Importance Of A Mid-Season Athletic Performance Evaluation

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We can all agree that a well-executed athletic performance evaluation sets the tone for the year. As athletes are evaluated across a range of skills, coaches can gather valuable data to assign players to the most appropriate positions and teams. After an evaluation, players can gauge a better understanding of what skills they shine in — and what skills need a little bit more work — through sports evaluations.

With sports evaluations being such an important piece of the coaching puzzle, mid-season athletic performance evaluations should not be overlooked. As more evaluations are conducted throughout the season, athletes will continue to grow physically & mentally, coaches will get better at communicating feedback, and parents will be more satisfied since they are routinely updated on their child’s progress.

Benefits of a Mid-Season Athletic Performance Evaluation

Athletes are provided with frequent feedback

The hockey season runs from October–April, the soccer season runs from April–November, and the softball season runs from April–October. The common denominator between these three sports? They all typically last between 6 to 7 months.

Now imagine if an athlete only got evaluated at the beginning of the season and then (maybe) again at the end of the season? This diminishes the opportunity for athletes to receive feedback throughout the season, work on any areas of weakness, and then see improvements.

With performance evaluations being conducted mid-season, this acts as a halfway check-in point. Suppose you are a coach of a soccer team giving feedback to a midfielder. You might have asked the athlete at the beginning of the season to work on their passing and possession of the ball. With a mid-season evaluation, you now have a chance to evaluate those skills again and provide the athlete with specific feedback. This includes tips for how they can improve their footwork for better passing and how they can maximize their use of space for better possession of the ball.

Coaches can improve communication

Coaches are focused on setting team goals, ensuring practices run smoothly, and preparing their team for each tournament. What can sometimes get lost in this mix of these important responsibilities is communicating feedback with athletes.

Aside from the brief verbal feedback coaches provide to athletes during practice, such as “keep your eye on the ball while you swing through” or “concentrate on your hard pushes to get more power on the ice,” athletes aren’t always getting the most comprehensive feedback.

With mid-season evaluations, coaches can take an allotted (and equal) amount of time to provide detailed feedback to each athlete. Single or subjective scores can be provided, comments can be added, and videos can be attached (showing an athlete how they are performing on a skill they are being evaluated on). This mix of scores, comments, and videos on an evaluation report helps coaches improve their level of communication with athletes.

Parents can understand their child’s athletic progress

It is no secret that parents love feedback. Often, the season gets busy and coaches do not always have the time to give in-person feedback to each athlete’s parent. By assessing each athlete individually and identifying their strengths and weaknesses, coaches will be able to provide parents with a better understanding of their child’s development halfway through the season.

A mid-season evaluation provides athletes with a chance to get detailed feedback from their coaches halfway through the season, enables coaches to communicate with athletes more frequently, and provides parents with a better understanding of their child’s progression.

Are you a coach, or know of a coach, that is looking for a tool to execute their mid-season evaluations? With SkillShark, coaches can evaluate athletes on any skill across any sport. Evaluation scores are then automatically generated into individual reports that can be sent to athletes and parents directly.