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How to Run Football Tryouts
A football tryout is several tryouts at once. A quarterback, a lineman and a defensive back share nothing worth scoring, so a session run as one drill for everyone scores the drill. This is a two-hour run of show that sorts players into position groups, keeps contact out of the evaluation, builds the heat plan in before the first whistle, and keeps every evaluator looking at something.
A two-hour football tryout, minute by minute
This is the shape most leagues settle on for a group of twenty to forty players. The numbers are a guide: shorten the rotations for a younger group, and add time to position work for an older one. Run it in shorts and shirts, without pads, unless your league has you in helmets.
| Time | What happens | Who runs it |
|---|---|---|
| 0:00 to 0:15 | Check-in, numbers, medical and concussion forms confirmed, the weigh-in if your league holds one, and a dynamic warm-up, all together. | Registrar and two coaches |
| 0:15 to 0:35 | The 40-yard dash, two attempts each with the faster time recorded, then the shuttle and the vertical jump, in rotating groups with a water break at each change. | Two timers, a starter and a recorder |
| 0:35 to 1:05 | Position drills in groups: quarterbacks and backs, receivers and defensive backs, linemen, linebackers. Kickers and punters work on their own. | One evaluator per group |
| 1:05 to 1:25 | Blocking and tackling technique at controlled speed on bags and shields, in position groups. No live contact where your league restricts it. | Coaches who teach the technique your league uses |
| 1:25 to 1:50 | A 7-on-7 or team period, non-contact, so evaluators see alignment, assignments and decisions in a play. | Every evaluator, one eye each |
| 1:50 to 2:00 | A short conditioning test, a cool-down, water, and exactly what happens next and when families will hear. | Head coach |
The seven football drills and stations, and how to run each
These are the stations the scorecard builder can add to the sheet, in the order they usually run. Delete the ones you are not running: a station on the sheet that never happened leaves a blank that looks like a missing score.
- 40-yard dash. Two timers with stopwatches at the finish and a starter at the line. Each player runs twice from a standing or three-point start, and you record the faster time. Run it first, after the warm-up, while legs are fresh. Shorten the distance for the youngest groups, and run everyone the same distance. What to score: Record the time as a time. It feeds speed on the grid, but it is not the same thing, and a lineman is not placed by it.
- Shuttle and agility. A short shuttle or a cone drill with two cuts, timed, and an agility ladder run for footwork. Mark the cones before the group arrives and demonstrate it once. Two attempts each, with the faster time recorded. What to score: Agility on the grid, and the time in the measurables table. Watch the feet and the hips: low and quick, or tall and long.
- Vertical jump. Each player jumps from a standing position with a measuring device or a chalked wall, three attempts, and you record the best. It is quick, so run it while a group waits for another station. Skip it for the youngest groups if your league does not use it. What to score: Recorded as a number, in inches. It informs athleticism and is never scored as a skill.
- Position drills. Split into position groups with one evaluator each. Quarterbacks throw and work the snap and handoff, backs run and catch and protect, receivers run the same routes and catch, linemen work stance and first step, linebackers and defensive backs work reads, backpedals and coverage drops. Run the same reps for every player in a group. What to score: Position play, catching and speed on the field, with the position criteria if you load them in the builder.
- Blocking and tackling. Blocking and tackling technique on bags and shields, at controlled speed, in position groups, taught the way your league teaches it. No live contact where your league restricts it. Demonstrate each rep, then watch the player do it, and keep reps short. What to score: Blocking, tackling and physicality, scored only on what the drill showed. Leave the cells blank for a group that ran none.
- 7-on-7 or team period. A 7-on-7 or non-contact team period with simple plays, run in short series and with the same plays for every group. Let evaluators watch assignments and alignments, and rotate players so each runs the same number of plays. What to score: Football IQ and coachability, and a second look at anything that looked different from the drills.
- Conditioning test. A short, controlled test at the end, such as a set of timed shuttles or a run to a mark and back, with water ready and a plan to stop anyone who is struggling. Keep it short, and keep it off the day if it is hot. What to score: Effort and recovery. Record it as a note. It is the weakest evidence in the session and never a deciding one.
Heat, contact and head injuries: plan the safety first
This is not the part of the session to improvise. The rules that cover it belong to your league and your state, and they change, so treat the list below as questions to answer before the day, not as instructions.
- Heat. What do your league and state require for heat and acclimatization? Where is the water and the shade, how often is the break, and what weather shortens or cancels the session?
- Contact. What may a tryout include at this age? If the answer is none, say so in the announcement, and score only what the drills can show.
- Head injuries. Who is trained to recognize one, what do your league and state require when a player has a suspected head injury, and who calls the family? Many leagues and states require the player to come out and not return the same day.
- An emergency plan. A written plan with the address of the field, the nearest phone and the person who will make the call. Know where the nearest defibrillator is, if there is one.
- First aid. A first-aid kit, ice and someone who knows how to use them, at the field before the first player arrives.
How many people you need
The usual way to wreck a tryout is to run it with too few evaluators and ask each to watch everything. A workable plan, by turnout:
| Players | Evaluators | Helpers | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Up to 20 | 4 | 2 timers, 1 registrar | One evaluator for each position group: backs and quarterbacks, receivers and defensive backs, linemen and linebackers, and kickers. |
| 21 to 40 | 6 to 8 | 2 timers, 1 registrar, 1 first-aid helper | Add an evaluator to each large group. This is the size most sessions are. |
| 41 to 60 | 8 or more | As above, plus a field helper and a second recorder | Split by age or weight into two groups running at once, or run two sessions. One field cannot give sixty players useful position work. |
Two evaluators on every group is better than one, scoring independently, and impossible for most volunteer leagues. If you can only double up on one thing, double up on the position drills, where opinions differ the most.
