Newport Volleyball Tryouts 2008

(All tryouts/practices are at Newport HS unless otherwise noted)

Monday August 25^th

•  Freshman  tryouts                                 9 am – 10 am  (freshman also attend the full team tryouts)

•  Full team tryouts (9th – 12^th grade )   10 am – 12 pm and 1pm to 3pm

Tuesday August 26^th (teams announced at end of 1-3pm session)

• Full team tryouts               10 am – 12 pm and 1 pm – 3 pm 

Wednesday August 27^th

• Team practices                  3:30 – 6:00

Thursday August 28^th

• Team practices                  3:30 – 6:00

Friday August 29^th

• Team practices                  3:30 – 6:00

Saturday August 30^th

• Team practices                 10:00 – 12:00

Monday September 1^st

• Team practices                  3:30 – 6:00

Tuesday September 2^nd

• Team practices                  3:30 – 6:00  (regular schedule)

Eligibility

Criteria

Evaluating Individual Skills

Possibly the best method of evaluating individual skills is a simple estimation of each candidate's skills on a coach-designed check list. The coach identifies the basic skills he/she feels are important. Later, during a scrimmage, these skills may be checked and rechecked as to the athlete's ability to consistently perform correctly the skills. Another series of tests of basic athletic ability could also be given. A jump and reach test and a shuttle run for quickness are examples.

Evaluating an Individual's Game Ability

Evaluating Leadership, Attitude, and Competitive Drive

• Ability to function under physical and emotional stress in a competitive situation.
  
• Ability to play one's own style of game regardless of the tactics of the players of the other team.
  
• Ability to change tactics based upon the other team's style of play.
  
• Ability to maintain a high level of skill regardless of the skill and behavior of the opponents.
  
• Ability to maintain emotional stability while others are losing theirs. Experience is a major factor in developing game stability.
  

In addition to good basic skills and team play, there are other factors that must be considered in selecting an individual for competitive play. Perhaps the most important quality is the competitive drive of the individual. The coach can evaluate a player's game spirit by observation and response to the following questions:

• As a defender, does she refuse to give up, no matter what the score or the number of times the opponent has beaten her?
  
• After making a mistake, can she be in the next play without dwelling on the mistake?
  
• Does she approach every game and every situation with a positive attitude toward winning?
  
• Can she make the most use of her skills, no matter what the conditions of the playing area present or the level of skills presented by the opposition?
  

Innate game sense is also an important factor. Players with this quality are a definite plus for any team. Such players prove to be excellent play makers and solid defensive players. In evaluating this quality, a coach might ask the following questions:

• Can a player sense when a standard pattern of play is not working and do the unexpected?
  
• Can the player specialize at more than one position?
  
• Is the player coachable?
  
• Can the player sense her position on the court in relation to her teammates and opponents?
  
• Can the player change her mind when the situation changes?
  

Evaluating Player Combinations

Since all players have the responsibility of passing, a player should be able to read the ball and position herself to pass the ball to the setter or another teammate depending upon the game situation. Thus key physical characteristics in any player's profile would include speed, quickness, flexibility, and the ability to achieve rapid recovery. Key mental characteristics would include knowledge of the skills and strategies of the volleyball game and the ability to read the other team's tendencies or intentions.

A setter must possess all the game skills and display intelligence and game sense as well as complete knowledge of what the coach wishes to accomplish. As the designated play maker, the setter must have quick feet and body agility in order to position herself in proper position to receive the pass and then set the ball to a hitter. Body balance and body position related to the hitter are important factors for a proper set to occur. Psychologically, she is the team's spark plug; with calmness and control, she organizes and encourages the other members of the team.

Spikers/blockers are frequently physically tall with a strong jumping ability. Effective spikers must develop the ability of controlled suspension while aggressively spiking or dinking the ball over the net. The success of the spike or dink is dependent upon timing, precision, and direction of the force imparted to the ball. Good blockers must be able to read the setter's set and react. The ability of blockers to shift positions quickly and time their jumps with the opponent's attack is important to any team's overall success. A good blocker is not timid but is aggressive. A blocker takes pride in her ability to stop the other team's attack.

Diggers like the setter must possess all the game skills. Diggers are the last line of defense. Diggers must have a keen sense of the flow of the game in order to react to the opponent's attack. Diggers must have complete body control as they must react to a variety of game situations and pass a volleyball that is hit with a varied amount of force and speed and directed to all parts of the court. Thus a smart mind along with swift feet and quick reflexes are normal characteristics.

There are two different methods to compose a team. The coach has a choice of: (1) choosing team tactics to suit the players, or (2) choosing players to suit the team tactics. In most cases, only the first option is possible since the coach must choose his/her team from a specific group of players. Suitable tactics must be selected to use the individual abilities of the players for an optimal team system. Gradually a coach may try to develop the players' abilities to use more effective team tactics. This means that a coach must compromise between his/her ideals as a coach for the capabilities of the players.

A coach has to form his/her team out of players with different physical, emotional and social abilities. A coach must take this diverse group of athletes and choose an optimal team system that puts each player in a position to have some form of success. This is a very difficult task because a number of other factors must be taken into consideration. These include experience, mental attitude, team spirit, and desire.

For this reason, it is almost impossible to simply state how a coach should ideally compose a team. However, there are some sound principles for determining a team's composition:

• All the players should be able to play effectively in either the front or back court positions.
  
• The players should be distributed around the court to achieve a balance in attack and defensive abilities (in pairs or groups, tall and short, setters, diggers, and attackers/blockers.)
  
• A mixture of temperaments is necessary. A team needs a catalyst as well as neutralizers.
  
• There should be at least one or two experienced or "cool" players in reserve to be used as substitutes in case of emergency.
  
• The coach should always be looking for players to keep the team strong and in high spirits.
  
• Each team member will have a consistent, successful serve.