365 Days to Better Baseball - How to Make that Team

Sunday Setting Sights on Success Tip of the Day Little thingstryout playersmay not have thought of

There is no doubt that talent wins out in a tryout situation. Most coaches recognize players with good baseball talent and those players make the team. However, many players have equal ability and coaches look for any difference in players that they feel may help the team. Because of that, I remind youth that they need to stand out from the next player in order to catch the coach's eye. Many intangibles as hustle, good grades, good attitude, enthusiasm, attention, and promptness are important, of course.
Beyond those, a few lesser know things may give players that little advantage to make the team.

Tony Gwynn also won eight NL batting titles and had the highest batting average for a season, .394, since 1941. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Tryout Players should:

1. Aim high when making throws this indicates a strong arm and if they overthrow their target, it also indicates a strong arm, as opposed to bouncing balls in the dirt.
2. Charge balls on defense coaches love players, who are aggressive. Even if they over charge balls and miss it still looks better than being tentative.
3. Take pitches that are balls when batting players are often nervous and overly aggressive when batting in tryout situations, which is understandable, but players who take pitches that are not strikes give the appearance of knowing the game, not to mention the strike zone.
4. Watch balls that they do not swing at all the way to the catcher's glove another one of those old school things that coaches like to see.
5. Run on and off the field most coaches are old school and love to see that.