Imagine this: you are trying out for your high school’s basketball team. You are super excited to play this year and think you have a good chance at making a team. When you arrive the day of tryouts, you break out in a nervous sweat. You are anxious now about your spot on a team based on the competition. You’re afraid of making a fatal mistake that will cost you a spot on the team. This stress is real for the boys who just tried out for the HRHS basketball team.
Do you think tryouts can be so stressful they affect your performance? Evan Naemura, freshmen basketball player, said, “They can be very stressful. Everyone is playing their best to try and guarantee a spot on the team and play.” Jonathan Lewis, sophomore basketball player, said, “I do think that tryouts affect your performance, but coaches understand how stressful it is.” The stress of try-outs can lead to those trying out making mistakes, or performing better as a result of stress.
Performance in tryouts is partially based on stressful performance. Some players who perform well in tryouts may beat out better overall players, because they react to stress by doing better. This can be a main cause of conflict between players of all sports not just basketball.
One of the most stressful parts about tryouts is the lack of preparation. You can train all the off-season, but still not be prepared for what tryouts hold. Naemura said, “It’s a bit tough to prepare for tryouts because I don’t know what they will do.” According to QZ.com, people who prepare for something versus those who don’t perform better.
During tryouts everyone expects coaches to be unbiased and judge solely based on performance. Lewis said, “I don’t think tryouts are as fair as they should be because some coaches can have biases toward other players.”
Although tryouts are stressful, they are very important. They may be stressful for any high school athlete. What we have to realize is that high school level athletics are very competitive and tryouts are meant to make the best teams.
Whether you think tryouts for sports are fair or not, that isn’t the point, because tryouts have become the standard for assessing skill. All athletes trying out have to do is play their sport to the best of their ability and realize that playing the game for fun will help them succeed and take their mind off the stress.The point of tryouts, Naemura said, “I think the point is to try and find the best of the best and they do just that.”
Tim Vaught, Guest Reporter
