How To Make The Basketball Team - Basketball Tryout Tips

If you've got tryouts coming up, you probably have some nerves and some anxiety that go along with that. I remember my first day of tryouts as a middle schooler and how insanely nerve wracking it was. So I understand that trials can be a really difficult thing, especially if you aren't sure if you're prepared for it. I've been on both sides of this, both as a player and as a coach, and there's a lot of things you can do to make your trial experience much more likely to be a positive one. The things we're going to go through in this video are going to help separate you from everybody else and give you the best possible chance of making the team. And we're going to go through some things that you probably haven't heard before, so make sure you stay through till the end this video. Let's get into it. So really, the number one mindset, this is kind of the first thing I want to touch on, but this isn't really even a step or like a point. It's really more of a mindset you need to adopt kind of in general, but especially when it comes to this sort of trial situation. And that's you need to control the controllables. And I think there's a lot more under your control than you probably even realize. I think the first thing, and I'm kind of taking this from a coach's perspective because, you know, now that I coach with a high school team, so I've kind of been through this process a lot of, again, I've been on both sides of it as a player and as a coach. But as a coach, one of the most important things is are you able to hear something and follow that direction the first time? Can you be told something one time and be able to do it, or do you need to be told something multiple times? So be able to follow directions after the first time that it's explained to you, right? When coaches are setting up drills, you know, get yourself into that present moment and be able to hear what they're saying. Forget about what just happened. You're thinking about, oh, am I going to make it? Am I not? Am I doing well? Am I not? Forget about that. When you're there in the moment, you need to have 100% focus on what is being said to you or what's going on around you so that you're prepared to go in and be able to do things correctly the first time. Right? As well as you may perform or poorly as you may perform you being able to just show that, hey, I can listen to something and pick it up quickly, that that is a great thing to have because it means you're coachable. You're going to be able to figure things out quickly. And that's what great players do, is great players can figure things out quickly. They don't need to be reminded over and over about the same thing. So be able to do that going along with that. I think this is a tip that I haven't heard anybody talk about or at least it's really not something that gets talked about very often. Eye contact, eye contact, eye contact. I don't think I can stress this enough. This is an absolute surefire way to set yourself apart. Right? Don't make it weird, right? You don't need to stare them down like in a weird way. But when a coach is talking, make consistent eye contact with them. And, and it's something that they're going to 100% notice because very few players are going to do that like very few players will. And like they're going to be staring off into space, they'll be staring at coaches shoes. But if you make just direct eye contact consistently with those coaches as they're talking to you, they're going to notice that and it's going to do two things for you. First of all, it's going to help you to actually listen better. To go back to the first point, you're going to probably pick up on more of what's being said and that's going to be better make these better off for you. But the second thing is that they're going to get the impression that you're listening to what they're saying. Which again, when you're a coach, you're looking for players who are coachable and able to pick things up. Players who are locked in on what you're saying and listening to what you're saying. That's a huge positive. It's something that you want. So make sure that you're making eye contact with them. And again, it's also going to set you apart because no one else is going to be doing that, right? Very few players are going to consistently be making eye contact when the coaches are talking. I think that's really, really important. And then the third thing when it comes to controlling the controllables is, is you need to move with a purpose. So get where you need to get to, right? When you are getting into lines for a drill or you're getting to a certain area, like get there like don't walk there, right? Move with purpose. Get where you need to get to. You know, if you understand something, be the first person in line to do it. Now, likewise, on the opposite side of that, if you do not understand something, don't go up first. Don't. Don't act like, oh, I'm going to go up first anyway. Cody's going to love that. If you go up there and you don't do it right? Well, no, because now, again, you. You don't. You haven't been able to listen. Like, you're not someone who picks things up right away. So if you don't know something, then maybe don't go first in line. Maybe, you know, go behind a couple people and let them go first. Pay attention, watch what they do, and then you'll be able to go up and do it. Okay? But if you're able to pick things up or you know what's going on, move with purpose. Be the first one to do things. Be the first person at things. That's really, really important. And the second thing that I really think players need to understand, and again, I haven't heard a lot of people talk about this, is that you don't just want to be seen, you want to be heard. I think at tryouts, everybody's so focused on going in there and being seen by codies. I want to. I want them to see what I can do with the ball in my hands. I want to see, you know, I want them to see how good I am on defense, whatever. Like, that becomes so much of what players get hung up on. And I'm not saying that's not important. Obviously, it's very important. But I think it's also important that you are constantly being heard. And this just means that the way that you communicate is critically important. So talking throughout drills, calling for ball, communicating on defense, all those things are super important. And the reason being is because you have the ability to make other players better based on how you talk to them on the court. So if I'm on defense and I see that someone's coming to screen my teammate, and I let them know