Hi {{first_name}}
Welcome to the new Program Director’s Playbook. I know you wear a lot of hats — recruiter, organizer, therapist, accountant — because I’ve been there too. Each week my team and I will bring you a page from our playbook to help take the chaos out of your job. This week we start with some ways to eliminate “The Terror of Tryouts.” If you are not a program director, administrator or sports organizer, please hit the unsubscribe link at the bottom of the page. Your feeback is always welcome here.
Chad Henry and the Signature Locker Team
🧠 This Week’s Play: Run Tryouts Without Drama
Tryouts spike stress for athletes, parents, and staff — usually because the process feels fuzzy.
Your job: make it boringly clear and relentlessly consistent.
Here’s how:
Set the rules early. Publish a short rubric (4–6 criteria max) before tryouts so everyone knows what’s being measured.
Label everything. Give every athlete a number or pinny and track scores individually.
Keep evaluators moving. No coach huddles — circulate and score in real time.
Say it twice. Open and close with the same talk track: what you’re measuring, how decisions are made, when results go out.
Follow through. Hit your promised send time, then offer a clear “how can I improve?” channel (not a debate).
A transparent, repeatable process won’t make everyone happy — but it builds trust and keeps your inbox quiet.
⚡ 3 Quick Wins for Smooth Tryouts
1️⃣ Post the rubric early.
Don’t surprise anyone. Share a one-pager with 4–6 clear criteria before tryouts start.
→ It sets expectations, reduces “but we didn’t know!” emails, and makes your process feel objective instead of mysterious.
2️⃣ Badge every athlete.
Numbers or pinnies = instant organization.
→ Evaluators can jot down scores independently instead of comparing notes mid-field. No huddles, no bias, faster decisions.
3️⃣ Prewrite your parent script.
Have your message ready before results go out:
“Here’s what we assessed, here’s when you’ll hear back, and here’s how to request feedback.”
→ This one move cuts 90% of confusion and keeps post-tryout inbox chaos to a minimum.
