How to Run Softball 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. Home to first, timed. Two timers with stopwatches at first base and a starter at the plate. Each player runs twice from a swing or a bunt stance, and you record the faster time. Let left-handed slappers run from their own start, because they are moving as they make contact, and record that they did. 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, and a slapper's time is not comparable to a right-handed batter's.
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, a slow roller to charge and one bunt to field. What to score: Fielding, throwing, arm strength and awareness.
3. Outfield. Hit the same three fly balls to every player: one in front, one over the shoulder, one to the side. Add a ball that drops short, and finish with 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. Let slap hitters take some of their swings their own way. Make sure the next hitter waits behind a screen or fence in a helmet with a face mask. What to score: Hitting and bat speed. Note approach, and whether the player adjusts between swings.
5. Pitching circle. Volunteers only. A proper arm warm-up, then a fixed small number of pitches to a catcher in full gear, with a coach watching the windmill from the side and a counter keeping the number. Ask each pitcher which pitches they throw and watch those. Stop at the first mention of soreness. What to score: Command, mechanics, composure and a change of pace. Record speed separately if you measure it.
6. Catching. Full gear for everyone. Start with receiving thrown strikes, move to blocking balls in the dirt and balls that get away on a third strike, 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 volunteer pitcher or a short scrimmage, with runners on if you have the players for it, because that is when awareness shows. 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 home to first, a third for catchers' pop times, and cones or base markers if the distances are not already laid out.
• Balls and bats. Softballs in the size your age group uses, enough for hitting, fielding and the circle, plus a spare bucket. A few approved bats to lend, and a tee for the youngest groups.
• Protective gear. Batting helmets with face masks in several sizes, a catcher's helmet, chest protector and leg guards for anyone who catches, a screen for the person feeding balls if you have one, and loaner gloves.
• The field. Bases down, the circle and batter's boxes clear, and the fence and dugout checked 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.
• Scoring a slap hitter like a power hitter. A slapper wins with placement, speed and a first step toward the pitcher, and a sheet that only rewards a hard swing will undervalue the player. Score what the slap achieves and write it in the notes.
• Over-reading the run to first. 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 in the circle, thirty players get a half-scored sheet.

This is the softball version. The general tryouts & evaluation 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.