Cutting players who tryout for other teams

[BrianTx01]

12-U and up sounds pretty cut throat. Do players ever leave teams and come back, or once you’re gone from an organization you’re gone?

Players leave and come back all the time. As it has been said before softball is a small world. It is best not to burn bridges.

My DD is with a organization that cut her a couple of years ago. We weren't happy that they decided to part ways at the end of the season, we moved on, she kicked their butts a few times, they got better, and they became a good fit. Now when is their #1 pitcher.

 

[texasheat]

2. Player is openly attending other open practices and telling potential Coaches she is looking.

4. Players parents believe that she is one of the top players on the team, and she believes it (she is not).

I'm not picking on you here at all, just hopefully adding some perspective, but why in the world would these be things that would cause you to cut a girl?

2. Player is openly attending other open practices and telling potential Coaches she is looking. --- this is purely your ego talking IMO. And listen, I'm a man, I get it. We all have egos and they often get in the way, lol... but this screams that you're hurt that she is looking around so you want to cut her. "Oh you want to leave MY team?? Ok then, you're cut!"..............Not a good look.

4. Players parents believe that she is one of the top players on the team, and she believes it (she is not).----- What, you want players who think they suck? Confidence is key, even if it is a bit unrealistic. And you have parents that think their kid is the best? How odd. lol....

 

[TXJames44]

I'm not picking on you here at all, just hopefully adding some perspective, but why in the world would these be things that would cause you to cut a girl?

2. Player is openly attending other open practices and telling potential Coaches she is looking. --- this is purely your ego talking IMO. And listen, I'm a man, I get it. We all have egos and they often get in the way, lol... but this screams that you're hurt that she is looking around so you want to cut her. "Oh you want to leave MY team?? Ok then, you're cut!"..............Not a good look.

4. Players parents believe that she is one of the top players on the team, and she believes it (she is not).----- What, you want players who think they suck? Confidence is key, even if it is a bit unrealistic. And you have parents that think their kid is the best? How odd. lol....

#2 is a little bit out of context. I would not consider cutting her mid-season for any one of those items, but all together it could be a case for it. Again, I will say it, I most likely will NOT cut her (I'm not really considering it), but they WILL leave, and would be welcomed back (if the fit was right) in the future. This has nothing to do with ego. I don't personally care if they stay or go, but I have to think about the team.

#4. I said this wrong. Of course everyone thinks their kid is the best. What I meant to say is...........They believe things that are simply NOT true. They believe that she leads the team in batting avg (she is last). They believe that she leads the team in fielding % (she is somewhere in the middle), etc. When I said that she also believes it, I meant that she believes what her parents tell her (example: you are leading in hitting, and the Coach won't bat you at the top of the lineup. He must be an idiot).

And if I did believe that the right move was to cut her, I would start with a conversation with the Parents to determine what they are thinking.

 

[RIZZARIJOE]

I heard our organization’s 12-U team cut 2 players, including their best pitcher, because the girls recently tried out for another team. I’m guessing it was in secret and came out to light.

Harsh or justified? Is this common?

Completely unjustified, if that's all there is to the story. Sometimes the best additions to a team are by subtraction. Was the girl a diva? Were her parents problematic? It's very uncommon. It's very common for talented girls to try out for other teams. As a parent, you want your dd to perform under pressure, so going to multiple tryouts is advisable, IMHO. Not only that, but if it's a tryout where her talent is above the other girls, it is a confidence booster. Having said that, the biggest turn off as a coach, is to see parents essentially pimp their dd's out and change teams every year. They become mercenaries, with no loyalty to any team. I'd rather my daughter stay and fight with her team to try and improve instead of jumping ship to ship. Also, cutting girls for trying out for another team will sully the organization's reputation if this happens frequently.

 

[uncdrew]

And I'm a Jerry Maguire wanna be sports agent shopping my kid around like a MLB free-agent.

I try to talk to her about what position she wants, what level of ball the team is playing, what Org can help her with college.

If it was left up to her she would choose her team based off how many of the girls play fortnight, what color the uniforms are, and who has the coolest tic-toc account.

I pick my DD's team based on the color of the jerseys.

