When it comes to the world of sports, especially travel sports, tryouts are almost a daily activity. Everybody everywhere is always looking to better their program or club and are constantly on the lookout for someone bigger, stronger, faster. There are folks out there who believe the tryout is just the few hour process of a workout for evaluation, where you either have a good day, or a bad day. Unfortunately there is a lot more to it than that, with lessons that can only be learned through attending or witnessing a number of tryouts. In order to complete a successful tryout you need to be both mentally and physically prepared.

Mental preparation in the world of travel sports is as important, if not more so than the physical preparation. Mental preparation for a tryout, regardless of the sport, has to begin with research. If you are not willing to put in the time to do the research necessary, it is impossible to put yourself in a position to succeed. Research first begins with the question why? Why are you trying out? Are you looking to make a team and play with friends? Are you looking for better competition? Are you looking to compete against teams outside of your local community? Is this what you want or someone else wants for you? Once you can begin to answer these relatively simple questions, you are now set to begin finding the right tryout. Finding the right tryout is crucial to meet the criteria you set forth with the why. If you are looking to get outside your area, you probably don’t want to try out for a team that only takes one travel trip and plays in 6 local tournaments. If better competition is the key, are you prepared to be a small fish in a big pond, or do you need to be the big fish in a small pond. If playing time and experience are important, trying out for a team only looking to add one or two players may not be the best idea. Is money a key factor? Can you afford to play at certain facilities or for a particular team, if the finances are a stretch, it doesn’t make sense to go to the most expensive team? Looking online, talking with travel coordinators, communicating with parents from the previous year’s team, and visiting different facilities or clubs are all great ways to ensure the correct decision is being made. Absolutely do not rush this decision by any stretch of the imagination.

Now your decision has been made, the date is circled on the calendar, your plans are set, now comes the real preparation. Physically, you will get out of it what you put into it. Are you willing to take the necessary steps to put your body in a position to succeed? Whether that is lifting, running, throwing, kicking, etc., the hours you put in prior to the tryout will tell you how successful your tryout will be. If you’re not willing to put in the work hours leading up to it, don’t expect results that far exceed your preparation.  Physical preparation will obviously differ by sport, as it relates to what you are trying out for, but the bottom line when it comes to physical preparation is to leave no doubt.

The physical and mental preparation work in unison as the date approaches. Mentally you need to have a goal in mind, to provide the drive, the motivation, and the desire necessary to succeed. Maintaining a positive mindset is absolutely crucial. There are two things you can always control in any situation, your attitude and your effort. These two qualities are not exclusive to the super rich or the outstandingly talented. Anyone in the world can 100% control these two things. If you put yourself in a mindset focusing on positive reinforcement, that eliminates the need to be nervous or carry any doubts. As the tryout day approaches, there are a few things mentally you have to realize. When it comes to anything in life that is voted on by other individuals, you have to realize there are only so many things you can control. Control the controllable as they say.  Decisions will be made when it comes to try outs. These decisions are not final and they are not fatal. If you can accept that, you are in the best possible position to be successful.

Successful is a word that has been sprinkled in throughout the last few paragraphs. Mentally you will have to determine what the word success means to you. Is success making the team or club? And is it only defined as making it or not? That type of success is almost a sure fire way to ensure failure. Success is putting forth your absolute best effort, best preparation, and knowingly you put absolutely everything you had to perform at your highest level, whatever level that may be. Good tryout or bad tryout, are you able to turn it into a learning experience in order to better serve you moving forward. This is the easiest way to ensure a positive tryout experience.

As a competitor who has been through many tryout situations, the formula above has provided the most outstanding results. That has involved making teams, and also being told this may not be the best fit, or you may be better served elsewhere. All of it is a learning experience that is both great for your athletic performance, but also for life. Good, bad, or indifferent, stay true to yourself as player. Don’t get discouraged, frustrated or disheartened. Get better, improve, adapt, and never let one individual’s evaluation or your ability at a tryout be the defining evaluation or who you are. With the number of travel teams and organizations that are out there, I promise the right fit is just one tryout away.