Managing Multi-Sport Athletes

[canyonjoe]

We played on a team with a lot of multiple sports players. There was a team rule that if you missed both practices that week you didn't play in the first game of the tournament and everyone knew it. We just had practices the best we could but it made for better players.

 

[NJZoo]

That is crazy. Ten players? Injuries? Weddings? Funerals? Camps? 16U teams need 16 or more players. Players have to go to camps if they want to play college ball. Unless you are an absolute stud throwing 65 plus MPH or hit homeruns every game players we need to attend camps in order to get recruited.
A lot of girls playing HS flag football now in SoCal. They have weekend tournaments, too. It is not easy playing two sports. Both coaches want commitment. Even playing two HS sports (basketball and softball) the coaches are complaining about commitment.

In 3 years we have had 1 girl miss 1 day of a tournament. We have a very committed group of girls and families. We don't have drama or playing time issues (3 pitchers and 3 catchers), and have been amazingly healthy. That said, yes, we realize that we need to expand the roster as girls age up. We have an 11th that is recovering from an injury and will be back over the Winter. I don't see us ever going over 12 at the most.

 

[LEsoftballdad]

In 3 years we have had 1 girl miss 1 day of a tournament. We have a very committed group of girls and families. We don't have drama or playing time issues (3 pitchers and 3 catchers), and have been amazingly healthy. That said, yes, we realize that we need to expand the roster as girls age up. We have an 11th that is recovering from an injury and will be back over the Winter. I don't see us ever going over 12 at the most.

Even 12 is small. I don't think we ever played a tournament with fewer than 12, and those were local 12U-14U events. As they get older, they miss for more reasons. I hope it works for you, but I could see issues arising in the future.

 

[Orange Socks]

In 3 years we have had 1 girl miss 1 day of a tournament. We have a very committed group of girls and families. We don't have drama or playing time issues (3 pitchers and 3 catchers), and have been amazingly healthy. That said, yes, we realize that we need to expand the roster as girls age up. We have an 11th that is recovering from an injury and will be back over the Winter. I don't see us ever going over 12 at the most.

Your families could be dedicated, but 12 is still scary. Works for 10U/12U, but not at 16U/18U. Lots of foreseen conflicts once they get to HS.

 

[angispeds]

Your families could be dedicated, but 12 is still scary. Works for 10U/12U, but not at 16U/18U. Lots of foreseen conflicts once they get to HS.

Agreed especially with recruitment attending camps etc. we rarely had missing players at the younger ages but once recruitment hit they were at camps, on visits etc. our coach also realized they needed to be kids and he encouraged them to go to homecoming etc. That whole team is now playing in college most in the p4. Good luck to you with that small roster.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[sluggers]

I don't see us ever going over 12 at the most.

It will be difficult at 14U. It will be impossible at 16U.

 

[RADcatchers]

Your families could be dedicated, but 12 is still scary. Works for 10U/12U, but not at 16U/18U. Lots of foreseen conflicts once they get to HS.

Feedback trends to~
Those conflicts are now spread across all age groups.
Even 12 at 12u would say have predictable conflict.
* there are more things that people credit as conflict, when it could just be, prioritizing that is the conflict.

 

[Westwind]

DD didn’t play for a coach that was willing to lose her over a flex like this thank goodness.

Who exactly is flexing here?

it will usually be the BS from the griping parents that you will have to deal with if you allow kids to miss practices/games and then they start over other kids.

Yep.

I agree that kids should play other sports but I do not necessarily agree with your stance of "my kid gets to do what she wants or she will just go find another team."

It’s often why when players get to college they can’t adjust to not having the world orbit around them. (And it won’t.)

these coaches starting next year are implementing part of their game schedule will be mandatory.

Rad, I don’t know how you do that. If there is a particular school your kid wants to attend, usually there is only a few dates the player can pick from. Maybe the answer is sanctions adjusting roster rules- bringing up younger kids to fill in at a showcase seems really healthy for players and orgs if done right. No one is willing to take a chance of losing some dumb game that doesn’t matter though.

No... They don't need to be careful having a standard for their team. They are teams that will have plenty of players happy to come play for them and make a commitment to a schedule that is showcasing them which includes top tier Nationals!
Along with the presence of a coach who makes College connections regularly.
(In the big picture this t.b. game schedule commitment is only a limited amount of weekends... not every weekend and not all year.)





It includes a financial commitment to play on the travel ball team. But it also won't be a team if players don't show up for the schedule.

These coaches involved with travel ball over 20 years recognize the predicament. The predicament is don't have a competitive team show up.
OR set a standard!

Each of their teams are completely full. Even the bench is full.

So play who you got, get some subs. Play some younger kids from your own org. Getting pitchers are the problem….. And they have to go to camps too. When I read this, I feel like what might be missing is communication between players tb coaches and schools. Seems like tb coaches who have established relationships should have a pretty good idea what player should go to what camp so the players aren't going to a camp and parents dropping cash every weekend? Maybe the parents aren’t listening when tb coaches tell them “hey you don’t have to go to that camp.” That make sense?

To be honest- I read this whole post and I feel like we are making it way too hard. If a player legitimately misses tb practice for a school sport, which is in season, I don’t know how you penalize them. And for the love of God, let them go to homecoming and prom.

Whoever said that the op’s assistant coaches should run laps for being dumb was right.

 

[RADcatchers]

Yep.

Its already been happening!! In the form of Mark these dates ___ on your summer schedule as reserved.

It’s often why when players get to college they can’t adjust to not having the world orbit around them. (And it won’t.)

Yep. Not everything orbits around the player!

, get some subs.

Except when you are competing at a level that you are expecting to have a level of player participating. Picking up scrubs may not be the right answer.

Tournaments are expensive. A team as a group could easily be paying $20,000 to $34,000 investing in going to a tournament.

Getting pitchers are the problem…..

Losing pitchers due to last minute decision making is a problem also

Team has a schedule that's posted many months in advance. An entire team is making a commitment supposedly to go to travel tournaments that the whole team is relying on each other. When, in particular, pitchers don't attend, the entire team gets left without pitchers. That is a strong reason why there are certain events that are mandatory on the schedule. If that is a horrible horrible thing than those people can choose not to play on those teams. There will be plenty of others who will gladly take the spots!