

I talked to the coaches after the process was over. They both said that they love coaching baseball and dread cut day. It's a painful experience for both the players and the coaches.

The Main Point

Season is Finally Over

Only God knows when your son / daughter will play in his / her last game. Youth sports dreams can be end quickly - especially if you go to a very large and competitive high school. As such, kids should lead a balanced life. My kids are sports fanatics and play non-stop. They play at very high levels for their current ages and have high expectations to play in HS and maybe even college (A big maybe). My kids are too young to predict the future. Some kids get more athletic compared to peers as they get older and grow and others who dominated in the younger age bracket leagues regressed in comparison.

Watching the freshman kids walk off with their heads down, holding back tears made me think that I really need to prepare my kids and myself for the day that youth sports are over.

A note regarding the differences between select baseball and recreational ball. 
My son is two years away from trying out for the HS team as a freshman. I asked the coach how difficult it is to make one of the teams as a freshman. He said that most of the kids who play high level select ball have no problem making the team. In fact, he said that it is really easy to spot these kids.

He said that the toughest part of cut day is dealing with the rec ball kid who was a superstar on his team. Typically these kids think that they are good and probably are compared to other rec ball players, but the rec level players are not nearly good enough to compete with the select baseball player.

Youth Volleyball: Son Did Not Make the Cut

It hurts when you get cut when you are trying out for a team. You feel embarrassed. You feel sad. You feel like a loser. You question yourself on what you did wrong. You make excuses. You look for any reason that can justify the obvious injustice, perhaps it was an injury or politics or whatever.

On Sunday, my son, Nic, tried out for his school's volleyball team. Last year, he chose to play on the B team because he did not think that he could not commit to the A team and play 75 baseball games. Baseball was / is his main sport.

Nic found the B team to be completely frustrating. The season was summed up by one frustrated parent who yelled out during a game, "THE OBJECT OF THE GAME IS TO HIT THE BALL BEFORE IT HITS THE GROUND"

It turned out that Nic had very few conflicts between volleyball and baseball last year. Volleyball practice was held after school and baseball practices were in the evenings. Furthermore, volleyball games were typically played during the week, while most baseball games were on the weekends. As such, this year, my son decided to tryout for the A team with hopes of eventually being the team's setter.

I tried to talk him out of trying out for the team. I expressed my concern about being overscheduled. I suggested to him that he concentrate on baseball and play in a few junior PGA tournaments to prepare for the golf season. He listened and understood, but he wanted to play volleyball with his friends.

After the tryout, he was very confident that he would make the team. I was very confident that he would make it.

The list came out this morning before school started. My son was on the B team list. He did not make the  A team. He was embarrassed. He was sad. And he was dreading going to school and getting teased.

I had an empty feeling in my stomach. Do youth sports parents feel their kids pain or are they reliving pain from the past?

The Main Point

The felt the same way when I was cut from my HS baseball team as a 9th grader. Fortunately, when that door closed, another one opened. I started playing lacrosse. I believe that lacrosse changed my life. I took a beating every practice and game. It made me tougher. It challenged me to push myself and overcome fear. It prepared me for life.

Getting cut from the volleyball team just might turn out to be a life changing event for my son. Who knows.

Another good thing - My daughter is scheduled to play 60 basketball and soccer games between Mar 1 and August 8. My son is scheduled to play 60 baseball games between Mar 1 and Jul 15. We are not sure how we are going to do this, so it was somewhat of a relief that we do not have to fit volleyball into the schedule.

Youth Basketball: How to Make the Team

I have given advice on how to make select teams from my experience as a coach / evaluator and as a parent watching three kids tryout for various teams over the years. I have given advice on how to make a travel or select baseball team and  how to make a select or travel soccer team. Most of the advice I gave assumed that your kid had the skills in each sport to standout.


I found some great advice on how to make a basketball team from the Back Court Academy website called The 5 Reasons You Got Cut From the Basketball Team


Here are the 5 reasons - with my commentary underneath. 

1) Moving Without The Ball

You see this all the time. Great players who do not move well without the ball. This tells the evaluator that they are lazy or not confident enough to want the ball.

2) Non-Dominate Hand

You have to be able to play with both feet in soccer and both hands in basketball. Link to the post to get some advice and drills on increasing dexterity in both hands.

