Free Softball Tryout Evaluation Form & Scorecard

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

• Hitting. Contact quality and approach: does the player square the pitch up, stay back on a change of pace and decide whether to swing? A slap hitter is judged on the same things, by how the slap works for that player.
• Bat speed. How quickly the barrel gets through the zone. Watch it against live or machine pitching where you can: the pitch arrives from a short distance, and a swing that looks fine off a tee is late on a real one.
• Fielding. Footwork, glove position and hands on ground balls and fly balls, scored on the play itself rather than on whether the throw got there. Balls come off the bat fast on a short diamond, so watch the first step and how low the player stays.
• Arm strength. How hard and how far the ball goes. Score it separately from accuracy so a strong, wild arm and a weak, accurate one both show up.
• Throwing. Accuracy and mechanics: a throw that arrives on target from a balanced base, to first, to second and to the plate.
• Baserunning. Running the bases rather than running a straight line: the turn at first, reading a ball in the dirt, and sliding technique if your age group slides. Home to first is timed separately, in the table below the grid.
• Awareness. Knowing the number of outs, where the throw goes before the ball arrives, who is covering and who is backing up, and where the play is when a bunt or a slap is coming.
• Coachability. The player who adjusts when shown something, not the one who nods. Teach a small change mid-session and watch who makes it.

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 five swings, ten ground balls and one slap or bunt, 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 pitching for a player who did not throw in the circle. A blank costs a player nothing, because the average only counts what was scored.
• Score each column on its own. A strong bat should not lift a fielding score, and a slow home to first should not pull down arm strength.
• Score independently, then average. Two evaluators who confer during the session produce one opinion twice.

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