Free Lacrosse Tryout Evaluation Form & Scorecard

The scorecard loads these nine columns. They are short labels, and the labels hide most of the judgment, so here is what an evaluator is looking at under each.

• Stick handling. Control of the ball in the stick while moving: cradling, switching hands and protecting the ball from a defender. Score both hands, because a player who can only use one is easy to defend. Stick skills gate everything else, so this is the column to weigh first.
• Catching. Giving with the stick, soft hands, eyes on the ball into the pocket, and catching on the move and from both sides. Score the catch on a ball a player could catch, and note a first touch that is rough because the player has only ever caught in a line.
• Passing. Accuracy, a clean release and a ball the receiver can handle, to either side. Score the pass the receiver can use, and watch the release more than the speed.
• Shooting. Accuracy and a clean release from set positions and on the run, with a plan for where the ball is going. Count shots on target as a number if you like, and score the technique and the decision. A hard shot into the goalie's pads is not a good shot.
• Dodging. Getting past a defender with the stick protected, a change of pace and direction, and a plan, from behind the goal and from up top. Score the protection of the stick and the first step, not only whether the player got by.
• Ground balls. Getting to a loose ball first, scooping through it with the feet moving and coming up with the stick protected. It is the least glamorous skill in lacrosse and one of the best separators. Score it 1v1 and in traffic, and score the effort as much as the scoop.
• Positioning. Where a player stands in relation to the ball, the goal, the teammates and the opponents. It only shows in play, so score it in the scrimmage and leave it blank after the drills.
• Conditioning. Keeping the quality up through the session. Lacrosse is a running game, so score how the stick skills hold up late, not only how fast a player is on a sprint, and be fair to the youngest players.
• Coachability. The player who adjusts when shown something, not the one who nods. Correct one thing in the middle of a drill, such as the top hand or the cradle, and watch who fixes it on the next rep.

A five point scale gives evaluators a consistent way to compare players across the same drills and the same age group. It is printed above the grid so every evaluator reads the same words, and the last column is an average, not a total.

• Agree on the 3 before anyone is scored. Have every evaluator watch the same few catches, passes and ground balls, and say out loud what a 3 looks like for this age group. A lot of the disagreement between evaluators is about where the middle is, not about the players.
• Score what you saw, when you saw it. Write the number before the next player steps in. Leave a cell blank for a skill the session never tested, such as shooting for a player who never took a shot. A blank costs a player nothing, because the average only counts what was scored.
• Score each column on its own. A fast player should not lift a stick handling score, and a dropped pass should not pull down ground balls.
• Score independently, then average. Two evaluators who confer during the session produce one opinion twice.
• Score both hands. A player who is good with one and lost with the other has shown you two scores, not one.

This is the lacrosse version. The general tryout evaluation scoresheet works for any sport, and the lacrosse forms and templates page lists the other 5 lacrosse 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.