Sports evaluation criteria are the foundation of every fair tryout. They decide what evaluators look for, how players are scored, and ultimately which team each athlete makes. Get them right and your rankings are accurate and easy to explain. Get them wrong and even experienced coaches end up guessing.
TeamGenius has collected more than 50 million scores from over 1.5 million athletes. This guide shares the sports evaluation criteria coaches, clubs, and associations use most, along with a scoring scale and suggested stations for each sport.
Quick answer: Great sports evaluation criteria are limited to 3–5 per session, measure one observable skill each, avoid overlap, and balance athletic, technical, and intangible traits. Score each on a shared 1–5 scale where 3 means average for the level. Common criteria include skating or speed, sport-specific skills like passing and shooting, game sense, compete level, and coachability.
What makes great sports evaluation criteria?
These six principles come from thousands of evaluation forms built by coaches and organizations:
- Keep it to 3–5 criteria per session. More than that and evaluators rush, guess, or score everything the same.
- One skill per criterion. “Passing and shooting” forces evaluators to average two different skills. Split them.
- Make it observable. Avoid vague labels like “overall” or “potential.” Every criterion should be something an evaluator can see.
- Avoid overlap. “Hockey sense” and “hockey IQ” measure the same thing and double-count it in the rankings.
- Balance the categories. Mix athletic, technical, and intangible criteria so one strength does not hide a gap.
- Match criteria to stations. Only score what your tryout format lets evaluators see.
What are the three types of evaluation criteria?
| Category | What it measures | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Athletic | Physical tools | Speed, agility, strength, endurance |
| Technical | Sport-specific skills | Shooting, passing, fielding, serving |
| Intangible | Mindset and awareness | Game sense, compete level, communication, coachability |
What scoring scale should evaluators use?
A shared scale is what makes scores comparable across evaluators. Use named values, not bare numbers:
| Score | Label | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Developing | Struggles with the skill and needs significant work |
| 2 | Below average | Inconsistent and below the level of the group |
| 3 | Average for the level | Reliable in most situations; most players land here |
| 4 | Above average | Consistent under pressure; a clear strength |
| 5 | Exceptional | Among the best at this level; stands out every rep |
What are the top evaluation criteria by sport?
Below are the top eight criteria for each sport. For a single session, pick the three to five that matter most for the age and level you are evaluating.
For deeper dives, see the 8 most common soccer scoring criteria at tryouts and the 8 most common volleyball scoring criteria at tryouts.
Hockey
Skating, puck handling, passing and receiving, shooting, defensive play, hockey sense, compete level, and coachability. Goalies add positioning, lateral movement, rebound control, and tracking. Tip: score skating, puck skills, and game awareness separately so a great skater who reads the game poorly does not hide inside one overall score. See hockey tryout software.
Volleyball
Serving, serve receive, setting, attacking, blocking, defense, footwork and athleticism, and communication and court awareness. Setters add tempo and decision-making; liberos add range and ball control. Tip: evaluate serve receive against live servers, not tossed balls. See volleyball evaluation software.
Baseball
Hitting mechanics, bat speed and power, fielding, arm strength, throwing accuracy, speed and baserunning, baseball IQ, and coachability. Pitchers add velocity and command; catchers add receiving, blocking, and pop time. Tip: record 60-yard times, velocity, and pop time as real numbers beside your 1–5 ratings. See baseball evaluation software.
Softball
Hitting mechanics, bat speed and power, short game, fielding, throwing, speed and baserunning, softball IQ, and coachability. Tip: do not copy your baseball form. The short game and pitching motion deserve their own criteria. See softball evaluation software.
Basketball
Ball handling, shooting, passing, finishing, defense, rebounding, athleticism, and basketball IQ. Guards add pick-and-roll reads; posts add footwork and rim protection. Tip: score both drills and live play, because some players shine in one and disappear in the other. See basketball evaluation software.
Soccer
First touch, dribbling, passing, shooting and finishing, defending, speed and agility, tactical awareness, and work rate. Goalkeepers add shot stopping, handling, and distribution. Tip: use 4v4 or 5v5 small-sided games so every player gets more touches. See soccer evaluation software.
Football
Speed, agility, strength and power, tackling, blocking, ball skills, football IQ, and effort and toughness. Quarterbacks add accuracy and decision-making. Tip: evaluate by position group, since a 3 in blocking means something different for a lineman than for a receiver. See football evaluation software.
Lacrosse
Stick skills, passing and catching, shooting, ground balls, dodging, defense, speed and athleticism, and lacrosse IQ. Goalies add save ability; faceoff specialists add win rate and clamp speed. Tip: score weak-hand ability separately; it is one of the clearest separators between levels. See lacrosse evaluation software.
Ringette
Skating, ring handling, passing and receiving, shooting, defensive play, game sense, compete level, and teamwork. Tip: because the ring cannot be carried over a blue line, weight passing and off-ring movement more than in hockey. Learn more in what is ringette.
How do you put sports evaluation criteria into practice?
- Pick your criteria. Start with the top eight for your sport and narrow to three to five for each session.
- Build your form. Write down what each number on your scale means.
- Calibrate evaluators. Score one player together before tryouts start.
- Score on the spot. Evaluators score at each station, not from memory afterward.
- Share feedback. Give families clear, consistent results after tryouts.
Avoid the most common pitfalls with our guide to tryout evaluation mistakes, and see the full process in our sports evaluation software guide. For broader research on what keeps kids in sports, see the Aspen Institute’s youth sports survey.
Running the whole tryout? Read our complete guide to youth sports tryout management and how long a youth sports tryout should take.
How TeamGenius turns sports evaluation criteria into better tryouts
TeamGenius is player evaluation software that helps clubs and associations turn great sports evaluation criteria into tryouts that run smoothly and give families the transparency they want.
- Build your form in minutes. Set up your criteria and named 1–5 scale for any sport.
- Score on the spot. Evaluators score at each station on a phone or tablet. No paper and no data entry.
- Get results fast. Rankings are ready when the evaluation ends, so team decisions do not take weeks.
- Share feedback. Give families clear, consistent results after tryouts and throughout the season.
See how it works on our features page or explore tryout evaluation software.
Frequently Asked Questions
Sports evaluation criteria are the specific skills and traits evaluators score during tryouts or player evaluations, such as skating, passing, game sense, and coachability.
Use three to five criteria per session. More than that causes evaluators to rush and score players too similarly.
A 1–5 scale with named values works best: Developing, Below average, Average for the level, Above average, and Exceptional. Write down what each number means and calibrate evaluators before tryouts.
Leave a Reply