Are tryouts really a tryout?

[Momo'sDad]

How does DFP view tryouts?

Should previous year's players have guaranteed spots? Or should they have to earn a roster spot?

What if a low caliber player doesn't even show up to tryouts and is still given a spot? Is this fair to the girls that showed up?

Every program has different goals and different philosophies for pursuing them. I don't like the idea of anyone being guaranteed a spot the following season "just because" they were on the previous season's roster.

If I had to answer the question for a typical above-average team around here, I'd say that tryouts represent the culmination of a coach's (and team's) recruiting efforts for that season. If the potentially key pieces show up at a tryout, then that means the recruiting efforts were not in vain, even if they finally land on another team. For existing teams, the games are the real tryouts. In softball-rich areas where multiple teams are hoping to attract the same players, coaches know who those players are long before any ads are posted or before they know who are planning to leave their current teams. Likewise, parents and players who are team (s)hopping are also checking out the various teams who might be vying for their services. Teams with winning records are going to draw more looks than teams who lose more often than they win.

It's my opinion that the only true "tryouts" are those for highly competitive teams - these are teams that have 20-30 players they may not know that well trying out for a single spot - and for teams that are being newly formed.

 

[Eric F]

BSN Sports

Sports Apparel and Equipment - Team Uniforms | BSN SPORTS

Did you change jobs, or did Tomark get bought?

Nevermind...Name change.

 

[WARRIORMIKE]

Did you change jobs, or did Tomark get bought?

Nevermind...Name change.

yea, my paychecks have been BSN for about 6 years now. The Mark in Tomark retired in July and the Tom in Tomark retired about 9 years ago. We are just barely switching over to the BSN logo. Should be an interesting fiscal year.

 

[dbronstein]

Maybe I'm missing something here. What is a coach going to see from a player in a 3 hour tryout that he hasn't seen from her in a year (or multiple years) of coaching her? I'd think it would be a better use of time for a coach to use the tryout to evaluate players he/she is unfamiliar with rather than players who he/she knows exactly what they can do.

 

[laker]

Oh. Well that makes perfect sense to me now!

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

 

[grcsftbll]

How is choosing the best players for an "A" level team unethical in youth sports? In general players should play with athletes of similar ability and dedication. All other factors (ie crazy parents, loyalty, etc) equal, if someone is better is it fair that she gets cut for someone less skilled?

I agree. We switched to A this year, and the attitude of wanting the best talent was part of why. We were on a low B last year and my kid was way more advanced than most of the players on the team. She was definitely the strongest on the team. I feel like it stunted her growth as a player, having to reign in her throws because nobody she threw with could catch her at full speed, being stuck at first base all season because nobody else could catch reliably even though she really wanted to play short (we never had a real short stop, all season), etc. We jumped ship for an A team and she's ecstatic. She's middle of the pack now and so much happier. She's competitive and wants to get better, which she can't do when she's leading the pack by a wide margin. It's not about putting the organization and coaches first; it's about certain girls who want to play at a higher level, and having a place for them to do so. If she were average I'd be totally happy on a B team; it would certainly be cheaper.

 

[Doug Romrell]

I, myself, believe that the word "fair" is one of the most nonsensical words in the English language. "Fair" from whose perspective? There is no absolute "fair."

 

[BobInMadison]

DD didn't try out this year. For various reasons, mainly because I am living 1000 miles away from my family and the nearest A teams are at least 75 min away, DD is pretty much restricted to local teams where she has friends who can give her rides.

That narrowed it down to 2 teams, her current team and one other. Her current team reserved her a spot, the other team offered her a spot based on how she played against them in previous tournaments. The other team made it clear that tryouts were only to fill spots by players leaving. It was difficult, but she chose the new team. (BTW she was 1000 miles away the day of the tryout. It wasn't just being a princess in the circle. )

 

[YOCOACH]

How does DFP view tryouts?

Should previous year's players have guaranteed spots? Or should they have to earn a roster spot?

What if a low caliber player doesn't even show up to tryouts and is still given a spot? Is this fair to the girls that showed up?

You'll find that their are usually two types of organizations as a generalization. One is the organization that's known for developing their players and the second is an organization that recruits them. The organizations that truly develop the players will institute loyalty to the players and hope that the players do the same for them. For instance, our organization is known for this. Most of our players at 16u have been with our team for a minimum of 3 years and many have been with us for 5 or more. They are guaranteed spots. The ones that do leave for greener pastures have found that the greener pastures were fertilized with huge amounts of BS. Most of them have tried out for us again trying to come back. However, since their positions had been filled already from players the previous year or years, they did not make the cut so to speak and we are a very competitive team for our area. We usually do well in "A" tournaments but quite honestly, we wouldn't fair well at PGF nationals but would probably make a decent showing; especially for our area.

On the other hand, the organizations in our area that recruit players, usually have quite a bit of parent and player drama. This usually results in an almost complete roster turnover since few are happy. The ones that do stay are usually the coaches favorites and get a majority of playing time. In our area, these same teams have HC's that are excellent managers of talent but don't know how to develop it or further instruct the individual players to better themselves. They are also the teams in our area that title themselves as "Elite" or "Gold" teams. Again, this is a generalization so please take this with a grain of salt since many areas differ geographically. However, just because they have that title does not mean they actually have the team chemistry or talent to achieve their goals and many fall short. Please don't get me wrong, I'm not disparaging those teams since many of them across the country do this and not only achieve their goals but surpass them. I'm just saying that many teams in our area that have that title we often beat. Of course, we also lost to a mediocre 14u team last season to put us out of a tournament in the first round.

Again, this is a generalization but what it comes down to is what you are looking for in a team, one that shows loyalty to you and yours and will develop your DD or one that will always look for her replacement as soon as she's signed.

 

[JAD]

To me this means most A level teams are about the organization and the coaches, not the girls. I'm struggling to see how this is ethical in youth sports.

Stick with REC ball if you want it to be "all about the girls"......