3) Suspect Passing Skills

Passing is a skill that does not get enough attention from fans. To me there is nothing sweeter than a smart pass. I used to love to watch Bird, Johnson, Stockton and Kidd work their magic. Even though fans and ESPN SportsCenter do not appreciate the pass, coaches do.

4) Lack of Leadership

Coaches want leaders. Leaders are confident.

5) Matador Defense

Defense is another skill that does not get enough attention. Probably because there are few stats that measure defensive prowess. Coaches love defense.


The Main Point


Did you notice that the Back Court Academy did not mention shooting? Good passing and great movement without the ball will create easy scoring chances. Great defense will create some fast breaks for easy scoring too. The sharp shooters will catch the attention of the coach, but basketball is a team game and 4 of the 5 reasons listed above are all team related. 


The only thing that I thought was missing from the Back Court Academy list was hustle and heart. My son is not the greatest dribbler or shooter. He made the his top school team because of his scrappy play. He is always the first one on the floor going after a loose ball. Coaches notice this. You cannot teach hustle and heart, but you can teach a kid to dribble and shoot. My daughter watched my son's scrappy play and plays the same way.

Youth Basketball: Trying Out for a Select Team

I have given advice on how to make select teams. I have given advice on how to make a travel or select baseball team and on how to make a select or travel soccer team. Much of the advice for making a soccer team is valid for basketball. I have listed the relevant points below, see the soccer advice post for the details.


1) Get to the tryout early and show off your skills. 
2) Wear something that will standout in a crowd.
3) Stand out with individual moves. 
4) Take advantage of water breaks to stand out during the tryouts. 
5) Make sure your kid works very hard when the evaluators are looking and conserves energy when they are not. 
6) Introduce yourself to the head evaluator after the tryout. 
7) Go to all the tryouts even if they say only one is required.


My daughter wanted to play for one of the top select basketball programs in the metro area. Her best friend played for the organization in the winter of 09/10 and was trying out again. The tryouts were scheduled for September 25th and Oct 2nd. 


My daughter, CC, violated rule #7 above. She could not go to the first tryout because she had 10 girls scheduled to celebrate her birthday with her on that date at that time. Her best friend went to the tryout and showed up at the party late. This obviously was not an ideal situation. It demonstrated a lack of commitment and limited the amount of looks my daughter would get.


We planned to go to the second tryout on October 2 at 5:30. Unfortunately, CC had a soccer game scheduled from 4:30 to 5:30 in the next state over. The soccer field was 45 minutes from the tryout gym. CC wanted to skip the soccer game, but I told her that that was not an option. She made a commitment to her soccer team and she needed to honor it. CC scored a goal and her team won 3-2 against the top team in the league, so it was a good decision.


I had called the coach of the basketball team to explain our predicament. I asked her if it would be possible to hold a private tryout. The coach informed me that about 30 very talented girls were participating in the tryout process and she believed that she would be able to form a solid team from this group. The short answer, no. She did ask me about my daughter. I told her which teams she played on and described her style of play. CC had played against the coach's team during summer league. The coach told me that she knew exactly who my daughter was and encouraged me to get my daughter to the last 30 minutes of the final tryout. 


Luckily, rain poured down on the soccer field and the refs decided to start the game early and reduce the amount of time between halves. As a result, the game ended fifteen minutes earlier than projected and we were able to make the last 50 minutes of the basketball tryout. Still a violation of rule #1 but better than we had expected.


I guess that is all CC needed to impress the coaching staff because she got an offer to play on the team the very next night. My daughter was thrilled. 


Her new basketball team is a year round commitment, winter, spring and summer with lots of travel. Before we accepted the offer, we made our daughter choose between select basketball and softball. (She will continue to play select soccer.) He understood that she would need to drop softball to play basketball on this team. It was an easy decision. She wants to hoop it up all year round now.

The Main Point

I believe that the advice I give to parents to help their kids standout at tryouts is valid, but at the end of the day, talent is what will separate your kid from the others. 

Youth Basketball: Getting Ready for the Season

My son used to play football and was in top physical condition prior to basketball tryouts each year. The last two years my son has played on the golf team. He can walk 18 holes over a 5 hour period carrying clubs on his back, and he can swing a club 200 times (range work, practice swings and actual shots) with no problem, but golf is not exactly an intense aerobic workout.  


