Tips for succeeding at tryouts

Most schools across America start tryouts for their schools basketball team mid October to the first week of November. I’ve spent 20 plus years suggesting to potential players that they should start preparing for the tryouts at least 90 days in advance. This is very realistic even when playing a fall sport. Conditioning is half the battle and those fall sports go along way with winter sport tryouts.

I encourage all to start shooting with a mapped routine of 120 minutes a week. This can be broken up into 4 days of 30 minutes or 2 days of 60 minutes. Layups and jumpers from all over the court. 20 shots from a determined spot in a row before moving onto the next spot of 20 shots. Besides layups from each side, I encourage 8 other spots on the court with in the arc. Finish your work out with sprints followed by 25 to 50 free throws.

The key to this work out is to adjust your shot so that your comfortable shooting the ball. Muscle memory is a word we use all season. Practice should always be considered game mode when out on the court. Never waste time just shooting from anywhere. Work on shooting from the same spots you feel comfortable shooting in a game. During these work outs try and dribble back to the spot you plan on shooting from working on ball control. You could even practice attacking the basket after each shot in case of a miss for a rebound in what I call “game mode.” Attend every open gym you can and good luck at tryouts!

Coach McKee
STMM Mens Varsity Basketball
Apex,NC