Why Coaches Miss Good Players
The stars are obvious. So are the cuts.
The real coaching challenge lives in the middle tier. Those borderline players where one coach sees potential and another sees limitations. Where film analysis becomes a debate between "coachable mistake" and "doesn't get it."
I've been in those film rooms. Watching 30 kids run the same drill, knowing I'm missing something important because there's simply too much happening at once.
The brutal truth? For sure you miss things.
Where Traditional Evaluation Breaks Down
Most coaches video everything now. Cuts aren't made at practice anymore. They happen in film rooms after hours of analysis and debate between coaching staff.
But even with video, the challenge remains massive. You're trying to evaluate technical skills, football IQ, aggressiveness, and coachability across dozens of players simultaneously.
I once cut an offensive lineman my head coach thought had potential. I knew this kid from the previous year and didn't think he had the smarts or aggression to compete at the AAA level. My head coach wanted to develop him.
That kid got cut. But honestly? I can't say the backups I kept did any better.
Data doesn't make decisions for you, but it gives you the knowledge to make the right decision. Without that data, I couldn't say I made the wrong choice. But I couldn't say I made the right one either.
AI Handles What Coaches Can't See
This is where artificial intelligence transforms everything. Predictive analytics now improves coaching decision accuracy by 40%, according to McKinsey research.
The technology excels exactly where human observation fails. Computer vision tracks reaction times, movement efficiency, and technique consistency across every player simultaneously. What used to take 2-3 hours of evaluation now happens in under 20 minutes.
AI could handle that initial screening layer. Flag the clips that need a coaching eye for development decisions. Process all the technical metrics while I focus on what really matters.
Because here's what no algorithm can measure: coachability.
The Human Element AI Cannot Replace
When two players are evenly matched in size, speed, and ability, the decision comes down to growth potential and character. Who has the willingness to be coached? Who will play for the team instead of themselves?
Hustle tells the story. If a kid hustles to get water, hustles from drill to drill, works hard even when the coach isn't watching, they get it. They can be coached.
Those who walk to get water and only hustle when being observed? Different story entirely.
Sometimes you knowingly take the difficult kid because they play quarterback or left tackle. Then your job becomes making them coachable through team dynamics and accountability.
That's coaching strategy no AI will ever replicate.
The Future of Tryout Evaluation
The most powerful application isn't replacing coaching judgment. It's freeing coaches to focus on what they do best.
Let AI handle the technical analysis. The footwork breakdowns, reaction time measurements, consistency metrics across every drill. Professional teams are already adopting this approach, with 38% now using AI for recruitment decisions.
This creates space for coaches to evaluate the unmeasurable. Character development, team chemistry, response to instruction. The life coaching that happens alongside sports coaching.
I made my bed with those roster decisions, and now I have to sleep in it. I have to coach the kids I selected and make them as good as they can become.
But imagine if I could make those decisions with complete technical data on every borderline player. Not to eliminate the uncertainty, but to focus that uncertainty on what actually matters.
The coachability question. The character evaluation. The human elements that determine whether talent becomes performance.
AI won't make coaching decisions for you. But it will give you the knowledge to make better ones.
