Announcement
A Different Way to Run Assessments (Tryouts)
We know assessments or formally called "tryouts" are stressful for the players. To have all those eyes watching you, trying to impress, feeling the pressure to do the best you can after not practicing or playing for awhile. Knowing your performance could make a difference on the division you play in the coming season.
Your name is called, you are ready, the ball is coming, and BAM! A bad hop and a missed ball, now the pressure is really on. As we all know pressure has a negative effect on performance.
One of District 33's leagues have taken a different approach to running an affective but fun way for the kids to show their baseball ability and skills during assessments. Chollas Lake searched ways to make assessments less stressful for the players and coaches. They believe that have found a way for a true assessment of ability and skills for their players without the high stress level. There was also a desire to find a better way to assess new coaches. Chollas Lake has always been able to interview coaches and managers but there was not an opportunity to evaluate their ability to instruct and teach. So the fact that at many jobs they have an on the job evaluation for candidates (OJE), gave them an idea to combine both player assessment and being able to observe a manager and or coach candidates teaching and instructing. What Chollas Lake did was turned to some trusted resources Big Al, Reggie and Tye Waller.
What Chollas Lake and the Wallers came up was to have a clinic by age group on Saturday with Reggie and Tye reviewing and practicing the 5 areas that are to be assessed. Though Reggie and Tye are leading this they are also having all managers and coaches on the field working with the players, under Reggie's and Tye's direction. While the managers get to see how the players react to instruction and each other, Chollas Lake gets to see how the coaches and managers will teach and interact with the players. Chollas Lake gets to observe how well they follow the leagues direction in regards to teaching the fundamentals. Reggie and Tye spend an hour on Saturday afternoon with the coaches and managers. They discuss what to look for when assessing players. They talk with the managers and coaches about how to deal with unruly players and parents. And have discussions on how to keep practices fun and effective.
The second day (Sunday) of assessments, Chollas Lake scheduled a "Baseball Olympics". The Olympics are where some of the drills for teams and practice routines taught by the Wallers are worked on. The players will play the Olympics while the coaches help out. They will be assessing the player’s skills and abilities, while the players are having fun competing in the Olympics. Chollas Lake has run the Olympics before as part of several clinics and the players love them. The great thing is that there are games for all 5 skills. The players are having fun in a much less stressful environment not worried about being evaluated. The players are really excited about this opportunity to just have fun.
Chollas Lake ran their new style assessments for the first time this past weekend and they were extremely pleased with the outcome. As one board member put it, “I have never seen so many coaches and parents who at the clinic decided they wanted to help coach because of what they were seeing today. I must have had a dozen parents telling me how wonderful they thought of what we were doing. As well others came up to me after they completed their session and said what a great time they had".
Many thanks for the dedication of Ned Kern (President of Chollas Lake) for bringing this to Chollas Lake and to Tye and Reggie for their continuing support and to the Chollas Lake board for accepting change and of course the coaches and players who embraced the opportunity.
We know assessments or formally called "tryouts" are stressful for the players. To have all those eyes watching you, trying to impress, feeling the pressure to do the best you can after not practicing or playing for awhile. Knowing your performance could make a difference on the division you play in the coming season.Your name is called, you are ready, the ball is coming, and BAM! A bad hop and a missed ball, now the pressure is really on. As we all know pressure has a negative effect on performance.
One of District 33's leagues have taken a different approach to running an affective but fun way for the kids to show their baseball ability and skills during assessments. Chollas Lake searched ways to make assessments less stressful for the players and coaches. They believe that have found a way for a true assessment of ability and skills for their players without the high stress level. There was also a desire to find a better way to assess new coaches. Chollas Lake has always been able to interview coaches and managers but there was not an opportunity to evaluate their ability to instruct and teach. So the fact that at many jobs they have an on the job evaluation for candidates (OJE), gave them an idea to combine both player assessment and being able to observe a manager and or coach candidates teaching and instructing. What Chollas Lake did was turned to some trusted resources Big Al, Reggie and Tye Waller.
What Chollas Lake and the Wallers came up was to have a clinic by age group on Saturday with Reggie and Tye reviewing and practicing the 5 areas that are to be assessed. Though Reggie and Tye are leading this they are also having all managers and coaches on the field working with the players, under Reggie's and Tye's direction. While the managers get to see how the players react to instruction and each other, Chollas Lake gets to see how the coaches and managers will teach and interact with the players. Chollas Lake gets to observe how well they follow the leagues direction in regards to teaching the fundamentals. Reggie and Tye spend an hour on Saturday afternoon with the coaches and managers. They discuss what to look for when assessing players. They talk with the managers and coaches about how to deal with unruly players and parents. And have discussions on how to keep practices fun and effective.
The second day (Sunday) of assessments, Chollas Lake scheduled a "Baseball Olympics". The Olympics are where some of the drills for teams and practice routines taught by the Wallers are worked on. The players will play the Olympics while the coaches help out. They will be assessing the player’s skills and abilities, while the players are having fun competing in the Olympics. Chollas Lake has run the Olympics before as part of several clinics and the players love them. The great thing is that there are games for all 5 skills. The players are having fun in a much less stressful environment not worried about being evaluated. The players are really excited about this opportunity to just have fun.
Chollas Lake ran their new style assessments for the first time this past weekend and they were extremely pleased with the outcome. As one board member put it, “I have never seen so many coaches and parents who at the clinic decided they wanted to help coach because of what they were seeing today. I must have had a dozen parents telling me how wonderful they thought of what we were doing. As well others came up to me after they completed their session and said what a great time they had".
Many thanks for the dedication of Ned Kern (President of Chollas Lake) for bringing this to Chollas Lake and to Tye and Reggie for their continuing support and to the Chollas Lake board for accepting change and of course the coaches and players who embraced the opportunity.
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