Fairfax Boys Freshmen Basketball Tryouts

Tryout/Practice Schedule

• First “cuts” will be made at the close of practice on Wednesday.  Second “cuts” will be Thursday or Friday (if necessary).  Additional cuts may be necessary after the first week if football playoffs extend beyond tryouts.

• First scrimmage is Saturday, Nov 23 at 1:30 PM vs. Madison HS at Madison HS Aux Gym (NO BUS)
• Second scrimmage is Tuesday, Nov 26 at 6:00 PM vs. Marshall HS at Fairfax HS
• Meet The Coaches Night will be Monday, Nov 18 at 7:00pm in the Field House

• As a general rule, we will have game or practice activities every day, Monday through Saturday until our season ends, including the Thanksgiving and Winter Breaks.  This includes a district game over Winter Break (Jan.3).  Attendance at ALL team practices, meetings and games is MANDATORY.  If you must miss due to extenuating circumstances you need to contact Coach PRIOR to the start of practice.  For the most part, outside of illness or family emergency, all absences will be considered unexcused.  Unexcused absences will result in sitting out game time.

Prerequisites to trying out

• You cannot tryout unless you bring (or have on file) a Physical Examination Form
• You have registered for Tryouts on the school athletic site https://fairfaxhighsports.org/  (you will find Student Registration for Sports on the panel on the left side of the screen. Make sure you select boys basketball. This will include your emergency contact information as well as both you and one of your parents going through the concussion education slideshow.

*Register by Sunday, November 10^th.  If I do not have them (filled out completely), you will be unable to participate!!!!!.*

*If you are playing a Fall Sport that has not completed by the start of tryouts, you will be given the opportunity to try out late once your season is done.  However, in order to get that opportunity, YOU MUST LET COACH KNOW BY THE MON, 11/11 THAT YOU ARE TRYING OUT AND COMPLETED THE TRYOUT PAPERWORK ABOVE*

Selection Criteria

The following criteria will be used during player evaluation and team selection processes:

• Skills/talent – How well can you play?
• Athleticism/fitness/size – Basketball is a sport that favors endurance, height, strength, speed, and quickness.
• Basketball savvy – Quality players understand what to do and when to do it.
• Team work – There are lots of players who can do well when they have the ball or in pick-up games, but struggle during 5-on-5, team oriented situations.
• Scholarship – There are academic requirements for participating.  Other things being equal, a student with a good academic record will have earned an advantage during the selection process.
• Attitude/Conduct – As athletes, our players are representing the school and the basketball program.  Discipline issues on and off the court can affect your ability to make the team.  We are also looking for athletes who can take constructive criticism positively.
• Work ethic – We select players with a passion for excellence and a will to work for success.
• Team balance – We cannot field a team with all guards or all centers.  We need a good mix of players by position.  You might be the third best player trying out and not make the team, because the two best players play your position.

Not everyone can make it

Competition for selection onto a high school basketball team is fierce, as only 10-15 players will make the Freshmen team.  At tryouts, we will undoubtedly have the best 10% or so of the players at Fairfax. Unfortunately, only the top 5% can make the team.  No player likes to be told he’s not good enough to make the team; no coach likes to tell a player that either.  But it has to be done for some when there are a limited number of roster spots.

If you should fail to make the team, don’t be too despondent.  Getting cut doesn’t mean a player isn’t a quality individual, or even a quality basketball player.  Players sometimes aren’t at their best at exactly the wrong time.  Coaches can make mistakes, too.

Whatever the circumstances for not making the team, there are plenty of good opportunities for those players not chosen: other Fairfax winter sports, recreation youth basketball leagues, etc.  If you don’t make the team, you can work hard on improving all aspects (remember the selection criteria) of your game; perhaps even to the point where you can out-compete others for a roster spot next year.

Fall Sports

If you plan to try out for Varsity Basketball and are participating in a Fall sport that is still in-season when basketball tryouts begin (November 11^th), you will start your tryout on the day after your last fall sport contest (e.g., fall season ends Friday, basketball tryout starts Saturday).  However, you must complete all “Prerequisites to trying out” (see above) by November 11^th and let Coach Monter know that you are trying out in order to have a late tryout date.

Brian Monter

Boys Freshmen Basketball Coach

bmonter@fcps.edu

703-853-5526