Free Tool to Help You With Tryouts

If you're a player or parent of a player and are looking for ideas to gain an edge on the competition for the upcoming season, stay tuned this week, because I'll have some ideas for you soon.

If you're a coach, the rest of this message is for you. The report I told you about in this post has been downloaded 307 times. If you haven't yet claimed your free copy of Preseason Paving yet, you can do so at

www.allaboutfastpitch.com/ready.html.

But today, I have a free tool you can use to help you during tryouts. This was something that a number of coaches shared back when I asked for tryout tips, so I thought you may find it useful too.

Actually, I put together a little video to share this tryout tool with you so you can get a good idea of how it works. Not only that, I included a link so you can get this tool for yourself for free (no strings attached). Check out this free video and get this free tryout tool at

www.allaboutfastpitch.com/matrix.html

If you're looking for a way to make things easier during tryouts, this may help. It's simple, easy to use, and fully customizable to suit your needs. Learn more at

www.allaboutfastpitch.com/matrix.html

Now is the time to start preparing for next year!

If you're the type that likes to be organized (or wish that you were more organized) this tool is right up your alley.

Once you have a chance to watch the video - if you'll be using a tool like this at your next tryout, I'd like to hear from you - leave me a comment below and let me know.

Pre-Season Thoughts, Tryout Tips Wanted

Have you ever had that season? You know the one where you're just so overwhelmed that coaching is more stress than fun? I'm getting ready to go to our first player sign-up for the 2009 this afternoon. This, of course, has me thinking about, planning, and getting ready for the upcoming season. Of course, I have the holidays and a number of family birthdays to get through before the "real" on-the-field season starts. But I just started thinking of all the things I could prepare for prior to being given the okay to hit the field. I believe that preparation plays a big part in your level of success. The more I have taken care of prior to the season starting, the less I'll have to deal with in-season.

While it's true that you can still be successful even without thorough preparation, I don't think that's the "ideal" scenario. You have enough to deal with during the season without having to deal with a bunch of odds and end issues that could have been taken care of prior to the season even starting. You'll probably never think of everything, but if you begin preparing early and start laying out the groundwork for your season, you're season will go more smoothly than if you don't. After all, you'll be able to readily address the unexpected issues and challenges that pop up during the season because you're not busy still trying to take care of things that could have been done before the season started. All that is taken care of, so now you have the means by which to deal with the new "fires" that come up.

If your season begins in the spring like mine, now is a great time to begin thinking about 2009. I know it's a busy time of year with the holidays coming up and all (I really love this time of year), but if you don't have time now, I'm pretty sure you won't have time once the season rolls around. You know how hectic your schedule gets during the first few months of the year. I understand that your "softball brain" may not be firing on all cylinders right now if you're not in season, BUT I've been doing a lot of brainstorming and thinking about '09...AND I'm willing to my preparation plans with you! Keep your eyes on your e-mail for my new "Pre-Season Paving" Report. I'm hoping to have it ready for you by November. 12th. I'll keep you posted.

Oh, if you have any tryout tips you'd like to share, post them here. Anyone who submits tryout tips will get a free copy of Build the Best Team: A Coach's Look at Getting the Most Out of Tryouts.