One of the best ways to immediately separate yourself is to go up to the coaches and confidently introduce yourself. Just say hi, your name/school/grade, and then thank them for the opportunity to be there. Try to do this before the tryout starts instead of after, that way they’ll know who you are during the tryout. This also makes you seem mature and committed, which coaches will like and appreciate.

AAU tryout season is around the corner, and maybe you’ve got your eyes on joining a new team. This can be a stressful process and many of us worry about impressing the coaches and leaders of the organization. However, many make the mistake of trying to look good by attempting to score every time they touch the ball. Instead, focus on a few other ways to stand out.

Introduce Yourself

Talk + Touch

Talking is one of the most important skills in basketball and something that many coaches notice immediately. This is also completely in your control. If there are breakdown drills where you can talk, do it. Call for the ball in a shooting drill. Stop ball and communicate it in a transition defense drill. Coaches will again see this as maturity, leadership, and engagement at the tryout.

If there is a scrimmage portion, talk as much as you can and be supportive of your teammates verbally.

Touches go hand in hand with talking. Make sure you’re going out of your way to high 5 your teammates. If you’re on the sidelines at all for a scrimmage or a drill, make sure you’re cheering for your team. It might be uncomfortable for you in the beginning since you don’t know anyone at the tryout, but coaches will only appreciate that more.

The Intangibles

Try not to focus solely on scoring at the tryout. One of the first things coaches notice is someone who shoots the ball every time they touch it. And, if it doesn’t go in, it’s a really bad look. Instead, focus on the intangible skills that coaches appreciate:

• Cutting and creating space

• Sprinting the floor

• Rebounding

• Post entrying

• Defensive effort and toughness