 

[mmeece]

#2 is a little bit out of context. I would not consider cutting her mid-season for any one of those items, but all together it could be a case for it. Again, I will say it, I most likely will NOT cut her (I'm not really considering it), but they WILL leave, and would be welcomed back (if the fit was right) in the future. This has nothing to do with ego. I don't personally care if they stay or go, but I have to think about the team.

#4. I said this wrong. Of course everyone thinks their kid is the best. What I meant to say is...........They believe things that are simply NOT true. They believe that she leads the team in batting avg (she is last). They believe that she leads the team in fielding % (she is somewhere in the middle), etc. When I said that she also believes it, I meant that she believes what her parents tell her (example: you are leading in hitting, and the Coach won't bat you at the top of the lineup. He must be an idiot).

And if I did believe that the right move was to cut her, I would start with a conversation with the Parents to determine what they are thinking.

To most people who coach (and have coached for a while) your comments have needed no explanation. My experience has been that almost every player who began to attend other try outs has already decided to leave. Some right away, others in weeks or months. This has no effect on my self-esteem and doesn't hurt my ego. If it's not a fit for both sides then they SHOULD move on. The problems start when a player who should move on (or who the team should move on from) sticks around and begins to spread their discontent to others. Invariably, that parent finds one loose string to pull on and before you know it 2 or 3 sets of parents are unhappy.

 

[Gtrips07]

It's basically dudes who can't coach at the college level living out their fantasy as a big time coach by coaching 12 year olds and treating it as though they are coaching at the college level. It's a convoluted version of Fantasy Football except you have real players. Lol.....

Or they are coaches who were able to move to a big name organization because of the players on the team and then stops coaching and then decides its time to get rid of some of the players who go you there because he thinks he's going to have the next Fury Premier team.

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[Shiloh]

I heard our organization’s 12-U team cut 2 players, including their best pitcher, because the girls recently tried out for another team. I’m guessing it was in secret and came out to light.

Harsh or justified? Is this common?

Please don’t take offense, but how long have those coaches been coaching at the club level? Is this a club team? Do the coaches have daughters on the team?

I ask because one of the key elements of jumping from rec to club ball is the professional/mercenary aspect, ie club coaches are professional, but they are also mercenary. Rec-coaching parents....typically not so much.

So when an org mixes parent ethos and club ethos, things can get tangled up, with wildly divergent expectations on both sides. And with 12U often the transition point between rec and club, I am wondering if this is the case here.

IME, it is very common for players to talk to and even try out for other clubs. The best clubs solicit competitive players from opposing teams all the time. They’d be foolish not to. And players/parents would be foolish not to entertain offers.

 

[whiporee]

We encourage our players to tryout for other teams. We only want girls who want to play for us, and the tryout prcess can help them assess where they are. My DD had been down on herself after this season, but she went to a couple of tryouts. Had no intention of leaving our team, but wanted to see what was out there.

She got three offers and was a standout at the tryouts. Even pitching -- where she really struggles -- she was wanted. That made her feel good.

Now, these were not private tryouts but open ones, so it was more of a cattle call than anything else. And she had a couple of other teammates there with her. But she thought the experience was good and it upped her confidence, so I can't think it was a bad thing.

As adults, we can't be possessive of these girls. it sucks to lose a key player -- we've lost at least one each of the last three years -- but it's always with a smile and a best wishes. After all, you never know when you're gonna need a guest.

 

[TXJames44]

We encourage our players to tryout for other teams. We only want girls who want to play for us, and the tryout prcess can help them assess where they are. My DD had been down on herself after this season, but she went to a couple of tryouts. Had no intention of leaving our team, but wanted to see what was out there.

She got three offers and was a standout at the tryouts. Even pitching -- where she really struggles -- she was wanted. That made her feel good.

Now, these were not private tryouts but open ones, so it was more of a cattle call than anything else. And she had a couple of other teammates there with her. But she thought the experience was good and it upped her confidence, so I can't think it was a bad thing.

As adults, we can't be possessive of these girls. it sucks to lose a key player -- we've lost at least one each of the last three years -- but it's always with a smile and a best wishes. After all, you never know when you're gonna need a guest.

key phrase “after the season”.