How to Run Baseball Tryouts

These are the stations the scorecard builder can add to the sheet, in the order they usually run. Delete the ones you are not testing: a station on the sheet that never happened leaves a blank that looks like a missing score.

1. 60-yard dash. Two timers with stopwatches at the finish and a starter at the line. Each player runs twice and you record the faster one. Run it first, while legs are fresh and before throwing wears anybody out. What to score: Record the time as a time. It feeds baserunning, but it is not the same thing.
2. Infield. Rotate players through every infield position in turn, with ground balls hit at the same speed to each, then a throw to first. Include a ball to the glove side, a ball to the backhand and a ball that comes up short. What to score: Fielding, throwing, arm strength and awareness.
3. Outfield. Hit the same three balls to every player: a fly ball in front, one over the shoulder, one to the side. Finish with a ground ball and a throw to a base. A coach at the base catches and gives the same target to everyone. What to score: First step, route, catch, and the throw.
4. Batting practice. A fixed number of swings each, say eight to ten, from a coach or a machine at a distance suited to the age group, or off a tee for the youngest. Make sure the next hitter waits behind a screen or fence with a helmet on. What to score: Hitting and bat speed. Note approach and whether the player adjusts between swings.
5. Bullpen. Volunteers only. A proper warm-up, then a fixed small number of pitches to a catcher in full gear, with a coach watching the delivery from the side and a pitch counter keeping the number. Stop at the first mention of soreness. What to score: Command, delivery, composure. Record velocity separately if you measure it.
6. Catching. Full gear for everyone. Start with receiving thrown strikes, move to blocking balls in the dirt, then time throws to second with a stopwatch from the pitch reaching the mitt to the ball reaching the glove at second. What to score: Receiving, blocking, pop time and how the player works with the pitcher.
7. Live at-bats. Live at-bats against a coach or a pitcher who volunteered, or a short intrasquad game. Keep it short and keep the bench small, so nobody stands for forty minutes. What to score: Awareness and coachability, and a second look at anything that looked different from the stations.

Most tryout problems start before the first player arrives. Pack and set up from this list the evening before, so the morning goes on watching players.

• Paperwork. A sign-in sheet, each player's registration and medical consent, one scoring sheet per evaluator with spares, and clipboards that will not blow away.
• Numbers. Pinnies or numbered stickers, and a master list of numbers to names that only the registrar holds.
• Timing. Two stopwatches for the 60-yard dash, a third for catchers' pop times, and cones or a tape measure to mark the distance.
• Balls and bats. Enough baseballs for hitting, fielding and the bullpen, plus a spare bucket. A few bats that meet your league's standard to lend, and a tee for the youngest groups.
• Protective gear. Batting helmets in several sizes, a catcher's helmet, chest protector and leg guards for anyone who catches, a screen for batting practice if you have one, and loaner gloves.
• The field. Bases down, the mound and plate areas checked, and the fence and dugout looked over for hazards before anyone arrives.
• First aid and weather. A first-aid kit and ice, water for everyone, and the plan for rain or heat written down, with a phone that works.
• Afterward. A way to collect every scoring sheet before anyone leaves, and a short message ready that says when and how families will hear.

• Judging from the scrimmage alone. A game gives a hitter two or three plate appearances and a fielder maybe one chance. It is the weakest evidence in the session.
• Letting the same evaluator watch the same station all day. They tire and drift, and a harsh evaluator on infield penalizes every infielder equally. Rotate them if you can.
• Hitting different fungos to different players. If one player gets a routine ground ball and the next a hard one, the sheet is measuring the coach. Hit the same ball to everyone.
• Over-reading the 60-yard dash. Speed is one column of eight. A fast player who cannot catch is a fast player who cannot catch.
• Forgetting the players who are not pitchers. If your evaluators spend the session on the mound, thirty children get a half-scored sheet.

This is the baseball version. The general tryouts & evaluation works for any sport, and the baseball forms and templates page lists the other 5 baseball documents.

Playbook Logix provides customizable templates for informational and administrative use. They are not legal advice and will not meet the requirements of every organization, sport or jurisdiction. Review anything you intend to rely on with your own attorney or your insurance carrier, and check your league and state requirements.