TryoutDesk Help Center

Everything you need to set up your club, run tryout day, and get to a final roster — matched exactly to the current app, screen by screen.

Getting Started

Dashboard

Your real-time command center — attendance, evaluation progress, and quick links, all updating live as coaches and players use the app.

TryoutDesk Dashboard
  1. Total Players — everyone imported for this tryout.
  2. Checked In — players who've scanned in or been checked in via Bulk Check-In.
  3. Evaluated — players who've received at least one score from a coach.
  4. Missing Measurements — players whose height, reach, or vertical hasn't been recorded.
  5. The By Position breakdown and Quick Actions panel give one-click shortcuts to Player List, Live Rankings, Roster Builder, and Import CSV.
💡
Keep it openLeave this tab open on a laptop during tryouts for a live status view — every number updates automatically as stations submit data, no refresh needed.
Getting Started

Account Setup & Branding

Club Settings controls how your club looks across the whole app — the sidebar, station screens, and the live rankings board.

TryoutDesk Club Settings page

Upload your logo and set your color

  1. Click Club Settings in the sidebar.
  2. Click Upload new logo — PNG, JPG, SVG, or WebP, up to 2 MB.
  3. Update your Club Name and click Save.
  4. Under Primary Color, pick a preset swatch or type a custom hex value, then click Save. This repaints the sidebar and every button accent across the app.
  5. The Live Preview panel shows exactly how your logo and color will look in the sidebar before you commit to anything.
💡
Pick a background-safe logoThe sidebar header has a white background, so a logo with a transparent background works for any color scheme.
Getting Started

Creating a Tryout (Sessions & QR)

A session tells the check-in station which event and age group is live right now, and generates the QR code players scan to check themselves in.

TryoutDesk Sessions and QR Management page

Activate a session

  1. Click Sessions & QR in the sidebar.
  2. Pick an age group preset (e.g. 16U Tryouts) or click Custom to type your own event name.
  3. Set the date and click Activate Session.
  4. The Player Entry QR Code updates on the right — this is what you print and post at the door.
ℹ️
One session at a timeActivating a new session replaces the previous one. If you're running multiple age groups on the same day, activate the next group's session when it's their turn.
Getting Started

Importing Players

Load your roster from a CSV file or sync live from a Google Sheet — either way, re-importing updates existing players by jersey number instead of creating duplicates.

TryoutDesk Import page

CSV upload

  1. Click Import CSV in the sidebar.
  2. Click Download Template for the correct column headers, or drop your own CSV that includes jerseyNumber, name, and position (required).
  3. Drag your file onto the drop zone, or paste CSV text directly into the box.
  4. Click Import Players.

Google Sheets sync

  1. In Google Sheets, click Share → set access to "Anyone with the link" (Viewer).
  2. Paste the sheet URL into the Google Sheets Sync card and click Sync Now.
💡
Sync before tryout starts, not duringRe-syncing mid-tryout can overwrite player names and jersey numbers if the sheet has changed. Evaluation scores are never touched by an import.
Getting Started

Player List

Your master roster — every player registered for the tryout, searchable and filterable in one place.

TryoutDesk Players list
  1. Add players manually with New Player, or use Import to load a CSV or Google Sheet.
  2. Filter by position or age group using the tabs. Search by name or jersey number.
  3. Click a player's name to open their profile — scores, measurements, photo, and notes.
  4. Use the lightning bolt icon to start scoring a player directly from this list.
💡
Jersey numbers must be uniqueStation search and tagging (video, bulk check-in) all key off jersey number, so duplicates cause mismatches.
Getting Started

Managing Coaches

Add the people evaluating players and running the tryout, before assigning them a station and PIN.

TryoutDesk Coaches page
  1. Click Coaches in the sidebar, then Add Coach.
  2. Enter their name and role — Evaluator, Court Coach, Head Coach, Assistant Coach, or Staff.
  3. Coaches with the role Evaluator appear in the evaluator selector on the Evaluation station.
  4. Next, head to Staff & Roles to give them a station and PIN.
ℹ️
Nothing is lost on deleteRemoving a coach takes them out of the app but keeps their historical evaluation scores intact.
Getting Started

Staff & Roles (PINs)

Every coach or staff member needs a PIN before they can log in to a station on tryout day.

TryoutDesk Staff and Roles page
  1. People come from the Coaches tab — add them there first if they don't appear here.
  2. Go to Staff & Roles and click Assign PIN next to their name.
  3. Pick their station and set a 4-digit PIN.
  4. Their role determines which station they land on when they log in — see Stations.
ℹ️
Open-access eventsUse the PIN login required on iPads toggle at the top of this page to turn PIN login off entirely for a casual or low-stakes event.
Getting Started

Stations

Stations are the devices your staff use during a tryout — one shared link, five jobs. Each person is routed automatically to their assigned station after logging in with a PIN.

TryoutDesk Stations page
  1. Assign roles and PINs in Staff & Roles (previous section) — this determines each person's station, not a menu they pick from.
  2. Share the station link from the Stations page — works on any phone, tablet, or laptop, no install.
  3. They select their name, enter their PIN, and land directly on their assigned station.
Check-InSearch or scan a player in as they arrive.
MeasurementsHeight, reach, vertical — feeds the Potential score.
PhotoCapture or upload a headshot per player.
EvaluationScore 1–10 across universal and position skills.
VideoRecord reps and tag the player who made the play.
Tryout Day

Check-In Day

Two ways to check players in: a self-serve QR code players scan with their own phone, and the Check-In station where staff search or scan jersey numbers.

Self check-in (QR code)

  1. Print the QR code from Sessions & QR and post it at the gym entrance.
  2. A player scans it, taps a search box that says "Search your name to check in", and finds their name or jersey number.
  3. They confirm "Is this you?" and tap "I'm here — Check In ✓".
  4. If they're not found (genuinely new), they see a "Register as a new player" link.

