5 things coaches look for during volleyball tryouts
Published: 6/12/24
Last updated: 6/12/24
Author: Thalia U.
5 tips for your volleyball tryouts: a coaches perspective
I often get the question “How can I prepare for my first volleyball tryouts?” on my social media, and in the off-season meeting interested players for my high school program I coach for.
I can recall my freshman year volleyball tryouts and the overwhelming feeling of nerves, excitement, and everything in between.
Getting extra reps in the off-season to prepare for my first tryouts helped so much, but getting advice from athletes, and coaches helped me as well!
Remember that this is my opinion on what coaches look for during tryouts… but I would be surprised if other coaches disagreed with these 5 common traits coaches look for at tryouts.
Each team has different needs, but these 5 tips are general/common traits I look for every year.
Notice that most of these don’t involve physical skills, as I kept most of these tips beginner friendly!
In this blog post we will go over 5 things coaches look for during volleyball tryouts:
Hustle & effort
Athletic Mindset
Coachability
Sportsmanship & Team Chemistry
Dress to impress
1) Hustle & Effort
One of the most noticeable things during tryouts as a coach is an athlete’s hustle, and effort. It’s something I notice subconsciously, and it’s hard to ignore once you see a player making that extra effort.
Entering your first tryouts as a hopeful volleyball player can be intimidating, and it may be tempting to hide in the crowd or hesitate during drills.
However, even without volleyball skills/fundamentals, you can show the coach you are willing to put in the effort to learn. You don’t need to be an experienced volleyball player to give your best effort.
Let’s give you two different “athletes” examples of hustling at tryouts:
Athlete 1: Comes into tryouts without prior volleyball experience, but attended a few off-season captain’s practices. During the first passing drill, athlete 1 held an athletic stance and gave full effort for every ball coming their way. Even if it wasn’t a “perfect/great” pass, athlete one made a clear attempt without hesitating and visibly shook it off… ready to keep giving their best effort during the next play.
Athlete 2: Comes into tryouts without prior volleyball experience, but didn’t attend any off-season practices because they didn’t feel like it. During the first passing drill, athlete 2 is visibly uncomfortable, and hesitant. When a ball comes their way, they stand still and let it drop. Athlete 2 is nervous they will be embarrassed if they show effort and then “fail”, so they hesitate the entire drill.
It seems obvious who would impress a coach more, right? It’s almost a no-brainer… but I actually meet numerous “athlete 2” kids frequently.
The ironic thing that makes me as a coach lean towards athlete 1 more than 2 isn’t because they were getting touches, but instead the effort shown. Even when athlete 1 was giving “bad” passes, they were diving/moving and calling for the ball.
Showing effort will be a major key to leaving a good impression on the coaches. You will stand out over the athletes who aren’t willing to give 100% effort.
2) Athletic mindset
One of the most important parts of joining a competitive sports team is having the correct mindset. You can be the most amazing volleyball player, but if your mindset is not there you will not be ready for a team.
Volleyball is a mental sport just as much as it is physical, and any experienced volleyball coach knows that.
What are examples of an athletic mindset?
Having a “next point” mentality: This is one of the most important things all volleyball coaches look for. If you (or your teammates) have a bad play (shanked ball, missed serve, lost point, etc) you have to shake it off quickly. Athletes that get angry, and perseverate on mistakes are wasting so much energy and time instead of focusing on the next point. Most teams will cut you during tryouts if they notice you have a bad attitude about mistakes… so be aware of this!
Using a rowdy crowd/opponent as fuel, instead of distraction: Whenever my athletes complain about a loud crowd at away games, or “rude” opponents at the net mocking… my response is always the same. “Use that as fuel to play some Volleyball”. Instead of getting frustrated when you get blocked and they “stare you down”, you can get excited and think “Oh.. we’re playing VOLLEYBALL now!” and get more intense for the next play. THAT is an athletic mindset, and a tough one at that.
How can you show this during tryouts?
You can cheer your peers on as they are in drills, or show your energy is amplified when you have a “bad play”. An easy way to see this in real time is to watch some footage of college volleyball, how do they support their team-mates, or react to mistakes?
3) Coachability
A very important aspect I look for during tryouts is how athletes respond to my “critiques” and advice.
When correcting a player they should give eye contact, be focused on me without distraction, and acknowledge what I am telling them.
Most importantly, they would be able to reiterate what I just taught them, or ask valuable questions to help them better understand my instructions.
There’s nothing worse than walking up to an athlete during tryouts to give them advice, and they are watching other people instead of me, making faces to their friends across the court, or just nodding “yes” without asking questions or reiterating they understand me.
Treat it like your first job interview, would you play with your clothes while you’re in an interview and the manager is trying to ask you questions? Nope, you’d ideally make eye contact, nod, and ask clarifying questions if you’re confused.
Without coachability, there is a slim chance a coach would see the benefit of putting you on the team as that’s how we grow our athletes within our program.
4) Sportsmanship & Team chemisty
While this is a no-brainer to many athletes, it’s important to mention it here. Having a poor attitude can stunt many great teams, and most coaches will opt to cut a talented athlete just for a poor attitude.
Nobody is perfect, but having a constant bad attitude (angry, sad, etc) during tryouts is hard to ignore.
Ensure you can cheer on your peers (especially when not in the drill), and give high fives to players who have great plays.
You may think those acts go unnoticed, but it is the first thing I notice in volleyball players. Chemistry is vital for a volleyball game, which explains why this is so noticeable during tryouts.
5) Dress to impress
As mentioned in previous blog posts, how you show up to tryouts is very important. Your first impression should be a good one, and it is fairly easy to do that if you dress appropriately.
What does “dressing to impress” look like for volleyball tryouts?
Athletic shoes: if you cannot afford volleyball shoes, wearing any athletic shoes will be better than wearing Crocs/shoes not designed for sports. Not only could wearing non-athletic shoes cause injury, but it can also stunt your performance during tryouts.
Athletic clothing: I’ve seen jeans, tank tops, and even dress shirts at tryouts and it unfortunately leaves a bad first impression on me as a coach. You should be comfortable but appropriately dressed to work out. Shorts, spandex, leggings, loose shirts, long sleeves, short sleeves… anything is better than jeans and a dress shirt (I beg of you haha!)
& OF COURSE… Athletic ability
I would feel hypocritical if I didn’t mention the obvious thing coaches look for during tryouts, which is athletic ability.
However, without the 5 other topics mentioned, having athletic ability will only bring you so far in the game of volleyball. You truly need to be an all-around athlete to excel in volleyball as just being “athletic” doesn’t help with team chemistry, your mindset, etc.
I have cut girls/boys from my team who are super athletic because they were lacking in the other areas I mentioned above, so keep this in mind!
In conclusion…
You’ll never be 100% prepared for your first volleyball tryouts. However, having a few reminders in your back pocket of how to conduct yourself can aid in more confidence when you’re walking onto the court for the first time.
You got this! No matter the outcome, I hope you keep working on your interest in volleyball!
Best,
-Coach T