I have been wanting to get into better shape and my son wants to prepare for the grueling basketball season, so we decided to do the Couch to 5K program together. This is a program designed to help new runners get off the couch and onto the roads. The goal after nine weeks is to be able to run a 5K or about 3 miles.

I downloaded the app on my iPhone. This app makes management of the program easy. Much easier than the running. The program is a three day per week regimen of walking and running and the mobile app helps you track of your progress.


For example, the first run consists of a 5 minute warm up, followed by a 60 second run and a 90 second walk. You repeat this 60s run/ 90s walk combination 8 times. This is followed by a 5 minute cool down walk. This equates to 8 total minutes of running and 22 minutes of walking. 


The app tells you when to walk and when to run. You can listen to your ipod music while you are running. I just listen to my son talk about life and the lady on the app who tells me what to do.


I have to say the first day and the second day were surprisingly doable. I am still skeptical that I will eventually be able to do the 5K after the 2 knee surgeries that I have endured, but I am hopeful.


I am also tracking my weight, caloric intake and exercise (calories burned) on www.livestrong.com. My business partner started doing this and lost 24 pounds in 8 weeks, so I have first hand knowledge that it works. 


The Livestrong site lets you pick a weight loss goal. I picked 2 pounds per week. It then calculates the amount of net calories you can consume each day to reach your goal. At my age, weight and normal activity level, I can eat 1309 calories per day and still lose 2 pounds per week. It is really easy to track.  Their data base has all the food options and exercise options and the associated calories. I am finding that it is not easy to eat only 1309 calories per day. 


The program certainly makes you aware of how many calories are in certain foods and the exercise needed to burn it off. It does note seem fair that it takes Many people are not disciplined to track their food each day, but if you do it for two weeks the learning will benefit you.


The Main Point


Technology can help you live a more healthy life. The healthier you are the more likely you will be able to keep up to your athletic kids.

Youth Golf: How to Make the Golf Team

If you son or daughter wants to make the golf team it takes skills, practice, performance under pressure and passion because golf is typically very competitive and the margin for error is low. In baseball tryout you can miss hit a few balls and still make the team. In a basketball tryout you can miss a few shots and still make the team. In a football tryout you can miss a couple of blocks or tackles and still make the team. In a golf tryout, every shot counts.

Last year, my son's catholic school started a golf team consisting of 6th, 7th and 8th graders. A PGA teaching pro, who is a parishioner of the church, volunteered to be the coach. The coach conducted a 2 day tryout. Each potential player played 18 holes over a two day period. The players with the top nine scores were selected to be on the competitive A team. The A team played against other schools and clubs. The other 30 or so kids played on the B team. The B team competed weekly against each other.

Last year in 6th grade, my son, Nic, posted a total score of 101 and was the ninth golfer to make the team. I remember that he worked hard to secure that spot in the weeks preceding the tryout. During the season he became more and more confidence and improved with each match.

As the 2010 tryouts approached, Nic was busy playing baseball. Many of the competitors for the nine coveted spots did not play baseball so they had more time to work on their golf games. Nic heard that many of the kids had improved greatly. Nic knew he needed to make up for lost time, so once baseball ended, Nic dicated himself to golf. In fact, he played 37 straight days leading up to the tryout tournament. Some days he played 27+ holes. When Nic was not on the course he was in the back yard with his pitching wedge or in the basement making a miniature golf course.

The tryout was Tuesday and Wednesday of this week. My son shot an 82 (10 over par) and secured the 3rd position on the team. He was 6 over par after the first 3 holes of the tryout. I am proud that he kept his composure. He improved 19 stokes over last year. All of his friends who also worked hard made the team.

The Main Point

Self motivated people who pursue a goal with passion always succeed. The key is self motivation. My son would not have made the team if I was pushing him to do something he did not want to do. One parent of a kid who did not make the team said, "I wish my son had Nic's drive. If he did he would had a better chance."

Youth Baseball: Tryouts - Tips For Coaches, Clubs and Players (Part 4)

This is a great rejection letter from the one team that my son did not make. The letter is well written and shows a lot of class. 

