I agree with keeping team chemistry together. Other than minor playing time issues, our girls and parents are a great group. But, we also have a couple of girls that are not keeping up. It is not a lack of practice or effort, but they haven’t caught up physically or mentally yet. Should they be included “just because”?
Tryouts
- Thread starter TXJames44
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Yes they should unless they choose to not come back. This is B class we are talking about here right? You don't go to PGF Nationals in California, correct? So why cut some girl just to try to improve your chances at some B class local tournament?
Why are you coaching? To win trophies or to see players develop and transform into good players that love the game? Develop them. Be a coach. Turn them into better players. You will find that much more gratifying than a 2nd place finish at the local B class tournament that you win because you cut them. If you wouldn't find that more gratifying, you are coaching for the WRONG REASONS. I guarantee you that when one of those girls you are thinking about cutting comes up with a walk off hit to win a game, the smile on her face will tell you that you made the right decision in sticking with her.
I see no issue with having open tryouts, having all the girls try out and then making your determination on who stays and who goes and how you prioritize your team when you make offers. I don't think girls should feel as though they're entitled to be on a team just because they were on it before. It's a good habit for them to get into, trying out, auditioning, interviewing, all parts of life. Embrace it. You can still make your selections based on your set of values.
- Sep 29, 2014
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Number one question is what kind of team do you want. If your goal is to play 12B next year then I don't see a reason to cut anyone unless there is someone who is just not working out as a team player, I would cut bad attitude and crazy parent over a girl who still needs a little improvement but really has great attitude in a heartbeat.
- Jul 14, 2018
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On a related note, how do other coaches here handle the tryout itself? DD went to a bunch last year, and saw a wide variety of how the current team handles the tryouts. They tend to break down into the following categories:
1. Current team shows up in uniform and goes through the whole tryout. This can be a good approach as it shows prospective players what the talent level is. One drawback that I saw firsthand -- the girls already wearing the uniform tended to group together making it hard for the players trying out to get a feel for the team.
2. Select members of the current team show up and go through the tryout, but no team colors or uniforms are present. I like this approach, as it makes it look like the team is a place where a lot of girls want to play. By hand-picking the players who show up, the org can make the team look more or less competitive depending on the team goals. But you can always tell who is who by how the coaches interact with some of the players (knowing their names right away, etc.).
3. Tryouts are for new prospective players only. This allows the coaches to focus more on the girls that they are there to evaluate, not to mention spending more time looking at positions that need to be filled. I can understand why a coach would take this approach, but it can backfire. The two tryouts DD did last year that worked this way, she walked away saying she didn't like the coach and would not consider playing there.
DD's current team is 12U-B, looking ahead to move to 14U. There are a few first-years who will probably not make the jump, and a few players whose skills would indicate that they're nearing the end of their softball journey. I've already been told that the org is going to be sending out offers and looking for early commits from the top players, so I expect that the team will be looking to fill 4-5 spots over the summer.
1. Current team shows up in uniform and goes through the whole tryout. This can be a good approach as it shows prospective players what the talent level is. One drawback that I saw firsthand -- the girls already wearing the uniform tended to group together making it hard for the players trying out to get a feel for the team.
2. Select members of the current team show up and go through the tryout, but no team colors or uniforms are present. I like this approach, as it makes it look like the team is a place where a lot of girls want to play. By hand-picking the players who show up, the org can make the team look more or less competitive depending on the team goals. But you can always tell who is who by how the coaches interact with some of the players (knowing their names right away, etc.).
3. Tryouts are for new prospective players only. This allows the coaches to focus more on the girls that they are there to evaluate, not to mention spending more time looking at positions that need to be filled. I can understand why a coach would take this approach, but it can backfire. The two tryouts DD did last year that worked this way, she walked away saying she didn't like the coach and would not consider playing there.
DD's current team is 12U-B, looking ahead to move to 14U. There are a few first-years who will probably not make the jump, and a few players whose skills would indicate that they're nearing the end of their softball journey. I've already been told that the org is going to be sending out offers and looking for early commits from the top players, so I expect that the team will be looking to fill 4-5 spots over the summer.
I think having everyone try out again is a total waste of time. You just played 8 months with these kids so you know who can play and who can't.
You will lose a couple of players so hopefully you can find a couple of players who want to play for you if not you need to tryout for those positions.
If you plan to stay a B team you might lose a couple of your best players who want to play A ball and that is what should happen.
You will lose a couple of players so hopefully you can find a couple of players who want to play for you if not you need to tryout for those positions.
If you plan to stay a B team you might lose a couple of your best players who want to play A ball and that is what should happen.
Exactly. We know what we have. We know skill level, attitudes, parents, commitment, etc. we already know.
We started as a ?C? squad in August as a brand new team with very few girls knowing each other. We worked hard in the fall and started to put it together in our last 2 tourneys. We worked hard during the winter and came out guns blazing in the spring. C was getting boring, so we made the jump to B. The transition was fine. We are competing hard at that level and it is a good place for us to finish the season with the roster we have.
In a perfect world we probably start B in the fall with the goal to play A/open in the spring and try to qualify for a National event. A few girls on our team will not be ready for this. They had a tough time in C and are getting slaughtered in B.
And before you say.....”they will leave on their own”, that is not the thinking partially because they like the team, the coaching, and the parents believe they are doing fine and just need a little time to adjust.
I agree with this.
Part of the joy you see on their faces is due to the friendships and bonds. I think that's more what they enjoy than winning. And if you have that joy and teamwork, you'll have winning.
I'm trying to create a love for the game, a sense of teamwork and being part of something, and working on their skills. Dumping players for someone new that's a little bit better doesn't make a lot of sense to me for the younger ages and the lower levels of ball.
If they are simply behind in physical development, I would say keep them. they will catch up, physical developement roughly evens out over time.
We went with #2.
We have a tight community and people know each other well. We felt it important for some parents to see our best hitters so when they were tempted to say "Why didn't Sally make the team?" we could give them concrete reasons why.
And seeing our best hitters pound line drives into the outfield actually worked (we think) to really shut down any of those questions from parents.
