Do you have what it takes? Do you have the drive to wake up early in the morning to go out for a run? Do you have the ability to put your body through hours of weight-lifting and exercise to get in tip-top shape? Do you have the mentality to give it all you got and hold nothing back on tryout day to get your spot on the roster locked in?

Tryouts test athletes in a number of different ways, both mentally and physically. Athletes are observed through numerous drills to see if they can perform well physically, but also with the thought in the back of their heads that one mistake could be the difference between making the team and being cut.

“Tryouts are a time where you can show how you have improved over the past year, tryouts are difficult, but effective in evaluating the shape you are in and the skills you have worked on,” said senior Kellen Coleman. If you are a returning player, you want to show what skills you have improved on. If you are a first year player, you want to display your best skills and try to make a good impression.

Tryouts are always tougher for first-year players because they are not sure of the drills they will be put through or the skills that will be tested more than others. Returning players have a slight advantage in the way that they will know what the drills are like. Also, they would have time to work on skills that were lacking in the previous year.

Numerous sports test their athletes at the start of the season to see how they perform, if they make smart decisions, and if they can keep up with the pace of practices and training. These sports include swimming, basketball, baseball, softball, hockey, as well as others.

Athletes who try out for swimming will be tested on numerous skills, which include; starts, flip turns, relays, speed, different swim strokes, endurance, as well as others. Swimming is literally a sport that can be judged on milliseconds, so finding the swimmers that work together and motivate each other is important.

“We really don’t worry about getting the best team, just a team that is encouraging to each other and works together as one,” said assistant swim coach Kathy Carlson.

Hockey players are tested through shooting, passing, skating skills, defense, endurance, and more because of the physicality that they will endure throughout the season.  Players have to adapt to defenders, substitutions, penalty situations, and fast paced action. Tryouts help find the athletes that are most fit for the upcoming season.

This winter, basketball will test athletes through numerous drills including, dribbling, layups, shooting, passing, coordination, speed, and endurance. These essential skills help keep performance at a high standard which leads to overall better team chemistry throughout the season.

Also, tryouts are viewed by coaches as a way to see what skills will be emphasized most in practice as well as how well you work with your teammates and how efficiently you can play on offense and defense.

“Sometimes the best 12 players do not make the team; instead the best 12 that play together make it,” said varsity basketball coach, Mr. Aaron Thomas. Once again, the old phrase, ‘there is no I in team’ works here because one player can’t solely win a game, it has to be a collaborative effort from the whole team.

Tryouts are meant to be physical in order to see what kind of shape players are in while at the same time testing their limitations. In some sports, the team is formed from the performances different people gave during tryouts. The players that perform the best in different situations and know how to work well with others will have a great chance of making the team.