FAQS
Frequently Asked Questions regarding the tryout process and outcome.
The selection criteria mentions ‘Being a Cougar’ – what does that mean?
‘Being a Cougar’ has nothing to do with a player’s current or previous participation in our program. It relates to their ability to display the traits we value in our players and coaches:
Respectful – showing respect to coaches, teammates, opposition, staff and facilities
Confident – approaches tasks with energy and self-assurance
Resilient – having a ‘next play’ mindset and managing adversity well
Problem-solvers – finding solutions for challenges in trainings and games
What does a tryout session look like?
Tryout sessions will look different in each age group but importantly there is no prior knowledge required. Everything that players need to know will be taught and explained by the coaches beforehand, and generally, the sessions will include a mix of:
Shooting-based warm-ups
Small-sided games (2v2, 3v3, 4v4) using basic concepts from the Cougars Style of Play
Group ‘huddles’ and discussions
5v5 scrimmages, applying basic concepts from Cougars Style of Play
Intra-club or inter-club games are used to give us an opportunity to trial different line-ups in a game-like environment prior to selecting the teams. Selections for these games should not be read into as being final selections.
My child is injured or otherwise unable to attend tryouts, can they still be selected?
Yes, your child will not be penalised for their inability to participate on-court and will be selected based on our previous observations and reports of them if they were previously a part of the McKinnon Cougars program. Obviously, they will not have the opportunity that other players do to ‘wow’ us with their tryouts performance; but equally, they will not be able to perform poorly at tryouts. We encourage injured players to attend all sessions and contribute to group huddles and discussions across the tryouts.
My child is shattered by their selection outcome.
We have many incredibly passionate players within our Cougars program, so we would be more surprised if some players were not disappointed when they fall short of their goals.
How players manage themselves in these moments (and how parents manage themselves) will form the basis for how they approach rejection or adversity as young adults: a job application they swore they would get an interview for, being overlooked for a promotion, or rejection after a first date. Resilience and an attitude to ‘control the controllable’ is a key trait we seek to instill in our Cougars, and the tryouts environment is a time when players are provided opportunities to test this.
My child was in the U14-3s last season, and this season they have been offered the U16-6s – why the demotion?
This is perhaps the most common query around tryouts and an unnecessary source of disappointed athletes. The reality of the two-year age group system is that the vast majority of players will drop anywhere from 1-4 teams when lifting to a new age group.
Players are competing against a new group of players each year and developing at different rates, which makes comparing team numbers from year-to-year like comparing apples and oranges.
The team number provided in an offer provides no indication of the level the team will be playing, so it is nearly impossible to assert that a player has been miss-selected from the basis of the number.
There is also the possible reality – challenging as it may be – that other players have invested more time in their development over the past 12 months. Your child may not have gone backwards, but others have likely leaped forward.
My child is not with their friends from last season.
If the primary motivation of a player is to be with certain friends, their Rep basketball journey is, unfortunately, going to be filled with highs and lows. We try to guide players towards adopting mindsets where they play for fun through personal growth and mastery first, rather than existing friends.
My child should be in a higher team.
If a player is genuinely under-graded in a team, where their dominance in that team creates a negative developmental experience for that player and their teammates, we will seek an appropriate solution. This is very rare though - more commonly your child has just missed out on a higher spot and has an opportunity to hone their leadership skills as one of the stronger players in their team.
Once we get into the swing of training and games it will become clear that players are at competing at a suitable level for them to further develop and enjoy their basketball, irrespective of the team number or where their former teammates have placed.
My child was expecting to make the 1st team again this season and is disappointed that they have not made it.
The talent pool at McKinnon has increased substantially over the past 3-4 years, creating increasingly strong competition for first-team spots. Players who consistently made high teams in shallow age groups are increasingly being challenged for their positions by younger and more committed athletes, as well as athletes from other Associations seeing McKinnon as a destination program.
My child is stronger than some players in the team above.
This is a personal perspective that often ignores the wide range of areas we consider for our selections. To name a few: 1v1 Offence, 1v1 Defence, shooting ability and selection, Decision-Making, Physical Literacy, Competitiveness, Style of Play Compatibility, Resilience, Respectfulness, Team Balance, responsiveness to feedback, problem-solving, future potential, fitness, adherence to team tactics. Being stronger in one or two areas does not necessitate selection over another player.
If players have an area to shine, our process will more often than not give them an opportunity to highlight it. If a player is excelling in one group, we challenge them in a higher group.
Rather than passively observing, coaches will ask questions of players about the activities, listen to player huddles to pick leaders, and vary match-ups and game constraints to showcase different skill sets. We employ safeguards against potential selection bias and draw upon previous references from coaches.
We appreciate that parents are not able to see tryouts and that this can lead to cynicism about how teams are selected. But we apply this level of care because we care about getting the selections right for each child.
Could we arrange a meeting or receive some feedback regarding my child’s selection?
Whilst we would like to facilitate individual feedback and meetings between the MBA Basketball Development Team and players/parents, the scale of the program with 900+ players trying out does not make this viable.
No different from State representative tryout environments, players are unable to seek feedback.