Danvers Boys Travel Basketball
Tryout Selection Procedures
Travel Basketball Tryouts can be a stressful time for players and families, and many have questions regarding how the process works. The goal of the below details is to outline the procedures and criteria by which the Danvers Boys Travel Basketball Board chooses and assembles the Travel Teams, so that players, prospective coaches, and families can understand the steps in the process. Please know that the Board spends dozens of hours, each and every year, debating the best way to select teams, and planning/executing the Try-out process. We understand and acknowledge that every potential Tryout strategy/process has its pros and cons.
The Danvers Boys Travel Basketball Board believes that the procedures/strategies described below comprise the best blend of minimizing selector bias, while also taking advantage of the knowledge bank from prior years’ experience.
Our Process:
1. The Try-Outs: The Try-outs are held over two or three separate sessions for each grade group. There are multiple evaluators for each age/gender group. The Travel Director or Assigned Coach by the Board manages and runs the Try-out. At the end of the Tryout, the group of independent evaluators provides a recommendation for each player’s team placement. That recommendation is highly valued/weighted, but it is not the only piece of information used when assembling teams.
2. Prior Coach Evaluations: Entering each season, the Head Coach from the previous season (if applicable) is asked to provide an evaluation on the team, as well as provide details on each player’s strengths, weaknesses, commitment, and attitude. Travel and Program Directors then layer this feedback on-top of the Try-out placement recommendations.
3. Team Make-Up: Finally, the Travel Director, Board Members, and Assigned Head Coach ensure each team has a balanced roster. Each team needs a reasonable distribution of guards and forwards/centers. Teams need players that can dribble, shoot, defend, rebound, etc. This aspect plays an important part of the final roster selection. Please understand, again, that no try-out process is perfect. The Danvers Boys Travel Basketball Board believes that by following the procedures and strategies outlined above, the team selection process is reasonably fair and just.
4. Selected Teams and Rosters: There are typically two teams selected per grade. The Cape Ann League allows for play in 4 divisions, Divisions 1 through 4, with Division 1 having the highest level of competition, and 4 having the lowest. This is taken into account when the selection process takes place, as Danvers Boys Travel Basketball typically places one team in the highest division levels (Division 1 or 2), as well as one team in the lower division level (Division 3 or 4). With this being the case, the rosters are selected accordingly – typically, the “Cape Ann” team plays in the higher division level, and the “Eastern” team plays in the lower division level.
For grades 5 and 6, there are two teams selected per grade, and both teams must carry a minimum of 12 players per roster. *
For grades 7 and 8, there are two teams selected per grade. The “Cape Ann” team must carry a minimum of 10 players per roster, and the “Eastern” team must carry a minimum of 12 players per roster. *
*The exception to the above regarding rosters sizes would be if there are not enough players that try out to accommodate the required rosters sizes. For example, if only 20 total players try out for a grade level, there would likely be two teams of 10 players per team.