Rookie wanting to try out for the GOOD JV team!

Question
Hi! I was wondering: When a coach takes a chance on a girl that may not have as much experience or skills as other girls trying out for JV, what does the coach usually see in this girl? I haven't played Volleyball competitively, but it is a huge sport at my school, and my friends who play think I should try out because I'm fairly tall for my age (5'10"), and I'm athletic. I'm going to take a camp over the summer to hopefully gain some knowledge for the sport, but I know I won't be as good as a lot of the the other girls trying out. Also, do you think it would be unfair for me to tryout and make the team, but not be as good of a player as the other girls on the team? I wouldn't want my team to lose because I couldn't perform to my optimum capability.
Thank you so much!
G

Answer
Hello Gina:

Thanks for visiting www.allexperts.com, and being patient.  A few years ago, I received an email from a girl who asked many of the same questions.  So I wrote an article named, "Making The Team: Here Are The Top Ten Things The Coach Is Looking For!"  

Here's the girl's email:  
I was wondering what most coaches are looking for in a player during tryouts.  Do coaches look at the size of the player? their love for the game? how many mistakes they make? coachability? or do most coaches just look at who the most skilled players are?  how fast/long they can run?

Here's my response:  
YES!!!  Yes, to every one of your questions........except the mile stuff.  Very few coaches measure how long it takes you to run a mile.   

I)  Height is something that volleyball and basketball coaches notice immediately.  Girls who are tall will get a few more chances (notice that I said 揳 few?.   But coaches notice height like girls notice hunky boys:  after a few hours or a day, there better more to him than just hunkiness.  Girls who possess the skills of the game are more valuable (especially at the younger ages!!), than girl who is merely tall.  

II)  Love for the game is something coaches would like to see, but for middle school teams (and many JV teams), this quality hasn't developed in the kids yet.  If an experienced player is trying out and she exudes "I LOVE THIS GAME, and I'll do anything for the team," then she is more likely to make the team than the girl who thinks "Yeah, I like this, but I'm not really excited by it."  The 2nd girl is more likely to quit, have a baditude, want to miss practices, etc. and coaches KNOW that!

III)  Mistakes are, of course, noticed by coaches.  But all players make mistakes.  I don't make a big deal out of a few mistakes.  But I can say with confidence, coaches observe and remember the nature of the mistakes.    

Let me tell you more.  For example, was that mistake made:
--> because she didn't try hard enough?  or because she gave her best effort and just couldn't make the play?
--> when she was making an easy play?  That's not good!  or when the other girl put serious pressure on her?
--> because she isn't athletic enough to hardly ever make the play that her teammates can make regularly?
--> because she isn't focused? she's being silly? she isn't paying attention?
--> because she hasn't learned proper fundamentals?  or because she just made a tiny fixable error?

My advice?  Don't worry about mistakes & just GO FOR IT and it'll all work out!!

IV)  Coachability is important at all levels:  middle, jv, high, college.  I coached the conference player of the year one season.  Two years later she was history.  Attitude, attitude, attitude.  At my camps, I now tell the story of "Attitude Setter."  Many coaches are willing to lose more games in order to protect their team from the uncoachable brats.  

V)  Skilled Players are nice to have!!  haha  In fact, skill is the most important factor in winning many sports!  It's often more important than height, strength, athleticism, etc.  For example, a team of 5'6" 180 pound greatly skilled volleyball players will have winning seasons in most high school conferences.  And they will routinely beat the taller, stronger, more athletic teams. Now, let抯 talk about a few things you didn't mention.

VI)  Playing Experience! If a coach knows that a girl has played a number of years, especially if she抯 played travel, then she stands out like a shining star. Not only is this girl usually highly skilled for her age, but she has taken the extra time (and a PILE of her parent抯 money) to improve her game. Kids who have a lot of playing experience create championship teams, and those kids are extremely hard to cut.

VII)  Athleticism!  On our travel team last year, we kept a girl who wasn抰 very skilled, tall or experienced. But we thought she was freakishly athletic. So we took a chance on her. I know that it doesn抰 seem fair, but when a coach figures a player can do something better after one month than another can after 3 years, the coach may keep the new girl. Gosh, if she stays with the program just 2 or 3 months, what incredible plays will we see?

VIII) Loyalty and Teamness! This is a hard one for the coach to judge. But you may want to consider coming to tryouts wearing something that抯 in team colors. I抳e known some girls to bring goodie bags to tryouts, or invite the team to her house after practice, or have her parents bring a cooler of PowerAids. I know that this appears as though you're sucking up; but, to me it appears as though you really really want to make the team.

IX) Energy! A girl who comes to tryouts awake, alert and ready to go always gets my attention. Some people call kids like this obnoxious. But I call them energetic and a joy to coach. A girl who抯 complaining and whining gets my attention too: 揑 don抰 think I want 3 months of this chic.?br>
X) Effort. I抣l tell my girls, 揑f you don抰 make the play in practice, you won抰 make it in a game either.?I guess what I could say at tryouts is, 揑f you don抰 attempt to make the play this week, I may not be seeing you next week.?So give it all you抳e got. If you go for it, you抳e got nothing to lose. But if you save your effort for later, you may not make the team.