Free Basketball Player Evaluation Form

Nine rows in the main table, one table for the roles that need their own, and three open-ended sections at the end.

• The main table. Ball handling, shooting, finishing, on-ball defense, help defense, court vision, rebounding, basketball IQ and coachability, rated against the age group, with a column for what you saw.
• Guards, wings and posts. Ball handling under pressure, passing and vision, pick-and-roll decisions and pace for guards; catch-and-shoot and movement without the ball for wings; footwork, screening and interior defense for posts. Fill in the rows that match the player's role and leave the rest blank.
• The writing. What went well (the strengths), what to work on (the areas for improvement), and one thing to practice at home.
• The last line. The date you went through it with the player. Worth filling in for the same reason a receipt is.

Effort and coachability are the exception to rating against the age group. They are marked against what you saw from this athlete, because nobody is below average for a ten-year-old at trying hard.

The numbers give the page its shape and the sentences are what a family remembers. Vague praise and vague criticism are equally useless, and basketball has a specific thing to say about almost everything. Compare:

• Shooting. Not "needs to shoot more". Try "the elbow flares out on the catch, so the ball drifts right. Fifty form shots a day from three feet, one hand, until it goes straight."
• Defense. Not "needs to play harder on D". Try "reaches for the ball instead of sliding, which is where the fouls come from. Next is staying low through the first two slides."
• Ball handling. Not "needs a better handle". Try "uses the right hand only, and the dribble comes up when pressured. Ten minutes a day with the left hand, eyes on a spot on the wall."
• Attitude. Not "great attitude". Try "stayed engaged on the bench all game, calling out screens, even in the game we lost by twenty."

The last section, one thing to practice at home, is the most useful line on the page and the one most often left blank. In basketball it is usually easy: a ball, a driveway or a gym corner, and ten minutes.

This is the basketball version. The general player evaluation form works for any sport, and the basketball forms and templates page lists the other 5 basketball 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.