Guest Players

JAD said:

The best thing a coach can do is set expectations for the guest player and their regular players up front. A good coach will try to rotate players evenly.

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Comes down to the level you are playing at.

At the higher levels playing time is often not distributed evenly ... and this is on teams where the coaches are good and there is a waiting line to get on the team.

One could turn around your message and say ... A good player will work hard outside of team practices/games to earn their share of playing time during games.

Biggest part is expectations.

On the other hand who is going to guest play if you tell them in advance we really just need you in case of injury since we have 10 and plan on playing you about 10% to 20% of the time. Unless the tournament is down the street and your DD is playing with really good friends you are going to pass every time.

I would think if you don't plan on working them in about half the time you probably shouldn't be asking for a guest player. Using your DP/Flex/EP rules you should be able to make it work.

How I feel, and what I do is based on my need. If I need a 2nd catcher for the weekend, I ask for catchers, if I need an outfielder, I ask for an outfielder. I don't ask girls to just be a body for us. Do the Guest players get more PT? Probably, not because I am intentionally sitting own team, but because there was a reason I need to pick up another player for a specific position.

FiveFrameSwing said:

One could turn around your message and say ... A good player will work hard outside of team practices/games to earn their share of playing time during games.

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I agree that playing time needs to be earned by the regular members of the team, but as a coach you have to walk a fine-line when you bring a guest player to a tournament. You want to make the guest player glad they decided to play while not pissing off your regular players and parents. It requires a balancing act to keep everyone happy and for that tournament a coach may be better off trying to balance playing time to avoid one player sitting for a prolonged period of time. The level of the team and type of tournament you are playing are also factors that need to weigh into the decision making process.

djcarter1966 said:

Biggest part is expectations.

On the other hand who is going to guest play if you tell them in advance we really just need you in case of injury since we have 10 and plan on playing you about 10% to 20% of the time. Unless the tournament is down the street and your DD is playing with really good friends you are going to pass every time.

I would think if you don't plan on working them in about half the time you probably shouldn't be asking for a guest player. Using your DP/Flex/EP rules you should be able to make it work.

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Was just about to chime in and say pretty much exactly the same. Why ask for one unless you intend to use her? Nobody wants to take time out of a busy schedule to sit the bench all weekend.

coachmike02 said:

How do you all treat guest players? Are they just like a roster player on the team or do you sub them in sparingly? I had a parent come to me with concerns about the amount of playing time that a guest player got over the weekend. IMO, If you need the girl for the weekend treat here just as you would any other regular member of the team. Anytime my DD has guested it has been a positive experience for her and she was granted a fair a bit of playing time. Just wondering how everyone out there handles this situation.

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It's not that hard. Guest players should be playing because they're filling a hole that you can't move a permanent player to fill. That usually means pitcher and catcher. If the guest isn't filling a critical short-term need, then you are playing with fire.

IMO, guest players shouldn't be used to beef up the lineup at the expense of existing players. I know competitive ball is about winning, blah, blah, blah, but if you want to keep your team together, don't do it. If a position needs an upgrade, either work with the existing player, or hold tryouts and have a fair competition for the spot.

If you're sitting a competent existing player in favor of an (allegedly) better guest player, you're doing it wrong, and it will come back to bite you. Last year, I saw a decent team lose a quarter of its roster AND get bounced early from a tournament due in large part to bonehead plays from supposedly better but unnecessary guest players. The team was never the same, and completely fell apart a short time later.

Strike2 said:

IMO, guest players shouldn't be used to beef up the lineup at the expense of existing players. I know competitive ball is about winning, blah, blah, blah, but if you want to keep your team together, don't do it. If a position needs an upgrade, either work with the existing player, or hold tryouts and have a fair competition for the spot.

If you're sitting a competent existing player in favor of an (allegedly) better guest player, you're doing it wrong, and it will come back to bite you. Last year, I saw a decent team lose a quarter of its roster AND get bounced early from a tournament due in large part to bonehead plays from supposedly better but unnecessary guest players. The team was never the same, and completely fell apart a short time later.

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ITA. I get the desire to try to get the best team possible. But there's something to be said for developing the team you have too, especially if it's a pretty solid team already.

I am not a fan of guest players. I use them only on extremely rare occasions when I am at 9 players or I have 10 and am down a pitcher or catcher. I can count those times over the decades on one hand.

If I ask a girl to play for the weekend, she'll play because the numbers offer no other way for it to be handled.

There are teams who use guest players to supplement their roster. They will pick up girls who are better than the girls on their own team and play them simply to win. Their own girls will sit. Heck, I even know of teams that contract with girls from other teams to play with them whenever their own team isn't playing. They are usually pitchers but I have seen it be position players, as well. Essentially, the girls actually on these teams take a back seat to these contracted players every time these girls don't have a tournament with their own team. It happens quite a bit at 14U because you often have 8th graders with Oct. - Dec. birthdays who are on teams comprised of mostly 9th graders that shut down during the high school season. They find a team to pick up with while their own team is shut down, and the girls who are on the team they pick up with suffer the whole time.

Teams who do this don't get much respect from me. Either let your own girls play or coach them up enough to where you don't have to pick up ringers in order to win. COaches who do this are right up there with poachers and cheaters in my book.

I only call upon guest players when conflicts or injuries put my number below 11 players for a tourney. Then, I use them like every other kid on the team. I try and invite a kid that has the skill set I am missing. If you ask a kid to be a guest, then she has to be pretty dang good. If you don't play them like everyone else, then you can bet its the last time they will play for you. Its pretty simple, if you ask a family to give up a weekend, you better make it a positive experience. Put yourself it their shoes...

BB875 said:

I only call upon guest players when conflicts or injuries put my number below 11 players for a tourney. Then, I use them like every other kid on the team. I try and invite a kid that has the skill set I am missing. If you ask a kid to be a guest, then she has to be pretty dang good. If you don't play them like everyone else, then you can bet its the last time they will play for you. Its pretty simple, if you ask a family to give up a weekend, you better make it a positive experience. Put yourself it their shoes...

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I like your philosophy, although I'm very comfortable w/ 10 players. I would not add a guest player to get to 12. The last team I coached (12U) had 10 players on the roster all year.