Author Archives: Zach Crouse

What NFL Training Camp Cuts Can Teach Youth Coaches About Tryouts

Right now, every NFL locker room is packed with more talent than it can keep. Rookies reported in mid-July, veterans followed shortly after, and by the time preseason games kick off on August 13th, roster bubbles across the league will … Read More

Scaling Hockey Tryouts: How Growing Hockey Programs Can Maintain Fair, Accurate Evaluations

Growth is one of the best signs of a healthy hockey organization. Scaling hockey tryouts is the first step. More families are joining. More athletes are developing. More teams can be created. More opportunities become available for players. However, growth … Read More

How Can We Fix the U.S. Soccer System?

Problem #1: Money and Development Are Misaligned Pay-to-Play Is Pricing Kids Out In most of the world, a talented kid can be scouted into a professional academy for free. In the U.S., getting meaningful development usually means paying for it … Read More

Hockey Team Placement Decisions: How to Use Data to Defend Rosters, Tiering, and Tryout Results

Few responsibilities create more pressure for hockey administrators than hockey team placement after tryouts. Every season, hockey associations face difficult decisions: Who makes the top team? Who is placed on the second-tier team? Which players require additional development? How should … Read More

How to Reduce Bias and Favoritism During Hockey Tryouts: A Complete Guide to Fair Player Evaluations

Few topics generate more discussion in youth sports than fairness at hockey tryouts. Every season, hockey associations invest significant time and resources into creating balanced rosters and placing athletes on the appropriate teams. Yet even when organizations work diligently to … Read More

World Cup Lessons for Youth Sports Clubs: What Coaches Can Learn From the World’s Biggest Stage

1. Early, Structured Development Wins 2. Bigger Stages Build Better Players This year’s expanded 48-team format gave more federations, and more players, a shot at the world stage than ever before. That expansion mirrors a lesson that applies just as … Read More

The Ultimate Hockey Tryout Structure: Sessions, Scoring, Evaluators & Team Placement Best Practices

Many hockey associations spend countless hours debating individual players but very little time designing the hockey tryout structure itself. Unfortunately, even the best evaluators can struggle if the hockey tryout structure isn’t designed properly. A weak evaluation process often leads … Read More

Heat Safety for Youth Sports: 6 Ways to Keep Young Athletes Cool and Safe

Summer tryouts, camps, and practices often land right in the middle of the hottest stretch of the year. Young athletes are especially vulnerable in high heat — kids sweat less efficiently, generate more body heat relative to their size, and … Read More

Elevating USA Rugby: How Eagle Impact Rugby Academy Perfected Player Assessments with Athlete Evaluation Software

Developing elite athletic talent requires much more than running intense drills and scheduling extra practice sessions. At the highest levels of any sport, developing a world-class player requires a continuous loop of objective, actionable, and specific feedback. For Salty Thompson, … Read More

Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games: What It Is, When It’s Happening, and What’s on the Line

The Commonwealth Games are coming back to the city that hosted one of its most beloved editions in 2014, and Glasgow 2026 is set to bring together thousands of elite athletes from across the Commonwealth for eleven days of competition. … Read More