Nic,

Thank you for coming to our try-out this past weekend.  I was impressed with your play as were the rest of the coaches.  We did, however, select three other players to join the team.  Nic, you were absolutely in the top echelon of players who attended Sunday. There is no question that you are a strong player and should play in the National League. I would be interested in seeing you try out next year when your arm is healthy. Your glove work was strong as was your hitting.  I would recommend that you take car of that arm and continue attending try-outs.  Good luck in you future endeavors.

The Main Point


Did this coach write this personal email to keep Nic interested for future years? Did this coach write this email to demonstrate the high class of the organization? Does this coach just care enough about kids to build their self-esteem? I do not know, but I was impressed that this coach took the time to write such a thoughtful letter. I respect this coach and the organization more because of it.

Youth Baseball: Tryouts - Tips For Coaches, Clubs and Players (Part 3)

This summer, my son participated in three select baseball tryouts for the 2011 season. This post highlights what coaches should do and what they should not to do based on our experience.

Prior to tryouts

• What to do: Coaches should make themselves available to talk prior to the tryouts via phone or email. This allowed me to gather the information we needed to make decisions on which opportunities to pursue. I got a good feel for the demeanor of the coach through these conversations. And the coach got a good idea of the potential and fit of the player.
• What not to do: A few coaches did not return emails requesting information. We did not go to these tryouts.
• What to do: Advertise your tryout schedule on the league website, team website, local newspapers and word of mouth. 
• What to do: Schedule three or four tryouts dates. The team we eventually selected had four. After the first one, they invited back a select few to join new players who missed the first tryout date. Perhaps a coach can determine the skill level of a player after one tryout, but can they determine the level of  commitment, leadership or passion of a player after one tryout? I doubt it.
• What not to do: A team my son tried out for only had one tryout date. Due to a conflict we were 30 minutes late. Summertime is hectic with lots of conflicts, a team can miss out on some really good talent by having a limited number of tryout dates. 
• What to do: Allow a player to have a private tryout.
• What to do: Allow for pre-registration via email or website.
• What to do: Ask players to wear a numbered jersey so the coach can easily identify players during the tryout.

During Tryouts

• What to do: Have a volunteer at the registration table to quickly process potential players. 
• What not to do: Have the coach do the registration. This leads to delays of the tryout.
• What to do: Have an evaluation spreadsheet on a clip board to capture information about each player.
• What to do: Have all the potential players properly warm up their arms. 
• What not to do: Allow potential players to throw full speed without warming up. I was at one tryout where each kid threw 15+ long throws from the outfield without a proper warmup period. Players want to impress and throw extra hard, make sure all the players are properly warmed up.
• What to do: Evaluate all the potential players at every position. A prior coach may not have seen the potential in a player at a certain position. 
• What not to do: Assume a player cannot play a certain position based on appearance. 
• What to do: Give the kids enough pitches to get their timing down during batting practice. Evaluate the potential player's ability to hit pitches of varying locations and speeds.
• What not to do: Evaluate a players ability to hit based on a limited number of pitches. During one tryout, my son got two rotations of three pitches. He saw a total of six fastball pitches. I am not sure how you can evaluate the true potential of a player on six pitches. 
• What to do: Make the players you want feel welcome. One team was very interested in my son. I am not sure if the coach did this or the players did it on their own, but all of the current players made my son feel like he was a part of the team during the tryout. Your players can help you sell the program. Let your players know who you are targeting.
• What not to do: Allow current players who are in jeopardy of losing their spot talk bad about the program. My son was taking outfield with one current bubble player who was disgruntled with the coach and the program. After the tryout, my son did not want to play for the team based solely on his conversation with this kid.
• What to do: Evaluate all aspects of the game. Evaluate baserunning speed and technique, evaluate a player's ability to play all the infield positions, evaluate the player's ability to track a fly ball and to throw accurately from the outfield, evaluate a player's ability to hit various pitches to all fields, evaluate a player's ability to bunt, evaluate a player's ability to pitch and throw pickoffs, and evaluate some player's ability to play catcher (footwork, arm strength, blocking, etc.).
• What to do: Keep players moving from station to station. Have four or five coaches keep the tryout moving efficiently.

