Determine the goal of your tryouts. Are you "cutting" players or evaluating them for placement on the proper team?
Determine the skills and attributes that you and your coaching staff will use to evaluate players. Following is a reference list to evaluate:
1. Passing
2. Dribbling/Ball Handling
3. Shooting/Shooting Form
4. Rebounding
5. Defense
6. Athleticism
7. Attitude/Leadership
8. Any other skill/attribute important to the program (such as height)
Determine how to evaluate the players on each of the skills and attributes you've decided on. A number of drills can measure a player's effectiveness in most of the skills. Watch closely to measure players' attributes such as athleticism and attitude and leadership.
Create a scoring system for each skill and attribute. A typical scoring system is a scale of 1 to 10 (1 for low level and 10 for extremely high level).
Develop a "Player Evaluation Form" that has the following information:
1. Player name and number (give players numbers for easy identification)
2. Age/grade if applicable
3. Contact information--to inform each person of the status after tryout
4. List of skills/attributes with a scale of 1 to 10
Train coaches/evaluators on the proper use of the evaluation form in alignment with program goals. Consistent grading is imperative to proper evaluation. Have at least two sets of eyes on each player and then take the average scores.
Conduct tryout session(s) that evaluate a player's skill and attribute level per Step 2 above, and complete the evaluation form during and after the session(s).
Conduct an evaluation meeting to get a consensus on the skills, attributes and potential for each player.
Make your decision as soon as possible after the tryouts on player status based on overall objective of the tryout.