Seattle Riot Tryouts

Try-outs can be a stressful time for players, especially if you are not clear on what to expect. Our hope is to alleviate some of this stress by laying out our process as clearly as possible.

Open Try-out Day

 
Logistics: Our one open try-out is this Sunday, March 14th from 10 am to 4 pm. Please remember that day is daylight savings time, so you should move your clocks an hour early to avoid being late to tryouts. If you haven’t already registered, please do so on the DiscNW site. The online registration closes on Thursday, but we can still accept sign-ups and payment (cash or check made out to Seattle Riot) the morning of the try-out. Warm-ups start at 10, so please plan to arrive a little before then to check in, especially if you still need to register or make your payment.

Remember that if you’re under 18, we must have a waiver on hand that is signed by you and your parent/guardian in order for you to play. If you attended the Riot hat tournament last Sunday, we should already have a signed waiver for you and you do not need to bring another one.

We’ve reserved fields at the Skykomish River Park located at 818 Village Way, Monroe, WA. To facilitate carpooling among players, we have set up a Google spreadsheet where you can enter your neighborhood, car status, and e-mail. Just see who else is coming from nearby and e-mail them directly about rides.

Format: Every player will be assigned to one of 4 teams for the duration of the day. Each of these teams will be led by at least one member of the Riot Personnel Committee. At the beginning of the day and after introductions, all 4 teams will participate in a dynamic warm-up together. Then each team will have the opportunity to play 3 scrimmages against the other teams and complete 2 rounds of drills. One round of drills will include throwing and marking drills and the other round will include a cutting and defensive drill and some speed/quickness assessments.

Assessments: During each of the drill sessions, there will be at least one Personnel Committee member taking some notes. For the speed/quickness assessments, they’ll record your numbers. For the skills drills, they’ll record general notes for each skill being evaluated. All the Riot returners will also be evaluated in the same system.

The two captains, Surge and Gwen, will also be pulling aside try-outs during the day to have a brief 5 minute “interview” with each player. The purpose of these conversations is to get a sense for why you are trying out, talk about your commitment level, see whether you’d be interested in a practice player spot, discuss any individual circumstances, and answer any questions you might have. If you are attending the Open Try-out Day but are not actually interested in trying out, you don’t have to have an interview session. Just mention to us that you’re not trying out when we pull you aside.

At the end of the day, all the returning Riot players will be asked to complete a brief form about their observations from the day. The 7 Personnel Committee members will use this feedback, the evaluation forms from the day, and our best judgment to determine who will be invited to complete the rest of the tryout process with the team.

The Personnel Committee consists of Surge, Gwen, Miranda, Maddy, Jenn, Drew, and Liz Duffy. Please feel free to ask us any questions during the day.

General Tryout Information

Invitations: On Monday, March 15th, we will send out an e-mail to everyone who was at the Open Try-out with a list of the women who are invited to continue trying out for Riot. We are expecting to invite between 12 and 20 women, which may include players who are only trying out as practice players.

Practice Players: Riot may have up to two types of practice players this season: youth practice players and adult practice players. Players in high school who are not graduating this spring are only eligible to tryout for Riot as youth practice players. Youth practice players will not be able to play with Riot at any tournaments during the season. Adult practice players might be added to Riot’s UPA Series roster in late July, depending on the player and the team’s needs at that point.

All practice players would be expected to come to as many practices as they are able before Worlds. Depending on conflicting high school or college season schedules, this might not include weekly track practices. All practice players would not be expected to come to practices after Worlds but could continue to practice with the team if they wanted.

Roster Size and Composition: Riot carried 21 players on the roster at Nationals last season and we are looking to add a couple more spots this year. Additionally, at least three players from last year’s team will not be able to attend Worlds. Of those returning Riot players going to Worlds, 7 are handlers and the rest cutters.

Try-out Schedule: If invited to continue trying out for Riot after the Open Tryout Day, players will be expected to come to Thursday workouts, weekday practices (3/17, 3/24, and 3/30), and Sunday morning practices for each week until DUI, on April 3-4. More details about exact time, locations, and other logistics (including buying flights to DUI) will be sent out over e-mail. We will send two teams to DUI and the tournament will be the culmination of try-outs. The final Worlds roster and any practice players will be determined the Monday after DUI.

Please e-mail the captains if you have any further questions.

See you soon!

Gwurge, Riot 2010