Why Parents Should Encourage Coaches To Use Evaluation Software

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Picture this: a tryout where parents feel confident in the evaluation process, understand drills and evaluation metrics that took place and know exactly what the next steps are for their child’s athletic development.

Sounds like an impossible-to-solve puzzle, doesn’t it? Good news! We’re here to tell you that athlete evaluation software can make this a reality.

Combined functionality and feedback allow parents to fully understand how a tryout or evaluation was designed. They can know scores that were assigned to their athlete, as well as see areas where improvement is needed based on rankings. Even if reports are not shared with participants, the concrete data that stems from them speaks loudly on its own. All of these elements increase communication between organizations and the participating families. 

This “increased communication” is the most common response from parents that we receive when their children have been evaluated with software. Broken down even further, here are other benefits for parents that an athlete evaluation software can give: 

Accountability and transparency

If an organization is using an athlete evaluation app or software, there is a greater likelihood that parents will be informed about what is taking place within that particular tryout. If organizers decide to release evaluation scores, parents can see exactly how their child did.  If coaches decide to keep the reports internal, there is still increased transparency when parents ask questions or look to gain more information. Parents see when an organization is taking the time to show accountability and transparency, and these actions go a long way.

Confidence in results

A parent’s number one goal is for their children to be happy. Although tryouts don’t always go as planned, parents want each athletic experience to be positive. By having confidence in the results of the session, they are able to have teaching moments with their young athletes. If results are hand scribbled on paper, they won’t have confidence that their child was graded correctly. Confidence in the data leads to constructive conversations and logical questions for organizations. Parents will be refreshed by having a more organized evaluation process than they have seen before.

Athletic development 

If organizations choose to release the data to parents and players, athletic development is the main byproduct. Based on data, parents and players can now see exactly which skills need work. They are then given the reigns to construct a plan for moving forward, whether it be third-party coaching, specific drills at home, etc. Regardless of whether data is shared with parents or not, organizations will likely share data with their internal coaches. This will give these coaches a better understanding of what skills need to be improved across the group. Athletic development is brought to the forefront when is professional data presented. This full developmental model is important for athlete growth in any sport or organization.

If you are a parent who recognizes the benefits, encourage your coach to look into SkillShark! We offer free demos to get organizations started, and have priced our software at $3/Athlete/Year to encourage accessibility for all. Come join SkillShark and see how we can help your youth sports organization.