Football tryout checklist
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, medical consent and concussion acknowledgment, one scoring sheet per evaluator with spares, and clipboards.
- Numbers. Numbered pinnies or shirts, and a master list of numbers to names that only the registrar holds.
- Timing. Two stopwatches at the finish line, cones or a measuring wheel to mark the 40 yards, and a way to measure the vertical jump.
- Drill equipment. Footballs in the size your age group uses, cones, ladders, bags and shields for the technique stations, and a tee for kickers.
- Water and shade. Water for everyone at every station, shade or a place to cool down, and the plan for heat and weather written down.
- First aid and the plan. A first-aid kit, ice, a written emergency plan, and a phone that works.
- The field. Walked first for holes, sprinklers and debris, with the lines or cones laid out before anyone arrives.
- Afterward. A way to collect every scoring sheet before anyone leaves, and a short message ready that says when and how families will hear.
Mistakes that make football tryout scores wrong
- Letting size decide. Size follows growth at youth ages. A big player who cannot get off the ball is not yet a lineman, and a small, fast, smart player is easy to overlook. Score the skills and look again next year before labeling anyone.
- Over-reading the 40. Speed is one column of nine. A fast player who cannot catch is a fast player who cannot catch, and a lineman is not placed by the time.
- Running live contact to see who is tough. It tells you who is willing to be hit on that day, injures players, and may break your league's rules. Score technique at controlled speed.
- Scoring position play across the whole field. A quarterback's footwork and a lineman's stance are not comparable. Compare within the group.
- Forgetting the players who are not skill players. If your evaluators spend the session on the quarterbacks and receivers, the line gets a half-scored sheet.
- Mixing the weigh-in into the score. If your league sets divisions by weight, record the weigh-in on its own sheet and keep it out of the grid.
After the tryout
Average the independent sheets before anyone discusses a name, tell families privately and before the roster goes up, and keep the sheets until any appeal window has closed. The longer version, which applies to every sport, is the general tryouts and evaluation guide.
Once the teams exist, the paperwork is the registration form, the code of conduct and the equipment checkout, with the equipment fitting before the first practice that needs pads.
Other sports, and the general version
This is the football version. The general tryouts & evaluation works for any sport, and the football forms and templates page lists the other 5 football 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.
Common questions about football tryouts
How long should football tryouts be?
Two hours is a sensible target for one age group of twenty to forty players, with a water break at every change of station. Less than an hour does not leave enough time for position work, and more than two and a half hours in warm weather is a safety problem as well as scoring fatigue. If you need a second session, score both and average them rather than treating the second as a tiebreak.
What drills should we run at football tryouts?
Seven stations cover what a coach scores: the 40-yard dash, the shuttle and agility ladder, the vertical jump, position drills, blocking and tackling technique, a 7-on-7 or team period, and a short conditioning test. Keep each one simple enough that a nervous ten-year-old understands it from one demonstration, and keep the contact drills non-live where your league requires it.
Should football tryouts include live tackling?
Not live. Many youth leagues and states limit contact at evaluations and in early practices, so check yours first. Bags, shields and controlled walk-throughs show technique without live contact, and a player's readiness for contact is decided separately, by the coaches and the league's rules.
How do we plan for heat?
Before anything else. Follow your league's and your state's rules on heat and acclimatization, have water and shade at every station, build a water break into every change of station, and decide in advance what conditions would shorten or cancel the session and how families will hear. Heat illness is one of football's main risks, and an evaluation day is no exception.
How many players can one evaluator watch?
Ten to fifteen in a drill group is workable. Beyond that, an evaluator is watching the group and not the players. Split by position, then by age or weight, so every group has an evaluator and a few players are waiting at any time.
More football tools
The rest of the football toolkit
Football Registration Form
Positions, weight for divisions, head and neck injury history, uniform sizes and three jersey number choices, on a form for sign-up day.
Open the generatorFootball Code of Conduct
Contact, equipment, heat and water rules for players, and sideline and head-injury rules for parents, on one page with one signature.
Open the generatorFootball Tryout Evaluation Form
A scoring grid for speed, agility, tackling, blocking, catching and football IQ, with a table for the 40-yard dash, shuttle and vertical.
Open the generatorFootball Player Evaluation Form
A mid-season report for a parent: football skills against the age group, a section for each position, and room for words.
Open the generatorFootball Equipment & Uniform Checkout
Helmet, shoulder pads, hip, thigh and knee pads, jersey and pants, with ID numbers, size, condition and replacement cost, and a return date.
Open the generatorPlaybook Logix
What happens after the football tryout
Playbook Logix is registration, rosters, payments, schedules and team messaging for youth and adult sports, in one place. The scorecard decides who plays where. Playbook Logix takes over once the teams exist, and it can handle the sign-ups before them.
Take sign-ups for the tryout
Open the tryout as its own program with a birth-date window and a cap on spots, collect the fee if you charge one, and have every family give you the same information before they arrive.
How it worksBuild the teams from one pool
Registered players land in a single pool and you place them on teams afterward, so the rosters you build from your scorecard are the ones families see. A roster can hold players, coaches, managers and volunteers.
How it worksTell families what happens next
Post the results and next steps on the team message board, with an Acknowledge button to see who has read them. Email and text blasts for anything that cannot wait are on the paid plans.
How it worksThe Starter plan is free, and the iPhone and Android app is free on every plan. Anything described above as Coach plan and above needs a paid plan. See the plans or the mobile app.
After the tryout comes the roster
Playbook Logix takes the part that starts once the team exists: registration, medical forms parents fill in on their phone, who has paid, and a roster that is the same in everyone's pocket. There is a free plan.