Tryouts

[uncdrew]

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.

Do you think it's possible to jump from C to A in that short period of time? I'm not being an rear, I'm just curious. We moved from C (where we won about 50% of tournaments) to B where we are about .500 and haven't won a tournament yet. Though we're a bunch of 9 year olds playing 10U so hopeful next year we can win in B. I can't imagine us playing A at this point.

 

[Rambler34]

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 think this post says a lot. If the goal for the team is to develop into an "A" team and qualify for nationals I would say you definitely need to have a tryout. Since you have time before this summer wraps up it could give you a chance to discuss future plans with your current team. It may discourage some that want something "better" from leaving and others that are a little behind may realize this isn't the best fit.

In the past we have also been very honest with parents and discusses where their DD was. We have had girls that were behind decide to stick around knowing there may be limited opportunities during bracket or must win games. Our practices and the playing time they got helped them get better. Others have left for a year and then come back. They left for more PT even though they loved the team and coaches. The extra time helped them grow as a player and our team is where they wanted to be.

 

[texasheat]

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.

Be careful in assuming that you can improve on what you have. My experience is that it will be very difficult for a team currently playing B class ball to pick up A class players from open tryouts. Those top level A class players that want to play in national tournaments are all going to be either spoken for or trying out for the current top A class teams in big organizations. A current B class team trying to move up to A class in the Spring is not going to appeal to those players.

 

[TXJames44]

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.

What if a few girls are playing above their head and are losing the love for the game? What if cutting them now is the only thing that might keep them playing softball?

 

[uncdrew]

What if a few girls are playing above their head and are losing the love for the game? What if cutting them now is the only thing that might keep them playing softball?

I'd go the parent discussion route on those ones. Perhaps the parents are thinking/feeling the same thing. And if not, I would hope they could have an open and honest discussion with their daughter about their happiness and then perhaps hear them and understand they're asking to move down a bit.

Eventually they'll weed themselves out. Right? I'd let them make that decision.

I do agree that bad parents and lack of effort would be times I'd cull the team some.

 

[Fastpitch_Dad]

TJ,
Reading through your comments it is clear that you are seeing too wide of a skill gap with players on your team

Unfortunately there is not a simple answer and I can only speak from experience of doing this with my children with different levels of abilities.
1) What level should your DD play and can you build that around her on this team? That is why I still coach one child (mid-level and a better soccer player) and moved my other child to a higher level team.
2) As a coach your job is to what is best for your players. Sometimes that means having that tough conversation with parents and helping them find a better place for their child. Most will appreciate it...
3) Get feedback from your AC’s.
4) Moving to legit A ball takes partnerships with key parents/pitching or a known large org. Many B teams are 2-3 players away from A ball.

Good luck and follow your gut feeling to stay out front of the situation.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[bmakj]

2) As a coach your job is to what is best for your players. Sometimes that means having that tough conversation with parents and helping them find a better place for their child. Most will appreciate it...

we certainly did appreciate that kind of honesty. end of last spring, DD 3rd at depth chart at her preferred position, playing secondary position a lot, not getting a lot of at bats at the end of last spring. after tryouts, HC (non parent) told us, she will probably see less time overall and at preferred postition (by end of season they were down to 10, going back up to 12 after tryouts), but offered her a spot (loved her spirit, drive, and said she was great teammate). we decided to go elsewhere, appreciated her honesty, and she still intructs DD when we can fit DD into her schedule. (girls who remained on team all want her to come back, seen them at a couple tourneys, they watch DD, she watches them during breaks/when done, etc., but pretty much a no go, she would still be 3rd in depth chart, regardless of development).

 

[Hawk_]

James,
My opinion is you offer the girls who have shown commitment and dedication to the team. Practices, tourneys, league, outside events ect. If there are certain ones who just aren't putting in a effort that's a different story. Have an open try out and show them their are others who want to take their spots. Gives them even more drive. I know what your idea is for the future, so you won't have too many girls. So you offer them a organizational but not necessarily a "Gold Team" spot. If you get my drift.

 

[FP26]

DD's first team held annual tryouts. Since I was an assistant coach starting with Year 1, I was involved in all but the very first one she attended. This particular team typically lost 2 or 3 players per year for various reasons. The purpose of the tryouts was to replace those players. All other players were invited back unless there was some type of issue with the player or her parents. We did not experience this on our particular team, but I know the organization did have a couple of examples over the years. All returning players were urged to attend one of the tryouts, but it wasn't mandatory. Some of the senior (16u/18u) players would often help during the 10u/12u tryouts. In fact, many of the younger players seemed to like having the older players there instead of a bunch of stuffed shirts with clip boards...

When DD was aging to 16u she wanted to start attending college showcases. The team she was on at that time was more focused on excelling at high school ball and really didn't want to travel much. So she started looking at other teams. A team she was familiar with called and asked her to guest play for a tournament during "silly season". As soon as the tournament was over, the coaching staff asked for a private conversation and asked her to join the team. Apparently that was their plan from the start. They did not do tryouts and only had one opening. DD was their target, so they wanted her to guest both to see how she meshed with the team and try to convince her to stay. She did.

The following year, the head coach decided to step down and appointed me the head coach. We were losing 2 players that year, but rather than holding tryouts, I reached out to two players I was familiar with that were also looking for a new team. Many from the team were familiar with them, so I asked for their input. All were in agreement, and they were asked to join.

As you can see, we have used various methods throughout the years, and each seemed to work well at the time. To be honest, I was never a fan of the tryout process. I hated to be the one to tell someone "no", but felt it was my obligation to do so. My bigger issue was keeping players on hold. After tryouts we would extend an offer to someone, but they would have other tryouts to attend. While I understand the process and respect their desire to make the right choice, it meant that I was unable to give someone else an answer. I tried to work with these players as much as possible, but typically set a deadline. The deadline really had nothing to do with me or our team, but had more to do with the poor player that was waiting to hear from us. I am really glad those days are over for me.

 

[TXJames44]

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.

So you keep girls even if they are not prepared for this level of ball - no matter what?