Coaches Guide to Athlete Assessments

Beyond selecting a venue and emailing event details, we provide enhanced guidance on how to conduct athlete assessments. This guide helps coaches define effective assessment criteria, uncovers best practices for objective scoring & interpreting data, and shares methods for delivering athlete feedback.

Athlete assessments don’t have to be a long, strenuous process. Rather, they focus on a few core elements that guide decision-making, provide meaningful athlete feedback, and monitor progress over time.

1) Define Assessment Criteria

Select 7-10 skills, keeping your athlete assessments focused & effective. The pillars of an effective assessment criterion are as follows (although they will fluctuate based on the age of athletes & time of year):

Physical: Speed, endurance, and agility.

Technical: These are sport-specific. I.e., In hockey: passing, shooting, and skating.

Tactical: Decision-making, IQ, and game awareness.

Character: Communication, coachability, and teamwork.

 Note: While evaluation criteria should remain relatively consistent throughout the season to track athlete progress, criteria can shift slightly. I.e., Technical skills might be more important at tryouts, whereas character skills (coachability, resilience) might come into play during mid-season evaluations such as camps or clinics.

2) Debrief Staff

Whether hosting a brief in-person session or sending via email, share your evaluation template with evaluators & other coaching staff ahead of time. Don’t forget to provide objective scoring tips.

 
Objective Scoring Tips:

1. Score observable actions only. *Evaluate what is seen (completed pass under pressure), rather than assumptions (tried to execute a pass under pressure).

2. Rate each skill on a scale of 1-5 or 1-10 (depending on what you set). Outline what qualifies as a perfect score to make ratings as accurate as possible. I.e., In dribbling for basketball, a perfect 10 is when a player maintains full control of the ball at game speed, uses both hands without any weakness, and changes pace & direction unpredictably while staying balanced.

3. Once an athlete performs the drill, score them right away to avoid end-of-session recall.

4. When necessary, add supporting comments and/or attach videos of an athlete performing a skill.

5. Avoid comparing athletes. Rate athletes against the standard, not against others in the group. Note: This is where the rating scale is heavily relied on.

3) Review Scores

Once all scores are entered, now is the time to make use of that data to execute confident & accurate decisions. Depending on what type of athlete assessment you are running, data can be used as follows:

Tryouts: Identify top performers to make confident drafting decisions.

In the example below, SkillShark's 'All Scores' report gives coaches a holistic view of player rankings across key soccer skills. This report highlights the top performers overall, helping coaches make confident, data-driven decisions.

Mid-season evaluations: Identify each athlete’s strengths & areas for improvement to guide individualized training and position assignments.

In the example below, SkillShark’s ‘Progress Reports’ illustrate that an athlete’s footwork has regressed slightly between volleyball summer & fall evaluations. These insights allow coaches to incorporate targeted footwork drills into practice and, when appropriate, make positional adjustments.

4) Provide Athlete Feedback

Provide formal feedback to your athletes, highlighting their strengths and pinpointing areas for improvement. Feedback reinforces what an athlete is doing well while providing a clear direction on what skill(s) to work on. I.e., After a basketball mid-season clinic, a report card illustrates that an athlete excels at dribbling, but shows that their shooting can be improved. Not only are scores given, but options to include:

• Supporting comments that provide additional context for specific areas of improvement.

• Developmental resources (first-party or third-party PDFs, videos) if scored below a certain threshold.

• Video of an athlete performing a skill allows for visual breakdown, self-review, and more targeted feedback on technique.

Wrapping Up

Whether you are evaluating athletes for the first time or refining your current assessment process, following this guide will transform your assessments into a valuable tool for decision-making & athlete development.

Ready to run faster, data-driven evaluations? SkillShark's all-in-one digital platform handles any type of assessment: from tryouts, camps, clinics, and combines. The process with SkillShaek is seamless: build a custom evaluation template, score athletes on any mobile device, and access auto-generated reports within minutes. Leverage these real-time insights to draft teams, track athlete development, and share meaningful feedback.