With baseball and softball season on the horizon, Selma Recreation is preparing to hold its tryouts for boys and girls for the 2012 Selma Recreation baseball and softball league.

Tryouts are set to begin Thursday, Feb. 16 and continue throughout the month.

Tracy Williams with the Selma Recreation Department said tryouts are meant to give the coaches a chance to meet the players and see them in action.

“Kids come in to sign up and the coaches don’t have an opportunity to see who they are or meet the parents or kids,” Williams said. “Tryout nights are really for coaches to see the kids. We’ll come out and hit them (the players) some ground balls, hit some balls in the air to see how they field, and we’ll see how they throw, so coaches can do evaluations and meet the kids and parents.”

Tryouts for 13 and 14-year-old baseball will be Thursday, Feb. 16 at 5 p.m. on field No. 1 at the Sportsplex.

Nine to 11-year-old and 12 and 14-year-old fast-pitch tryouts will also be Feb. 16 on field No. 2 at the Sportsplex, with the 9 and 11- year olds at 6 p.m. and 12 and 14- year-olds at 6:30 p.m.

Tryouts will continue the following week on Monday, Feb. 20, with 9 and 10-year-old baseball tryouts at 5 p.m. on field No. 4 at the Sportsplex, and 7 and 8-year-old softball tryouts taking place at 6 p.m. on field No. 1.

On Tuesday, Feb. 21, 7 and 8-year-old baseball tryouts will take place at the Sportsplex field No. 4 at 5 p.m., followed by 9 and 10- year-old softball tryouts at 6 p.m. on field No. 1.

The final day of tryouts will be Thursday, Feb. 23 with 11and 12- year-old basball tryouts at 5 p.m. on field No. 1, and 11 and 12-year-old softball tryouts on field No. 5 at 6 p.m.

It’s a meet and greet thing.

Williams said players should bring a glove and a receipt from their registration to the tryouts.

“When they come to tryouts, we ask them to bring the receipt that we gave them when they registered and a glove,” Williams said.

“It usually takes about 30 to 40 minutes depending on which age group it is.”

Williams said interested players who haven’t signed up are still encouraged to come to the tryouts.

“We just encourage everybody to come out and sign up,” Williams said.

“If they can’t come out to sign up, they can come out to tryout night and sign up and tryout at the same time.”

To register, players must pay a $10 fee and bring proof of their age.

For more information, call the Selma Recreation Department at 874-2140.