There’s a famous line from New York Yankees great Joe Dimaggio to the effect of, “You never know when someone might see me play for the first time,” when asked why he played hard all the time. What a great philosophy and how important when a player is trying out for a baseball team.
With the abundance and competitiveness of traveling baseball teams these days, trying to impress the coach and build a team requires more than just displaying baseball skills. Often the best players from a large area compete for the same spots on these travel teams as well as the bigger high school teams. When a coach sees a player for the first time, the player must do everything possible to stand out, even beyond showing good baseball skills.
Of all the sports, trying to impress the coach and make the team can be the hardest in baseball. The very nature of the game makes it difficult to be “on” all the time or at the right time. Batting, pitching and fielding slumps come and go, even for the best players. On the other hand, I can remember many cases of players who performed very well in baseball tryouts and still didn’t make the team. Sometimes coaches have their minds set on who will make the team even before tryouts start, and they’re not open-minded for tryouts, but that’s a story for another day.
Of course, the first thing players need to do is prepare physically and mentally for tryouts so they don’t regret not being part of the team. There are many things baseball players can do besides play well to perform well in baseball tryouts to impress the coach.
Players who do the following have a better chance of impressing the coach and making the team. Players must:
1. Show up on time, help with equipment or any necessary setup if needed, and familiarize yourself with the environment. Players may even want to hit the course a day or two before tryouts to get more comfortable with the course and environment.
2. Make and maintain eye contact with coaches at introductions and during opening instructions.
3. Show enthusiasm at all times during the tests.
4. Hurry up and try not to be the last player to reach each station or position. Race to positions, run out all hit balls and run after missed balls.
5. Take warm-ups seriously: The way a player plays catch, shoot and warm-up can impress the coach.
6. Try any suggestions the trainers offer you and definitely don’t say you’ve been told a different way to do something.
7. Don’t be afraid to ask questions if you get confused and it seems appropriate.
8. Be social and encourage your teammates and never laugh at or reprimand other players’ play. Coaches love to see players who may have leadership qualities and don’t want to deal with players who may be a behavioral problem.
9. Help clean up after stations and practice.
10. Don’t appear bored and try to be busy or look busy whenever possible.
11. Don’t get discouraged or appear discouraged when things don’t go your way. Coaches generally recognize talent and understand that players are nervous, but they don’t like dealing with players who get depressed too easily.
12. Show knowledge of game strategy, show a keen eye at the plate, volunteer or be willing to play different positions if asked.
Of course, players should be careful about trying to curry favor with the manager by going overboard to the point where other players are put off by the player’s obvious actions. This is especially true when players reach high school age when other players are old enough to recognize such behavior. Finally, keeping good grades in school is always important to school teams.