How to run tryouts: a fair plan, a rubric and a kind cut

What a good tryout actually does

Here’s the uncomfortable truth first: you will get some calls wrong. Kids have off days, nerves hide skill, and a 90-minute look can’t match a season of practice. A good process doesn’t make you perfect. It makes you fair, consistent and able to explain every decision to a 14-year-old and their parent without flinching.

USA Hockey frames the goal as finding the best place for each young player to develop and have fun, while giving every player an equal chance to show what they can do. The Positive Coaching Alliance adds a reminder coaches forget: many players are nervous, so help them relax enough to show you their real level. That’s the same advice we give athletes in how to prepare for tryouts. Your job is to build the room where that preparation can show up.

Before day one: the setup checklist

Most tryout problems start in the planning, not the gym. Work through this list one to two weeks out.

A scoring rubric you can defend

PCA’s guidance on reducing bias is simple: use numbers instead of names, include a variety of drills so different strengths can show, and note the intangibles like coachability, effort and hustle. Here’s a rubric built that way. Score each category 1 to 5. Adjust the categories for your sport, but keep the behavior anchors.

Why score response to mistakes? Because every player will make one, and what happens in the next two seconds tells you how they’ll play when a game turns. It’s also the most coachable skill on the sheet. Our guide on helping an athlete reset after a mistake shows how to build it once the season starts. For what to put on the athlete-facing version of this list, see what coaches look for at tryouts.

1. 01

   Score independently

   Evaluators don’t compare notes during the session. Talk only after every sheet is in.

2. 02

   Write a word next to any 1 or 5

   “Sprinted every transition” or “froze on serve receive.” Extremes need evidence, and you’ll want it in the cut conversation.

3. 03

   Rotate players, not evaluators

   Keep each evaluator on the same station so one person scores every kid on the same drill the same way.

A 90-minute station plan

PCA recommends easing into drills, since starting slow makes skill gaps less obvious early and gives less experienced players a chance to settle. Then build to competition. USA Hockey coaches lean on battle drills and small-area games because compete level shows up there. Here’s a template for about 40 players in four groups of ten.

Running more than one day? Repeat the same stations on day two. Two looks at the same drill beat one look at many drills, and a kid who had a nervous first day gets a fair second shot. If you have multiple cut rounds, say so in the welcome, not halfway through.

Running the room on tryout day

1. 01

   Open with the whole group, parents included

   PCA suggests explaining the procedure to players and parents together, then pointing to clearly labeled stations. Families who know the plan stop guessing.

2. 02

   Use the same name rule for everyone

   Name tags for all or numbers for all. Players notice when you call your returning players by name and everyone else by number.

3. 03

   Coach a little, on purpose

   Give each player one quick correction at a station and watch the next rep. USA Hockey coaches recommend talking with players during tryouts, because it shows you who they are and how they take feedback.

4. 04

   Create a bad moment

   PCA says to create situations that show how athletes respond after a bad call or being subbed out. A scored drill, a tough call in scrimmage or a sub mid-play all work.

5. 05

   Spread your attention

   The kid with the big early shot will grab your eye. Set a rule: every evaluator logs every number at least once before scoring anyone a second time.

6. 06

   Close the way you opened

   Thank them, repeat exactly when and how results come, and say that every player will hear from you directly.

Making the call, including bubble players

Average the sheets first, then talk. USA Hockey coaches say the top few players are usually obvious and the hard part is deciding between kids in the middle. Give the bubble group extra time in the scrimmage or a short second look before you decide.

PCA’s school-sports guidance is to cut as few athletes as possible and keep anyone who can contribute, learn and grow. If your league allows it, consider a larger roster, a development group, or roles like team manager or stat tracker. Rank a few players past your roster limit in case someone declines a spot.

How to deliver cuts kindly

This is the part kids remember for years. PCA’s guidance is specific: share the roster so players aren’t all in one place reading it together, such as emailing everyone at the same time, then reach out to cut players for a private, one-on-one conversation. Thank them, name what they did well, explain how they can improve and offer a way to stay involved.

1. 01

   Release results privately and all at once

   Email or post online at the time you promised. No lists on gym doors, no texting your returning players first.

2. 02

   Offer every cut player a conversation

   Within a few days, in person or on a call. A parent can be there, but talk to the athlete.

3. 03

   Bring the score sheet notes

   Use your written evidence. Specific beats kind-sounding but vague.

4. 04

   Give one or two things to work on, not ten

   A teen can build a season around two things. Ten things sounds like a list of reasons you didn’t like them.

5. 05

   Point to a next step

   Another team, a rec league, a clinic, next year’s tryout date. Leave the door visibly open.

Then stop talking and let them answer. If they cry or go quiet, that’s normal. Don’t argue the decision or reopen it. You can say: “It’s OK to be upset. That means you care. My door’s open when you want to talk more.” Share didn’t make the team: what to do next with the athlete and what to say when your child does not make the team with the parent.

Watch for the player who seems more than disappointed. If a cut athlete is withdrawn for weeks, stops eating or sleeping well, or talks about hurting themselves, tell their parents and point the family to a doctor or licensed mental health professional. In a crisis in the US, call or text 988. See when a coach should refer an athlete.

After tryouts: train the skill you scored

You just scored every player on how they respond to a mistake. Now coach it. The players who made your roster will miss shots, shank passes and boot ground balls all season, and a team that resets fast wins the next play more often than it loses it. Start with mental training for coaches and a simple team mental skills session plan.

That’s what reset is built for. It’s the mental training app for athletes: short lessons, recorded guidance and an AI Coach, two minutes at a time. Notice. Name. Return. Try a 2-minute reset, or join the waitlist.