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How do you run your tryouts? When? How long do they run?

At Berkeley, the entire fall semester is the tryout season. This includes 2-3 fall tournaments, practice twice a week, and optional (read: strongly encouraged) weekly scrimmaging. At Texas, there is one week of tryouts (2-3 days) in early October after about 6 weeks of fall practices. There are timed sprints and agility, lots of one-on-one drills isolating specific skills, and scrimmaging. Both programs have B teams and everyone is guaranteed a spot on one of the two teams.

What are your goals coming into the tryout process?

My goal is to give players the best opportunity to showcase their strengths and demonstrate how they can contribute to the team. Tryouts should be designed purposefully. For example, if your team needs to find excellent deep defenders, there should be a drill that focuses on deep defense. If how fast they can run a mile is not important, there should not be a timed mile. Communicate the criteria by which you will be making tryout decisions in verbal and written form before tryouts and be transparent about the decisions you make. Everyone should have been taught the skills they need prior to tryouts; tryouts serve as a measuring stick of who can execute, who rises to the occasion under pressure, and who wants it the most.

Who makes the decisions on the roster? How do you go about making those decisions?

The A team coaches and captains, with input from the B team coaches. The coaches typically allow the captains to make the final decisions, although they have a strong voice throughout the process. There is a pow-wow prior to the tryout process to make a list of people who have a good shot at making the team. We talk about specific roles that we see people fitting into and players' strengths and weaknesses. We also talk about gaps in our observations so that we can be sure to pay close attention to specific things during tryouts. Final decisions are made at a (very long) meeting after the final tryout date.

What is a good college team size?

22, with a couple more if your team is prone to injuries. While this is my "ideal" number, there is always room for another player if I think that they can contribute something meaningful to the team.

Given an eager, but raw, rookie; how do you envision them progressing throughout the season? How will you decide who gets how much playing time in pre-Series tournaments?

An athletic rookie who is eager to learn will almost certainly be able to make an impact by the time the Series rolls around. If a rookie can play defense and avoid being a total liability on offense, she will probably get significant minutes. In the fall and early spring season, we let the rookies run loose and figure out their limits. Once we hit the real season, we begin molding them into specific roles and make sure we give them the tools they need to be successful in these roles.

Last year, we had a couple of very athletic rookies who we were able to utilize effectively. On defense, they knew that their job was to mark a top handler and shut down the dump. By preventing easy resets to the other team's top players, we forced the disc into the hands of people who were usually not as comfortable with the disc. On offense, our rookies' role was to cut deep and tire their matchup out. We gave them a lot of playing time in pre-Series tournaments, coaching them on specific matchups and helping them to figure out effective ways to shut down their assignments (e.g. faceguarding the dump or sitting on the thrower's favorite inside forehand). We trusted that the process was more important than the results along the way. We lost to Washington 9-2 at Vegas and 15-4 at Stanford in complete blowouts. At Nationals, we beat UW 15-11, in large part due to our rookies filling their roles perfectly. This was also evident in our domination at South Regionals (no team scored double digits on us). We had contested games against a number of teams our Region earlier in the year, losing to St. Louis and Truman State at various points in the season. By Regionals, our rookies knew their matchups' every tendency and executed so well that our top players were able to cruise on offense, leading to easy scores.

What are your season goals for a rookie? What kind of roles do you try to put them in?

My season goals for a rookie are for them to have fun and come to love the sport of ultimate, for them to feel like an integral part of a successful team, and to utilize their skills in a way that is going to help the team win. This role is usually as stud defender and conservative cutter. Get us the d, cut deep, turn and dump the disc. Repeat.

How do you check in with rookies throughout the season? What are major pitfalls that they commonly run into?

I check in formally through player meetings, where every player has the opportunity to sit down with the captains for 20-30 minutes in a two-way feedback session. Informally, I've found that the best way to keep rookies on board is to take a genuine interest in their lives, both on and off the field. The major pitfall that I've seen with rookies is them being overwhelmed by the commitment of frisbee in addition to the challenge of adjusting to college. The best way to combat this is to be their support system. I've done everything from taking them to appointments with their academic advisors to tutoring them to talking to their parents. I feel strongly that the role of a college captain is more than just organizing practices or teaching rookies how to throw a forehand; it requires an interest in your players' lives that extends beyond the field.

What factors tend to make rookie years successful or unsuccessful?

The stronger the rookie's bond to the team, the more successful her rookie year seems to be. It's easier for rookies to succeed in an environment where they are happy and feel connected to and supported by their teammates. Of course, choosing the right rookies helps a lot. Athletic rookies who want to win are usually coachable and committed to learning their role and executing it perfectly.