It isn t a question of whether a coach likes you, it s a question of whether your skills can help the team for the better and what the coach can do to help you with your skill development. Who is ready to play when you drop the puck. Skills are important, but having the sense of what is happening on the ice is the most important thing. A typical tryout for Brill and his coaches may involve as many as 500 teens hopeful of making a 20 player travel roster. The thing that players and parents need to keep in, is that we re doing the best that we can.
Physical preparation is an important part of the tryout puzzle, but so is mental preparation.
Coaches agree that players need to enjoy themselves during the tryout process. Parents have an important role to play in keeping expectations realistic, especially for young players who are just getting started in the sport. Brill, who has been coaching since 1960 at all levels in Minnesota, with state and national titles to his credit, his tryouts always start with a little talk. It s supposed to be a game. Pressure is the biggest enemy that a player has to deal with in a tryout situation.