After tryouts

• What to do: Call or email each player. Put some thought into the rejection letters. 
• What not to do: Fail to communicate a decision. Do not keep players in the dark. Coaches should let each player know as soon as possible so that the player can make other arrangements. 
• What to do: Have current players text message the top recruits. Kids from one team sent my son numerous text messages. This made my son feel wanted.

The Main Point


The tryout process is part evaluation and part selling. Coaches need to attract talent to the tryouts, evaluate the talent properly and then convince the top recruits that their program is the best option for the player.

Youth Baseball: Select Tryouts - Tips For Coaches, Clubs and Players (Part 2)

Is your son or daughter looking for a new select baseball or softball team? Here are some tips to get your kid on the team he or she wants. Perhaps this info will help you position your kid for selection on a top team.

Step 1 - Go to the local area league website to gather information. On the league website, you can obtain information on the teams, tryout schedules, the coach's contact info, the records of the various teams, the number of games each team plays, directions to the team's practice and game facilities, etc.

Step 2 Create a spreadsheet to record any information that you collect from the league website, other parents and coaches. I created a spreadsheet with the following columns; 1) Team Name, 2) Competition Level, 3) 2010 record, 4) Number of games played, 5) Number of kids on the roster, 6) Team needs, coaches may let you know what positions they are looking to fill, 7) Tryout Dates and Locations, 8) Practice field location, 9) Driving distance from your home to practice or home games, 10) Coach's Name, 11) Coach's email, 12) Coach's Phone, 13) Coach's experience, 14) Notes and 15) Current status.

Step 3 Write down your goals and preferences. Think through the following; 1) What level of competition do you want your kid to play, 2) How many games do you want your kid to play, 3) How far are you willing to drive, 4) What kind of coach do you want, 5) Do you want your son to play a particular position, 6) Cost you are willing to pay, 7) Where are your kids friends playing, etc.

Step 4 Match up the information in your spreadsheet to your goals and preferences. This will help you prioritize which teams you want to target. Check the tryout schedule. You may find that several teams have tryouts on the same day and time. If this happens, go to the first choice tryout and call the coach of the other team and request a private evaluation. Coaches are looking for talent so they often go out of their way to evaluate kids.

Step 5 Prepare for the tryouts. A typical tryout will have several stations.

1. Running: The coach will evaluate speed and base running technique
2. Hitting: The coach will be looking for kids who go with the pitch and hit the ball hard to all fields
3. Bunting: The coach will be looking for proper form and execution. Bunt the ball up the lines. Know how to do a sacrifice, suicide squeeze, safety squeeze, slug bunt, quick bunt for hit, etc.
4. Fielding (infield): Be prepared to take grounders at third, short and second base. Also be prepared to play first especially if you are a lefty. Coaches are looking for proper technique and strong and accurate throws.
5. Fielding (outfield): Be prepared to shag fly balls. Coaches are looking for speed tracking down balls, proper technique and positioning and strong, accurate throws.
6. Pitching: Be prepared to pitch whether you are a pitcher or not, however,  the coach may not evaluate everyone at pitching. If your son or daughter is a pitcher, they should let the coach know that you are interested in showcasing their pitching skills. The coach will be looking for proper form, velocity, control, the pitches you know, etc.
7. Catching: Your son or daughter should be prepared to showcase their catching skills if they are interested in making the team as a catcher. The coach will be looking for proper footwork on throws to first, second and third, arm strength and accuracy, blocking technique, etc.

Step 6 Go to a batting cage before the tryout. If the tryout has 40+ kids, each kid will get a very limited number of pitches to showcase their hitting and bunting. Take your son or daughter to a batting cage prior to the tryout to getting their timing down. Have them practice bunting while they are in the cage.

Step 7 Wear something that will standout in a crowd. First of all, wear something that makes you look like a ballplayer. For example, don't wear a concert t-shirt. My son wore the jersey of his former select team to all tryouts. His former team had a great reputation so wearing the shirt signaled that he had played at a high level before. Note: at most tryouts, the current team players will wear their uniforms. To stand out, I would recommend wearing another color. For example, if the team you are trying out for is black and white, then wear something red.

