2022-2023 South Salem High School team huddles around Coach Lewis during their game against McNary High School. Photo taken by Samantha Osmus.
Tryout Information: Date and Time
On November 13 and 14 from 4:00-6:30 basketball tryouts will be held for the South Salem High School basketball teams. Some of the coaches that will be there are Adrian Lewis, Travis Brown and Edward Rose.
The Impact Effort and Work Ethic Has on Performance
Coach Lewis has been coaching for 14 years and has been the varsity girls head coach for the last 7 years. During tryouts there will be new incoming players as well as players who have played the last couple of seasons. Some advice Coach. Lewis has for the new incoming players is to focus on yourself.
“I say this every year, comparison is the thief of joy. Everyone will be at different skill levels, so focusing on yourself and getting better is key. It is ok to make mistakes,” Lewis said.
Coach Rose has 17 years of coaching experience. This season, Rose will be coaching at South as the junior varsity two assistant girls coach. Advice he has for the returning players is to take every moment for granted and prioritize your time.
“You’re playing clock is ticking. This is the time if you really enjoy the sport, to put in work, spend time sacrificing some days where you are not hanging out with friends. Be on the court in your free time putting in work. You don’t have much longer to play, so really get as much as you can out of the experience,” Rose said.
For the whole team, Lewis suggests whether practice is in session or not players should always work on their dribbling and shooting. As well as trying to find ways to improve themselves.
“Everyone needs to put in extra time for this whether it is before or after practice. Coaches are always willing to work extra with anyone trying to get better,” Lewis said.
Advice on Mental Preparation for Tryouts
When preparing for tryouts it is not only important to prepare physically but it is also important to prepare mentally.
“Control the controllables. You can always control your attitude, communication, and effort. If players can excel at these three things, everything else will be easy. Don’t worry about a missed shot or turnover. Move on and continue to be the best at attitude, communication, and effort,” Lewis said
An opinion Rose has on ways to prepare mentally for tryouts is to visualize being successful in tryouts and to set expectations of what athletes can control and can’t control and to be a good teammate.
“If you have a good shooting day you can’t control that. There are times I go out to shoot and I have a bad shooting day. But every single day I can play good defense, every single day I can hustle, every single day I can be a good teammate. So when going into tryouts that is what I think of. I am going to show the effort and that I am coachable. So during tryouts show that you can pick up drills and show that you are a good leader. I’ve cut more kids because of the type of teammate they are going to be versus the type of player they are,” Rose said.
What Coaches Look for at Tryouts
When tryouts are happening, things Lewis is looking for in a player is someone who is a good player with a good attitude.
“I look for attitude, communication, and effort. These are non-negotiables. From there we look at skill level to determine what team each person is playing. Our plan is to not cut anyone from our program and want all girls to come out and have some fun,” Lewis said.
Something Rose is looking for during tryouts is someone who will also be a good teammate. A player that will build culture in the team is also high on Rose’s radar.
“I want a mix, I want kids who are tough and who will hold their teammates accountable. You don’t want a full team of alphas, you also want some beta mentality players who don’t care about how many points they score rather that they are like ‘oh this is my job.’ They may not be the best skilled person but they are positive and happy. They’re good enough to be on the team but they raise and shape the environment on the team,” Rose said.
