Volleyball Tryout Evaluation Form (Free Printable PDF)
October 17, 2026
The hardest conversation in club volleyball isn't with a player — it's with a parent who wants to know why her daughter made the second team. If the answer is a form with eight numbers on it that every evaluator used the same way, the conversation is short. If the answer is a feeling, it isn't. This printable is that form: one player per page, eight skills rated 1 to 5 with a note on what to watch for, a total out of 40, a roster/bubble/develop recommendation, and a second page with a summary grid for the whole tryout so the decision is a sort, not a debate.
The eight things to rate
| Skill | Watch for | Not this |
|---|---|---|
| Serving | Consistent, in, hits a zone when asked | One ace in warm-ups |
| Serve receive / passing | Platform early, feet move first, ball to target | Whether the one ball she shanked landed |
| Setting | Quiet hands, location, decision speed | Height alone |
| Attacking | Approach timing, full arm swing, sees the block | Kill count in a drill with no block |
| Blocking | Footwork along the net, hands pressed over, closes with the partner | Vertical alone |
| Defense / digging | Reads the hitter, stays low, plays the ball up | Diving for show |
| Athleticism | Vertical, lateral speed, recovers after the play | Size |
| Coachability / effort | Listens, chases balls nobody else does, resets after errors | Being loud |
Run the tryout so the numbers mean something
The form is only as fair as the tryout underneath it. Number every player with tape or pinnies so evaluators write numbers, not names they half-remember. Run the same stations in the same order for every group — serving to zones, serve receive off a coach, setting off a toss, hitting against a block, a defense drill, then scrimmage — and have two evaluators rate every player independently before comparing. The kids the two sheets disagree on are the ones to watch in the scrimmage; the ones both sheets agree on are already decided.
- Rate the skill, not the result. A clean platform that sends one ball long is a 4. A lucky shank that lands is a 2.
- Use the whole scale. If every player is a 3 or a 4, the grid can't sort anything.
- Write one line in the notes column for every player. Three weeks from now, the number alone will not remind you why.
- Rate coachability last, after the scrimmage, when you have seen a player make an error and watched what happened next.
After the last whistle
Copy each player's eight numbers and total onto the summary grid on page 2, sort by total, and make the easy calls first — the top group and the clear cuts. The middle is where the notes column and the second evaluator's grid earn their keep. Write the decision in the last column (R roster, B bubble, D develop) and keep every form: the parent call goes better when you can say what you saw, in order, with numbers.
Roster picked — now put it somewhere
The day after tryouts, the real season admin starts. With My-Team Sports you paste the roster in, the schedule and gym addresses go on one page parents actually open, the live scoreboard runs from your phone set by set, and kills, digs, aces and blocks add up over the season. No app for parents to install, no account for them to create. The lineup and rotation sheets below are built for the first practice.
Related coaching tools
Frequently asked questions
What should a volleyball tryout evaluation include?
The core skills — serving, serve receive, setting, attacking, blocking and defense — plus athleticism and coachability, each on the same numeric scale with a short cue for what to watch. A total, a recommendation and a notes line make the form useful after the tryout, not just during it.
How do you score a volleyball tryout fairly?
Same stations in the same order for every group, players numbered not named, two evaluators rating independently, the skill rated rather than the result, and the whole 1–5 scale used. Then sort the summary grid and discuss only the middle.
What is the 1–5 scale?
1 is not yet able to perform the skill in a drill, 3 is performs it in a drill but not reliably under pressure, 5 is performs it in a scrimmage against resistance. Define it out loud for the evaluators before the first station so a 3 means the same thing on every sheet.
How many players fit on the summary grid?
Twenty-six rows per page. For a larger tryout, print one grid per age group or per court.
Can I use this for school tryouts as well as club?
Yes. The skills are the same; only the recommendation labels change. Cross out roster/bubble/develop and write varsity/JV/cut if that is the decision you are making.