Staff-run check-in

For walk-ups or players without a phone, a staff member logs into the Check-In station (see Stations) and searches or types the player's jersey number directly.

Tryout Day

Coach Evaluation

The core of tryout day. Coaches open the Evaluation station on their phone or iPad, score each player with a tap, and move on — no clipboards, nothing to submit.

TryoutDesk evaluation station showing Universal Skills
  1. The eval screen shows one player at a time, with a progress bar tracking the session.
  2. Switch between Universal Skills (Serving, Passing, Defense, Volleyball IQ, Communication, Coachability, Competitiveness, Consistency) and the player's Position Skills tab.
  3. Tap a score for each skill. Toggle between 1–5 and 1–10 scoring with the buttons in the top right.
  4. Tap Next Player to advance.
TryoutDesk evaluation station showing a position-specific skills tab
💡
Scores save automaticallyThere's no Submit button — every tap saves instantly, and rankings recalculate in real time as every coach scores.

To check what's still missing mid-tryout, the director can open Coverage in the sidebar — it shows every player's evaluation status by skill, filterable by coach or age group.

Tryout Day

Evaluation Coverage

A real-time completeness check — see exactly which players still need to be evaluated, and on which skills.

TryoutDesk Evaluation Coverage page
  1. Green checkmarks mean a player has been scored on that skill by at least one evaluator.
  2. Empty cells mean the skill hasn't been scored yet for that player.
  3. Filter by evaluator or skill using the dropdowns at the top.
  4. Click a player's name to open their profile and score them directly.
💡
Check mid-tryoutUse this page to catch players who weren't evaluated before rankings are finalized — all mandatory skills should be green.
Tryout Day

Video Recording

Record live reps and tag which player made the play — works on an iPad or a laptop with a webcam.

TryoutDesk video station court setup screen
  1. On the Video station, select which players are on court — by position or a custom pick — then tap Start Recording.
  2. While recording, tag the player who just made the play by typing their jersey number on the on-screen dial pad, or a physical keyboard if you're on a laptop. The tag applies the moment digits uniquely match a player on court.
  3. Use the pause button to briefly stop without ending the clip.
  4. Use the stop button to end and save the recording with every tag attached.
  5. Tap Record Again to start a new clip with the same court lineup already selected.
💡
Tags line up with the actual playTags are timestamped a few seconds earlier than the tap itself, to account for the natural delay between the play happening and you reacting.
Tryout Day

Live Rankings & Compare

Rankings recalculate the instant a score is entered — no manual refresh, no end-of-day spreadsheet.

TryoutDesk Rankings page
  1. Click Rankings in the sidebar. Sort by Overall, Position, Potential, Physical, Height/Vert, or Jersey.
  2. Click Lock on a player to pin their rank so new scores don't bump them as the day goes on.
  3. Greyed-out rows are players already on the active roster.

Evaluators also get a lightweight version of this right at their station: on the Evaluation station, tap View Rankings & Compare Players to search by jersey number, filter by position, and compare two players' scores side by side — read-only, no export.

After Tryout

Live Draft & Rosters

Multiple coaches build their teams at the same time, each on their own device, straight from the ranked player pool.

TryoutDesk Live Draft page showing the player pool
  1. Click Live Draft, then Add Coach for each team (or Import Coaches from a CSV).
  2. Select a team from the left panel to open their draft board — Player Pool on one tab, My Team on the other.
  3. Tap the ♥ heart to wishlist a player, or + Claim to draft them onto the team.
  4. In My Team, tap the 🔒 lock icon on a claimed player to lock them in.

Claiming vs. locking

These are two separate steps. Claiming adds a player to your team as a pick — other coaches can still see them in their pool. Locking is what actually takes a player off the board: once locked, other coaches see a 🔒 Locked by [Team] badge instead of a Claim button, so nobody's left guessing who has who.

ℹ️
Not drag-and-dropSelections are made by tapping + Claim on a player card — there's no drag-and-drop, no per-team roster size limit, and no automatic "Team Average" recalculation. Positional balance is something you track visually by the position tags on each card.
After Tryout

Final Roster

View and manage each team's final roster once the draft is complete.

TryoutDesk Roster page
  1. Players claimed and locked in Live Draft appear here, grouped by team.
  2. Manually add or remove players from a roster directly on this page.
  3. Export the roster to CSV for sharing with coaches — see Export & Re-Import.
💡
No double-draftingRostered players appear greyed out on the Rankings page, so you can't accidentally draft the same player onto two teams.
After Tryout

Messaging Stations

Send a pop-up banner to every open station device for your club — useful for time-sensitive alerts mid-tryout, like reminding coaches a player is missing measurements.

TryoutDesk Club Settings page with Message Stations card
  1. Go to Club Settings → Message Stations.
  2. Type your message and click Send to All Stations.
  3. It appears instantly as a banner on every station screen currently open for your club — check-in, measurements, photo, evaluation, and video.
ℹ️
Stays until dismissedThe banner has no auto-dismiss timer — a coach mid-task won't miss it. It stays until they tap it away. Messages never cross between clubs.
After Tryout

Export & Re-Import

Get your data out whenever you need it — rankings, rosters, and the player list all export to CSV.

  1. On Rankings, click Export CSV in the top right for the full ranked list with scores.
  2. On Roster, export a finalized team roster the same way.
  3. To pick up roster changes after tryout day, re-run the same CSV or Google Sheets import from Importing Players — existing players are matched and updated, never duplicated, and evaluation scores are never overwritten.

That's the full walkthrough — from club setup to final roster. Questions? Email support@tryoutdesk.com.