Surviving Tryouts and Cuts

This resource is from a case study in Jim Thompson’s book, The High School Sports Parent.

Surviving Try-Outs: Your daughter is trying out for a team she really wants to make. Tryouts are coming up, and she seems nervous. As a Second-Goal Parent®, what should you do?

Tryouts are tough on players and parents. They are also a great opportunity to put one’s values into action. For example, if you have talked with your athlete about the virtues of being a Triple-Impact Competitor®, encourage her to embody these characteristics during the try-out period. For example, if she sees a great play by another player trying out, she can compliment her on it.

Every coach wants players on his team who work hard to get better, and most coaches also appreciate players who make their teammates better and who won’t lose their cool in a tough situation. So, while it is good for our society to have many Triple-Impact Competitors graduating from high schools across this country, it may also help make your daughter a more desirable team member to the coach. It may even help her in tryouts, depending on the team cut policy.

Given that your daughter wants to make this team so badly, she is likely going to feel nervous independent of you, but it never hurts to remind her that she doesn’t have to do anything to make you proud of her.

To read the full response, including more ways to help your daughter deal with pre-tryout nerves and to prepare her to perform her best in a situation that results with some players not making the team, download the book excerpt found below.

To purchase the entire book The High School Sports Parent, and to learn more about other PCA books, click here.

These books are used in PCA’s live workshops. To learn more about our interactive sports parent workshops, click here.