Tryouts

Tryouts gives your organization an end-to-end digital workflow for running player tryouts. Admins set up the tryout in the management console, evaluators score athletes on the LeagueApps Play mobile app, and results roll up into a single ratings view that admins use to make placement decisions. No paper. No spreadsheets.

How it works:

1. Admins create a tryout from an existing registration program, define a scoring system, and assign staff
2. Check-in staff use the LeagueApps Play mobile app to check athletes in and assign tryout numbers
3. Evaluators use the LeagueApps Play mobile app to score athletes against the scoring attributes you defined
4. Admins return to the management console to view rated results and export them for placement

Jump to a section:

• Setting Up a Tryout
• Editing a Tryout After Setup
• Running a Tryout in LeagueApps Play
• Viewing Results and Ratings
• Managing Tryouts After the Event
• Frequently Asked Questions

Setting Up a Tryout

Prerequisites

There are a few things that must be in place before you can run a tryout:

• Admin access: Admins can create tryout events, build scorecards, and view results.
• A registration program: Tryouts pull from an existing registration program. Athletes who registered through that program will be the athletes available to check in and score.
• Staff on the registration program: Anyone who will check in or score athletes during the tryout must be added as staff on the registration program the tryout is tied to.
• LeagueApps Play mobile app: All check-in and scoring happens on the LeagueApps Play app (iOS or Android). Staff must install the app and log in with the email address associated with their staff account before the day of the tryout.

Step 1: Create a tryout

From your management console, go to Manage then Tryouts (under Logistics). You'll see two tables: Upcoming and Past.

Click the Create a Tryout button to begin.

You'll be asked to provide:

• Program: The registration program that captured the athletes for this tryout. Athletes and eligible staff are pulled from this program.
• Tryout name: Defaults to the program name plus "Tryout." Up to 100 characters. Rename it if you'd like (for example, "10U Bowling Tryout").
• Location: Where the tryout will be held.
• Date and time: When the tryout starts.

Click Next to move to the scoring system.

Step 2: Build your scoring system

Your scoring system is the scorecard your evaluators will use in the field. You can add up to 10 attributes per tryout.

For each attribute, choose one of four scale types:

• 1 to 3: Evaluator taps a number from 1 to 3.
• 1 to 5: Evaluator taps a number from 1 to 5.
• Yes / No: Evaluator taps Yes or No.
• Measurement: An open text field where the evaluator types a number (for example, "60-yard dash in seconds" or "number of strikes thrown").

As you add and rearrange attributes, the right-hand preview updates live so you can see what evaluators will see in the field.

Click Next when your scoring system is complete.

Step 3: Confirm your staff

On the staff step, you'll see the list of staff who are currently on the registration program. These are the people eligible to check in and score athletes during the tryout.

If a staff member is missing from this list, add them to the registration program first. You can return to add more staff at any time before or during the tryout.

Click Save to finish creating the tryout. You'll land back on the tryout dashboard.

The dashboard shows you:

• Number of athletes registered
• A link back to the registration program
• Staff assigned to the tryout
• Your scoring system

Editing a Tryout After Setup

You can edit a tryout at any time by opening it and clicking Settings. From there you can change the program, name, location, date, time, or scoring system.

Running a Tryout in LeagueApps Play

All check-in and scoring happens on the LeagueApps Play mobile app. You cannot check in athletes or score from the web.

Before the day of the tryout

Make sure each staff member:

• Has the LeagueApps Play app installed (iOS or Android)
• Is logged in with the email address tied to their staff account on the registration program

On the day of the tryout, staff will see a card for the tryout on their schedule with a green Open Tryout button. Tryouts scheduled in the future do not show the Open Tryout button. That prevents staff from accidentally entering data before the event.

Checking athletes in

Tapping Open Tryout lands the staff member on the Not Checked In list, which contains every athlete registered to the program, sorted alphabetically by first name.

To check an athlete in:

1. Find the athlete in the list (scroll, or tap the search icon to filter by first or last name)
2. Tap Check In
3. Enter the tryout number you've handed the athlete (bib, jersey, penny, etc.)
4. Confirm

The athlete moves off the Not Checked In list. You can repeat this rapidly as athletes arrive.

Duplicate tryout numbers. If a staff member enters a tryout number that's already in use, the app will surface a warning but won't block the assignment. This is intentional. Some organizations use two sets of pennies (for example, youth and adult sizes) where numbers can legitimately overlap. The warning gives the staff member a chance to catch an actual mistake.

Undoing a check-in. If a staff member checks in the wrong athlete, switch to the All Players tab, find the athlete, and tap Edit. From there you can undo the check-in, which returns the tryout number to the pool and puts the athlete back on the Not Checked In list.

Scoring athletes

Once check-ins are underway, switch to the Scores tab to begin scoring. This tab shows only athletes who have been checked in, sorted by tryout number.

Each athlete row shows the scoring attributes you set up. To score an athlete:

• For 1 to 3, 1 to 5, and Yes/No attributes: tap the value. Tapping the same value again clears it.
• For measurement attributes: type the number into the open field.

Use Private notes to capture freeform observations on an athlete (for example, "really nice footwork" or "easily coachable"). Evaluators can use their device's native voice-to-text to dictate notes hands-free.

Filtering attributes (great for stations). If your tryout uses a station model (for example, you've assigned an evaluator to only score the 60-yard run), tap the filter icon and select only the attributes that station is responsible for. The scorecard collapses to just those attributes, making scoring faster.

You can show all attributes again at any time. Multiple evaluators can score the same athlete on the same attributes, and their scores roll up into a single average in the results view.

