End of the Season Player Evaluations Part 2
Posted on Nov 21, 2007 under Team Coaching |In Part 1, we encouraged an end of the season conversation between each player and the coach. Besides thanking the players for their efforts and contributions, the coach could “interview” each player to uncover the player’s take on the season. This includes a self-evaluation - in what areas the player would like to improve, training ideas for the summer, hopes for the next season.
A good follow-up to these conversations is a written evaluation to rate the various skills and abilities of each player. The purpose is to highlight the player’s strengths, point on some weaker areas for improvement, and offer ideas/exercises to get better over the summer.
Go through each category and provide two areas of strength and then two areas of weakness. Again, with the weaknesses you need to have some ideas for exercises.
The most important area for summer training is improving each player’s confidence.
Technical Skills
Physical - Athletic Abilities
The player’s intelligence on the field is a tougher area to work on during the summer. As a whole, each player wants to be continually sharpening his/her ability to think clearly and play quickly.
Lastly, evaluate how seriously each player treats the sport. This will be based on how much the player enjoys the playing environment - teammates, coaches, training sessions, games. It will also be determined by what the goals are of the player. Does he/she want to play select or recreational? Does the player want to try to make state, regional, or national teams? Does the player want to play for his/her high school? How about at the collegiate and professional levels? Each step of the ladder will take varying degrees of work ethic, determination, and time.
If you can write down some of the evaluation and give it to the player, both the player and parents will respect you more for your interest, enthusiasm, and sincerity. This respect is important as the families will understand that you are taking your role, the development of the player, and the success of the team at a premium.