5 Tryout Tips For Volleyball Athletes: Advice From A Varsity Coach

Posted on: 7/27/25

Last Updated: 7/27/24

Author: Thalia U.

Advice for your upcoming Volleyball Tryouts

Tryouts can be an intimidating time especially if you’re first starting out at a school program/club, or it’s your first time trying volleyball.

In this blog post I will go over five things I look for during volleyball tryouts as a head varsity coach.

These five tips can be completed successfully even by in-experienced athletes. Note that this content is geared towards youth-high school level volleyball tryouts, but many of the traits mentioned are staple characteristics all coaches admire in athletes.

let’s get into it!

1) Hustle and Effort

This one might seem like a no-brainer but the amount of times I’ve seen athletes during my tryouts walk between drills, not hustling, and simply giving zero effort. It happens more often than you may think.

During tryouts in-experienced volleyball athletes are often hesitant to give their 100% effort. They fear fully trying because they will “look silly/stupid” when/if they mess up.

…but what truly looks silly is watching a ball drop in front of you without a visible effort!

Lets give a story line example of what showing hustle and effort in tryouts can look like… and what NOT showing it can look like:

Athlete 1, Bob: Bob is brand new to the sport of volleyball and is very nervous for day 1 of tryouts but he’s ready to give his best effort. During drills he moves to the ball and attempts to give a full effort to get a touch on every ball coming his way. Bob quickly shakes off any mistakes, and runs to the back of the line, always cheering on his teammates. Bob does not mind making mistakes because he is having fun trying, learning, and giving his best effort.

Athlete 2, George: George is brand new to the sport of volleyball and is very nervous for day 1 of tryouts, he is worried he will look stupid when he messes up. During drills he stands straight up, and doesn’t make any effort to move to the ball when it’s in his area. The coach instructs George to try again, but when the ball is coming towards him he stutters and doesn’t touch the ball again. George shrugs it off, hoping that makes him seem “cool” for not caring, and walks to the back of the drill line where he starts fooling around with his friend in line.

Seeing those two athletes back to back makes it seem obvious who a coach would choose to join their program, right? However an athlete like Bob is actually rare to find as a coach in the youth-high school level. Having a goal to show up like Bob is a big way to positively impact your impression on a coach… even without any physical volleyball experience!

Remember, coaches are here to COACH… we can see potential and an athlete that is moldable!


2) Athletic Mindset

Our second tip is another one you can excel at even without any prior volleyball experience. An athletic mindset is an essential step in helping coaches choose athletes for their volleyball program and showing this during tryouts is essential.

Having an athletic mindset can look like having the “next-point mentality”. The next-point mentality is when you let go of any mistake you, or a teammates makes without perseverating on it. This is so we can quickly prepare for the next point as a team, staying focused. This is a vital part of volleyball since our sport is just as much mental as it is physical.

Having an athletic mindset during tryouts can look like… “shaking off” any mistake you make.

For instance, if you were attempting to forearm pass a ball and it went behind you and into the bleachers you would quickly get back into defensive position, ready to pass another ball.

NOT having an athletic mindset can look like…attempting a forearm pass & it goes into the bleachers so you slap your hands together in anger, verbally get upset, or roll your eyes completely giving up.

Having an athletic mindset shows coaches you are resilient, can handle adversity as an athlete, and that you are coachable.


3) Coachability

Coachability is exactly what you’d presume it is about… the ability to be coached!

This is especially important during tryouts when you are first meeting a coach entering a new program. Coaches during tryouts are looking to see how moldable you are as a potential athlete… because coaches need to COACH, and athletes not being receptive to that would mean you cannot grow as an athlete within that program.

Being coachable during tryouts can look like:

  1. Being receptive to feedback

  2. Showing a willingness to improve/be coached

  3. Eye contact and verbal acknowledge when a coach is giving you personal feedback

  4. Focus on what coach is explaining to you

  5. Reiterate/fully understand what coach is teaching you


4) Sportsmanship & Team Chemistry

Tryouts is your chance to show many of your skills but also if you would mesh well with the pre-existing team. As a new athlete trying out, you should hope to add something positive to the programs culture and overall energy.

In the sport of volleyball this is especially important as your team chemistry can make or break how well your team performs in matches.. no matter your individual skill levels.

Ways to show sportsmanship and team chemistry during tryouts:

  1. Cheer for others accomplishments/effort: Someone has a great play during tryouts… You give them a high five, or a loud “GREAT DIG/PASS/BLOCK (team-mates name)”.

  2. Cheer people on EVEN when you’re not in a drill: If you’re in line for a drill, then you’re giving full attention to the athletes who are currently on the court. More importantly you’re cheering them on. As a coach seeing this during tryouts 100% makes an unforgettable impression of how amazing that athlete is.

  3. Support for others after a mistake: No need to harp on the mistake, but a quick high five or a “you got the next one” will help someone in their head a lot more than you realize.

5) Dress to Impress

Something that new athletes often do when first walking into my tryouts is wearing the incorrect clothes or athletic shoes.

I have had students walk into my tryouts wearing jeans, crocs, boots, and more totally non-athletic apparel. Not only does this give me, the head coach, a bad first impression of you but it also is a safety concern since wearing the incorrect clothing/shoes can increase the changes of injury.

Its important to first note that everyone has different financial abilities, so this is not to say you need the most expensive volleyball shoes or clothing for the first day of tryouts but instead is encouraging you to only use athletic apparel, even ones you already have at home.

How to dress to impress at tryouts:

  1. Abides by school dress code

  2. If you cannot/do not have volleyball apparel/shoes then choosing the closest thing to athletic clothing is ideal (running shoes, running shorts/leggings, short sleeved shirt, hair is tied up).

Although things like knee pads are important it makes a lot of sense that athletes don’t want to spend that money before seeing if they made the team.

In an ideal situation you would have access to volleyball shoes, knee pads, spandex/leggings, and athletic/loose (appropriate) shirt. However finances are not the same for everyone, so wearing appropriate athletic clothing and shoes is the best bet for tryouts.

6) BONUS: Athletic Ability

It is important to note that all coaches look for athletic ability. Some new volleyball players have that since they played other sports growing up (soccer, softball, etc), giving them a great leg up in terms of knowing the dynamic in a team sport.

It would be hypocritical if I didn’t also include athletic ability since that’s something all coaches look for!

I felt it was important to first discuss the ways people without sport or volleyball experience can also shine during tryouts for their (potential) coaches.

In Conclusion…

I remember my first tryouts, and something that helped ease my nerves was attending my schools summer workouts. I got to meet the varsity captains and returning players who were kind enough to teach me fundamentals of passing, serving, and setting.

This of course was not enough to make me a star volleyball player in that short month of summer workouts, but it got me familiar with the sport thus giving me a leg up over the first time athletes who never touched a volleyball before. Try to utilize any opportunities you can prior to your tryouts, alongside these tips, and you will have a big likelihood of standing out in your tryouts!

See you in the next blog post!

-Coach T


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