Player Selection Criteria
1. Skill Level
2. Athleticism
3. Coachability
4. Toughness
5. Dedication
6. Fitness Level
7. Character
8. Citizenship
9. Academic Standing
When evaluating players, there are a variety of aspects that coaches look at. Here at Tahoma, we compete against some of the most skilled athletes in the state of Washington. Therefore, we are looking for kids with a high enough skill level to compete and has the desire to improve. While skill and athleticism are important, there is quite a bit else that we take into account. First, all athletes must be receptive to coaching. Nothing is a bigger turn off from a coaching stand point than a student athlete who is disrespectful to coaches. Toughness is a bit of an undefinable quality...it encompasses so much. Jay Bilas of ESPN did a great job of breaking it down and I encourage all parents to take a look to understand where we want to be toughness wise. We also take into account the fitness level of each athlete...you've got to be a great shape to help us compete at the highest level. Character/Citizenship and Academic Standing are non-basketball things we take a look at for each student. Playing HS basketball is more than what happens on the court. Student/athletes are expected to maintain high levels of integrity and classroom decorum. To be a member of this program, students need to be ambassadors of the program they represent. We have been fortunate here at Tahoma to have students that have had high marks in these areas. Finally, dedication to the program is always taken into account. All things being equal, if one player is extremely dedicated (weight rooms, open gyms, works hard at camps, etc) and another isn't...we're going to keep the dedicated player. That dedicated player has more invested and making the team and playing will mean more to him.
The staff has received questions about why certain players are playing ahead of other players. The simple answer generally is that Player A is a better basketball player than Player B. As coaches, we don't discriminate. The better players play more and at higher levels. The year in school a player is in has absolutely no bearing on which team they are placed. Decisions are based solely on ability. Coaches, by nature, are competitive people. We love to win. We're going to put the players we have trust in on the floor.