Late check-ins. Evaluators who are scoring can flip back to the Check-In tab at any time to check in an athlete who arrives late. The new athlete appears on the Scores list for all evaluators automatically once they're checked in.

How scores are saved

Scores are saved to the evaluator's phone the instant they're entered, then uploaded to the server in the background as connectivity allows. If the venue has poor Wi-Fi or cell service, scores are not lost. They queue up and upload as soon as the device reconnects.

When the evaluator closes the tryout, the app will either:

• Confirm "Your tryout data is uploaded" (everything is in)
• Show a brief uploading spinner while pending scores sync
• If sync fails, show a message reassuring the evaluator that scores are saved locally and will upload once the device is back on good connectivity

Viewing Results and Ratings

When the tryout ends, return to the management console, open the tryout, and click the Results tab.

The Results page shows every athlete who was checked in, along with:

• Attribute averages: For each scoring attribute, the average score across all evaluators who scored that athlete. Decimals are expected, since they represent the average of multiple evaluator scores.
• Measurement averages: Same logic, calculated as the average of measurement values across evaluators.
• Rating: A single rolled-up rating per athlete, on a scale of 1 to 10 (see below).

Drilling into an athlete

Click any athlete to see the individual scores each evaluator left for them, broken out by evaluator and attribute, alongside the rolled-up averages.

You can also search the results table by name to jump to a specific athlete.

How the rating works

Each athlete gets an overall rating on a 1 to 10 scale, based on their scored attributes.

• An athlete who receives the top score from every evaluator across every scored attribute would get a rating of 10.
• An athlete who receives the bottom score from every evaluator across every scored attribute would get a rating of 1.
• Everyone else lands somewhere in between, normalized across the included attributes.

The rating gives you a single comparable number you can sort and rank athletes by, which feeds directly into team placement.

Editing what's included in the rating

By default, all scored attributes (1 to 3, 1 to 5, Yes/No) are included in the rating. Measurement attributes are not included. Measurements use different units (seconds, counts, distances) that can't be normalized together without adding significant complexity. This is by design.

To adjust which scored attributes count toward the rating, click Edit Rating Settings. Toggle attributes on or off, and the ratings recalculate live so you can see the impact.

[SCREENSHOT 14: Edit Rating Settings panel showing the toggles for each scored attribute]

For example, if you set up four scoring attributes but only really care about pitching, you can turn off the others and the rating will reflect pitching only. Your selection is saved for the tryout.

Exporting results

Click Export to CSV at the top of the Results tab to download a CSV of all athlete results, including individual evaluator scores, averages, and overall ratings. Use this for any downstream placement work.

Managing Tryouts After the Event

From the main Tryouts page (Manage, then Tryouts), past tryouts live in the Past table. You can:

• Open any past tryout to review results
• Edit Rating Settings to recalculate ratings
• Re-export results to CSV
• Edit the tryout (with the same wipe rules described in Editing a Tryout After Setup above)

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I change the scoring system or program after scores have been captured?

Yes, but with a tradeoff. If you change the program or the scoring system on a tryout that already has check-ins or scores, the system will wipe those check-ins and scores before applying the change. This keeps every evaluator's data consistent. You'll see a clear warning before this happens, so it won't be a surprise. Changes to the name, location, date, or time do not affect existing check-ins or scores.

Can a player be checked in after the tryout has started?

Yes. Evaluators who are mid-scoring can flip back to the Check-In tab in the LeagueApps Play app at any time, check the late athlete in, and assign their tryout number. The athlete then appears on the Scores list for all evaluators automatically.

Some scores aren't showing up in my results. What happened?

The most common cause is an evaluator's phone hasn't synced its scores up to the server yet. This happens when the venue had poor Wi-Fi or cell service. Scores are saved to the phone the moment they're entered, so they aren't lost, they're queued for upload. Ask the evaluator to get on Wi-Fi and open the LeagueApps Play app. The queued scores will upload, and the missing scores will appear in your results shortly after.

Does Tryouts work with both free and paid registration programs?

Yes. Tryouts pulls athletes and staff from whatever registration program you connect it to, and that program can be free or paid. Payment (if any) is handled by the registration program itself, not by Tryouts.

Do parents get a notification when their athlete is checked in?

No. Tryout check-ins do not trigger parent or athlete notifications. Tryout check-in is an operational step for your staff and is not surfaced to families.

What happens if an athlete registers on-site during the tryout?

If they register through the same registration program the tryout is tied to, they'll show up automatically on the Not Checked In list in the LeagueApps Play app. The list refreshes as new registrations come in, so on-site walk-ups are supported without any extra setup.

Can multiple staff check athletes in at the same time? Will it sync?

Yes. Tryouts supports multi-device check-in. Multiple check-in staff can work in parallel on different devices, and check-ins sync across devices in near real time so every staff member sees a consistent Not Checked In list as it draws down.

Are "measurement" type attributes included in the overall athlete rating?

No. Measurement type attributes are scored and stored, and their averages appear in the Results table, but they are excluded from the 1 to 10 overall athlete rating. This is intentional, since measurements use different units that can't be normalized together without significantly complicating the calculation. Adjust which scored attributes (1 to 3, 1 to 5, Yes/No) count toward the rating using the Edit Rating Settings link.

How do I handle a multi-day tryout?

Tryouts is currently set up for a single day. For multi-day tryouts, the recommended workaround is to create a separate tryout for each day, each tied to the same registration program. Results from each day will live on their own tryout in the management console. Native multi-day support is on our roadmap for the very near future.