really early, like, hey, screen right, screen right, screen right. And they pick that up early. Well, now they don't get hit by the screen, and that office doesn't get an advantage coming off of whatever that set or that action was, right. You were able to help your teammate be better on defense because you communicated with them early. So you have the. The ability to make somebody better if you're, you know, getting help. And you say, maybe you're. You're in some sort of zone. Somebody's moving. You alert your teammate, like, maybe they don't see somebody. You let them know, hey, you got a. To your left. Like, you got somebody behind you or hey, coming through, or, hey, that's you. You're able to make them better because they don't. They're not going to see everything, right? If you're on the court and let's be. Maybe you make a cut and your teammate doesn't see you, but you're really vocal. You let them know, like, hey, like, ball bubble. Like, I'm here, I'm open, like. And they all sudden, okay, they see you now. They make the pass to you, you score. You just made your teammate a better playmaker because you communicated with them effectively, right? So it's important that you're able to do those things, and that is going to help make them better. So communication isn't about you, right? It's not about the words you're necessarily saying it is, but it, It's. It's really more so about making everybody around you better. And if you're somebody who makes others better, you're much more likely to make the team, because why would you not want that? You want players who are going to make your other players better. That's like the best thing you can have. So be that person. Be somebody who communicates at a high level, and that can be during drills. Like, I kind of gave you the example of the defense, offense, like, talking during that. Critically important, but also important that you're positive and uplifting to people, you know, throughout the tryouts, right? Congratulating them for making a great play or, you know, being encouraging and uplifting. If somebody, you know, makes a bad play or misses a shot or makes a mistake, whatever the case may be. These, again, are all things. They're going to help other people be better, which is what you want as a coach. You want players who are going to make the rest of the team better and make everybody else better. And that's what you can do just by communicating. So don't just go there and be seen. You want to go there and be heard as well. You want to remember how much you talk, how much you communicate. The fact that you make other people better. I think that's a really important thing for you to do. And number three, the third area that I think is really important when it comes to tryouts is stick to what you do well. So do what you do and don't try and do things that you don't do. If you know you are a shooter, do that, right? Tryouts are not the time to, to, you know, try to expand your game. Try a certain time to highlight what you are capable of doing right? Your trials are going to be two or three days, generally maybe a week. Your goal in that time is to highlight what you do well and kind of avoid anything you don't do well. And that's kind of, that's kind of what it is. Again, if you're a shooter and you're not great at driving, try and put yourself in a position to shoot the ball as often as you can. Now that doesn't mean play scared. And if you absolutely need to drive, you don't do it because, oh, well, you know, I just, I, I'm not a driver so I guess I shouldn't do that even if I have to. Like, obviously you don't want to become a one dimensional sort of player, but you want to try and play to what your strengths are. So when you have equal decisions like, okay, I could do this or do that, I'm gonna go with what my strength is. Meaning if you're not a point guard, you can't handle the ball. Don't volunteer to be a, to be point guard in trials. Don't do it because you're not going to look very good. And you want to avoid those situations to put yourself in right as best you can. So you have to try and first of all understand what am I good at? Be honest with yourself, what am I not good at? And so what should I try and do? Where should I try and put myself and what should I try to avoid as best I can? And when you do those things, you're going to find yourself in a much better position for again, coaches to look at you and say, hey, we see how this person can contribute to the team because we've seen their strengths, right? And then your weaknesses, something that you deal with. But at this point in the year, you know, this is not the time to be addressing weaknesses. Like this is the time to perform. And so it's important that you sit to what you do well and avoid anything that you don't do well. So if you do these things, you put yourself in the best position to make that team, right? Because again, at this time you are what you are. Like the work you've done or haven't done the last eight, nine months, the off season, that time is all past, right? So whatever you happen to be now, that's what you are. So now it's about highlighting and maximizing what you have at your control right now. And you have the ability to communicate and be heard and make other people better. You have the ability to make eye contact, to move with a purpose. You have the ability to stick to your strengths and do what you do well. When you do those things, you really focus on, hey, I'm just trying to maximize what I control. Or over this trial period, you put yourself in the best position to make the team. So again, shift your entire mindset to control what I control here and do it at an elite level. And, you know, you let the, the cards kind of fall where they, where they will. So, you know, if you're watching this and you have any tips that have helped you in tryouts, drop a comment below because you can almost think of as paying it forward, right? If it helped you, it's probably going to help somebody else. So if you have anything that, that you know has helped you, drop that button down below. If you have trials coming up or you've just been through tryouts, leave a comment as well. Let me know about it. And if you have any more questions as well, drop those down below. Again, that's for me to answer, but also for anybody else who's been through trial situations like, you know, we can kind of, again, pay it forward and help each other out with that. So again, drop comments down below with any of that sort of stuff related there. I appreciate you for watching. Drop a Like subscribe if you're new. I'll talk to you soon. Peace.