Step 8 Get to the tryout early, 30+ minutes early. Coaches will love the enthusiasm and dedication. Make sure your son or daughter warms up their arm during this time. Kids tend to throw extra hard in tryouts to impress, if they are not properly warmed up this could lead to an injury. If your son or daughter is late, they often jump right into drills with no warm up at all, or they miss reps while they are warming up. I recommend hitting grounders to your son or daughter before everyone gets to the tryout.

Step 9 Talk on the field and show leadership. One thing that every coach noticed and commented on to me after the tryouts was my son's leadership. My son had been coached very well. He had been taught to talk on the field. I got it, mine mine mine, two, two, two (that means to throw it to second), etc. It seems like a little thing but it shows confidence and knowledge of the game.

Step 10 Hustle from station to station. I saw too many kids walking during the tryout. Make sure your kid hustles from drill to drill.

Step 11 Introduce yourself to the head coach after the tryout. Tell the evaluator your name and your kid's name. Point your kid out. Coaches will often reveal if they were impressed with your kid. Ask questions to evaluate the situation. It is important to listen, don't talk too much. I heard one parent trying to explain why his son did not do well. The coach told the guy the kid played well, the only concern was his defeated attitude. The dad said, "He has always been that way. He just lacks confidence." Why offer up this information. Through your conversations with coaches, you can learn a lot about the politics of the team and other teams (coaches talk to other coaches). Put the info in your spreadsheet.

Step 12 Once you get your offers refer back to your goals and preferences. Evaluate all the information that you have gathered against your goals and preferences. Stay true to them as this will be the place the you and your kid will be most happy. And happiness leads to success.

The Main Point

Making a select team takes standout skills, the confidence to use those skills while trying out, the energy to showcase the skills, the ability to standout in a crowd and a demonstrated passion of the sport. Good luck.

Youth Baseball: Tryouts - Tips For Coaches, Clubs and Players (Part 1)

My son recently tried out for three select teams for the 2011 season. I got a firsthand look at how four teams managed the process. (My son did not tryout for his former team, but I followed the process closely because we had hoped to stay with the most geographically convenient team.)

My son's now former team did not handle the process very well and lost 8 of 13 rostered players.

It has been awhile since my son has tried out for a select baseball team because his status on his previous team had been secure for four years. During that time, the team had a fabulous run highlighted by a second place finish in the 2008 CABA World Series.

The head coach of the team played in college and coached at every level of baseball from college down. From day one of the U9 season, he coached the kids as if they were high school players. As a result, any kid who played for him developed an outstanding baseball IQ.

After the 2009 season, three key players and the assistant coach from that team decided to move on for various reasons and the team was never the same. In 2010, the team had a strong showing at the Cooperstown Dreams Park Tournament, but struggled with a sub .500 record overall. It was a season filled with disappointment and discontent.

Last Team Photo

After the season, the head coach resigned, there was a failed attempt to merge with another team / coaching staff and the overall organization was left scrambling to find a head coach. As such, there was a lot of uncertainty going into the tryout season (early Aug). The parents were left wondering; Would the team dissolve? Which team are we merging with? Which players are in the merger plans and who is out? Where is the newly merged team going to play? Who is going to be the coach? Would the new coach be qualified? Would the new coach be a good fit for my son? The uncertainty of the situation led families to look for alternatives and therefore most of the players participated in tryouts for other teams throughout the metro area in late July. Sadly, eight of the thirteen players signed with other teams. Only two kids from the CABA World Series finalist team would remain with the club.


We had heard for years that the head coach was most likely not going to coach beyond U12 but there was never an official announcement nor a transition plan that would have kept the team intact.

A really strong coach was eventually found but it was too late to keep some of the players. My son had decided to go to another team before his former team even had a tryout. I did hear that the new coach attracted 30+ players to the tryout. I also heard that the new coach is fantastic at developing talent. Hopefully he can restore the team to his past glory with a brand new crop of kids.

The Main Point


Clubs (select team organizations) should set long term plan for the team and set clear expectations for players, parents and coaches. When a coaching transition happens the club should follow the long term plan and clearly communicate the transition plan with the parents.

It would also be a good idea for the new coach to reach out to each parent of the current players individually before the tryouts to 1) start a relationship, 2) allay concerns or 3) have a frank conversation about the status of player in question so that that player can look for an alternative team.

Just communicate honestly and quickly. Parents and players may not like what they hear but at least they will know their status so that they can make informed decision and seek other options.