Imagine this: as after-school activities commence, excitement fills the air. Yet, amidst anticipation, a pressing concern looms in the gym — tryouts. For some, it may seem like an opportunity to showcase their skills, but for many, it acts as a path fraught with uncertainty and potential exclusion.  

The discussion around this new procedure with sports practice first took off last year. Proponents argue that an abundance of players leads to reduced game time for each individual, which hinders the team’s overall development. Safety issues and stagnated athlete performance also emerge from this problem. But is this the whole story? 

The assessment of skills over just two periods of sports sessions, which equates to around three hours, fails to provide every student with a fair opportunity to showcase their capabilities.“Tryouts seem unfair since they happen in 2 weeks after the ASA season starts, and that’s such a short time to assess a student’s ability and capacity to play in the team,” said an anonymous player. 

Furthermore, some prospective athletes without any prior experience may join the ASA without to give the sport a go. However, oftentimes, they get cut before they get a good taste of volleyball. Consequently, some argue that rather than to solely focus on choosing the most skilled players, the priority should be to offer inclusive chances for everyone to participate in physical activities, develop teamwork skills, and gain confidence both on and off the court.

Valid reasons still support why tryouts may seem necessary for some, especially for coaches. Mr. Balint, the mentor of the girls’ volleyball teams, said, “While it’s fun to have that many girls interested in volleyball, the amount of coaching time that they get is severely limited. I think that from a safety perspective, it’s pretty dangerous. I think from just not being able to play a lot, it just isn’t very good. And our team won’t get better if we have too many people on the team.”

As problems emerged, the team coaches adjusted the system for the good of the players. Balint said, “In the case of the middle school teams, we didn’t necessarily want to cut all the youngest players. So I made the decision to keep players that were on the borderline and let them practice during normal sessions.” This new system allows students who stand in the margin to gain opportunities to practice and develop new skills. 

In the first year of its enactment, many debate over whether tryouts are an addition to the team or a barrier for newcomers to the sports, especially those with little experience on the elementary school teams. Only time will tell the effectiveness of this new system.