Our Selection Process Explained

Many things have changed since the USA Softball All-American Games program was launched Louisiana back in 2017, but one thing has not changed, our commitment to conducting a fair and unbiased tryout for every athlete. Our Louisiana team has conducted many tryouts over the years but our process has mostly remained the same as have our evaluators (with a couple of substitutions on occassion). While we do not release the scores from each tryout, what we can show you is how our process works behind the scenes to give you a better idea of how it is all done. It is a very complicated system we developed, but it is the fairest way to calculate the scores for each and every athlete. 

When Athletes arrive at one of our tryouts they are given a numbered bib to wear on the front of their jersey and on the check-in sheet we have the 2 positions that were chosen during the registration process along with their age division, so please double check to ensure the positions and age divison are listed correctly. Throughout the tryout each athlete is referred to by the number they are wearing, and all evaluations are connected to that bib number. This is a key component of our process and also helps us seperate the 12u from the 14u athletes even though everyone is trying out at the same time. 

After each tryout has been completed, the check-in sheet with the bib numbers is compared to the one in the system to ensure all of the bib numbers match and to remove any athlete who did not come to the tryout. The names and bib numbers in that spreadsheet are then added to a master list from all completed tryouts, and then it is filed away. 

All of the evaluation scores are then added to special spreadsheets for Positions with hitting and running, Catching, & Pitching. Each bib number from the tryout is copied from the scoresheets directly to the spreadhseets, and then the scores are transferred to the corresponding spreadsheet. Each spreadsheet has a special formula we developed that weighs each component differently. As an example Running is not weighed the same as Hitting or Positions in the scoring matrix, not to say it does not matter because every part of the tryout is important. 

After all scores have been transferred to the spreadsheets they are automatically added to a master scoresheet with data from all of the tryouts (this is double checked for accuracy). The system gathers the overall average Home-to-First time from all of the this year’s tryouts, then the system awards each athlete whose overall average was under the overall average of all tryouts up to 3 bonus points towards their overall scores based on how much lower their average time was. 

It is important to note that there are no athlete names or team names listed on any of the scoresheets, only the bib numbers. This is done to maintain a fair process and to remove any perception of bias.

After all of the tryouts have been completed and scores added to the system, a report is then run that shows the bib numbers with the highest overall scores for each position (including pitchers & catchers). Another list has the number of selections we have for each age group (7 for 12u & 8 for 14u) with the highest ranked bib numbers populated into the the selection slots. After we receive this information, we pull up the tryout master roster to find the name assigned to each of those bib numbers. 

In the event of a tie, our system will select the athlete with the lowest single H-1B time (individual time, with them running 2x there are 4 times collected to be used), and then if there is still a tie the next tiebreaker is the lowest average running time followed by their best overall combined primary and secondary position scores.

For those wondering about pitching. We ask each pitcher to choose up to 3 of their very best pitches to throw so we can evaluate accuracy, movement & mechanics. We also collect the speeds of each pitch thrown, all of which is inputted into the system and a special formula uses all of this information to calculate their score. For catching it is very similar except we collect scores for framing & blocking, and then we collect 3 pop times (total of 6 with each evaluator collecting 3) with the overall average calculated and used. 

As you can see it is a very complicated process that is designed to be the fairest and most accurate system possible. 

We pride ourselves on hosting open tryouts across the state because it allows Athletes to have a better opportunity to attend. We look forward to the 2026 season and are always interested in visiting new locations for our Tryouts. If you or your organization are interested in hosting a Tryout, please email us at AllAmerican@GeauxSoftball.com.