Thanks for your interest in a Blazers Club Team! Here are a few "General Rules" and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs):
ATTENDING TRYOUTS:
"General Rules" about Tryouts:
1) Keep in mind that how we go about tryouts and team formation (including Trail Blazers teams) is completely driven by the number of tryout registrations we receive by gender, grade, and program type... so often times the answer is "it depends on the number of players trying out for that group/program".
2) For our coaches to evaluate a player accurately, we need to see that player doing drills and scrimmages with and against players of a similar skill band or target team. This is especially true if your son/daughter is interested in one of the top teams in their grade (or the only team in the grade), so coming to all of the tryout sessions that include players vying for a spot on a team (including players that previously played on the team) is important. In some cases, specific tryout sessions are focused on evaluating players for a specific team. Given all of this, the approach of "We'll go to one of the tryout sessions that's convenient for us (or one whereby he/she doesn't need to miss an event for another team)" generally doesn't allow us to see a player enough and/or competing with/against the right players to comfortably put them on a higher level team. If team placement is important to you, often times sacrificing something else on the schedule is necessary...and worth it.
3) Please understand the "two way" nature of tryouts. In many cases it's not just about us evaluating your son/daughter, but often it's about other/newer players gauging the quality of players on our teams. For example, we obviously know our top players in each grade are very skilled and are going to make the top team...but we still need them to come to all tryout sessions so other/newer players can see the quality of the team. So think of it as an investment - by coming to all tryout sessions you're making it more likely we can attract strong players to the team that will make for more skill development and a better experience for you.
FAQs:
Q: If the age group has more than one tryout session, do we need to come to both?
A: While we understand if a player can only make one tryout, we HIGHLY RECOMMEND that they come to both tryouts as “more data points allows us to be more comfortable in placing them on the higher level team”, and in some grades we have a lot of players trying out (which requires more evaluation time to rank players). So if team placement is important to you (i.e., making the only team in the grade or making one of the top teams in the grade) and there's more than one tryout session for your group, then it's best to come to both tryouts (unless instructed otherwise). For returning players, please see General Rule #3 about the importance of coming to all tryout sessions.
Q: My son/daughter has a conflict on the stated day of tryouts - What do we do?
A: Unfortunately the stated tryout sessions will be our only main tryout times for these age groups as it’s incredibly difficult to find gym space to rent this time of year. More importantly, it's critical that we evaluate a player at the main tryout and while they are competing against a good number of players in the same grade and those vying for the same team in order to have a good evaluation (please be sure to read General Rule #2 above). Teams will start to get formed immediately following the main tryout sessions and we may not have any makeup tryouts for some groups after the main tryouts. So if team placement is important to you, then you should be at the main tryout session(s) if that is at all possible. It’s pretty common for players to miss a practice or game for a team they are currently playing on in order to attend a tryout.
Q: We are away on the tryout day(s) - What do we do?
Unfortunately the stated tryout sessions will be our only main tryout times for these age groups as it’s incredibly difficult to find gym space to rent this time of year. More importantly, it's critical that we evaluate a player at the main tryout and while they are competing against a good number of players in the same grade and those vying for the same team in order to have a good evaluation (please be sure to read General Rule #2 above). Teams will start to get formed immediately following the main tryout sessions and we may not have any makeup tryouts for some groups after the main tryouts. So if team placement is important to you, then you should be at the main tryout session(s) if that is at all possible. It’s pretty common for families to come back a little early from a trip (or travel back home briefly during a New England vacation) in order to attend a tryout. We do understand that in some cases families are flying back home at a time where there's no way for a player to make the tryout session, so in these cases please:
1) Register your son/daughter so they get onto the list of players interested (but hold off on paying the tryout fee for now)
2) Be sure to note that which tryout session(s) you are unavailable for in the "General Comments" section near the bottom of the registration form
...and then after the main tryout session we can reach out and discuss where we might still have spots available on specific teams, whether a makeup tryout is appropriate, etc. In many grades where we have several teams, we do hold Makeup Tryouts to fill open spots, but Makeup Tryouts are sub-optimal as per the points made in General Rule #2, so if team placement is important to you it's always best to make the main tryout session(s) if that is at all possible.
Q: Are tryouts required for players that played on a team last season...or for a Trail Blazers team...or for a Practice Player...or for players that are in the Quantum/Discounted Annual Membership program?
A: Yes, tryouts are required for ALL player types and for ALL teams, whether the player has played on a team in the past or not, so that we can do a proper evaluation and determine if a player is eligible for a certain type of team and if so which team they are a fit for. Also, please be sure to read General Rule #3 above.
A: Per General Rule #1 above, a few days before each tryout session (once we have a sense of number of players in each tryout group), we will finalize the gym slots and email everyone with the final times for that tryout session.
We don't create the schedule for each team/group until right after tryouts when we know roughly how many teams we can expect, what gym space we have, who's going to coach each team, coach and player conflicts, etc. Practices for most fall teams are generally either Wednesday or Thursday evenings, while practices for most spring teams are generally either "Monday & Wednesday" or "Tuesday & Thursday" evenings. We communicate the practice schedule for the team in offer emails. So it's best to come to tryouts and then once tryouts are over we'll have a sense of what options are a fit for your son/daughter and therefore what the schedule is for those options. On the tryout registration form you'll see a spot to identify other sports commitments that your son/daughter has and any known schedule info for those - please include everything you know so we capture that in our system and can take everything into account, including known player conflicts, when finalizing the practice schedule for the team.
A: The time can vary significantly based on the size of the tryout group for the gender/grade and the amount of schedule coordination required (as we need to state practice slots in our offers). It takes longer to work through the process for grades where lots of players are trying out. A general rule of thumb is that we generally communicate to the vast majority of (but not all) players within 7 days of the last "main tryout session" for that grade (5 days after a Makeup Tryout). If you haven't heard from us by these dates, please reach out via email (not via text) to our operations account (operations@blazersbasketballclub.com) and put the player name in the subject line. One exception: If you have an expiring offer from another club and need some feedback prior to these dates, please reach out via email and identify the time constraint.
A: In a few instances, we may ask a player (or a small group) to come back for another/"call back" tryout. We will reach out via email and let you know if a call back tryout is requested for your son/daughter.