First Time through the tryout process

[newsoftballdad]

I have always coached my 2nd year 12U DD until now. We had a really bad experience last year with a HC we thought we knew and we are moving on from his team. My dd has decided to try out for 4 teams. The first is her old town travel team that she had played for since 8U until last year, the second is a town travel team from a neibhoring town that she has been "working out" with for the last few weeks. The third is a start up team run by her current trainer, and the 4th is a start up team run by a batting facility. The first two will have parent coaches, the second two have "professional" coaches, either recent college grads or current college players.

She attended #4's tryout yesterday and was offered a spot following the tryout, coach wants to know by Monday. The team #3 does not hold their tryout for another 2 weeks. Is it normal for a team to set a deadline to commit before the player has had a chance to look at all options? It seems quick to me. Coach says she has already asked 9 players to join her team and has commitments from several.

 

[howellhandmade]

How would you rank the teams for your daughter's preference, strength of team, likelihood she'll get her preferred position, etc.? If #4 is on top, sounds like it all worked out. If one of the other teams is on top, it sounds like the coach has the decision to make: stick to her bluff and lose a player she wants, or relax and let things play out.

 

[JerseyBall]

This can be a tough time of year for players and for coaches. It's understandable for the coach to try to get a commitment from you and your dd, because chances are he's going to lose a few players who make it to other teams. It's pretty normal around here for teams not to finally get settled until after all the try outs are over and even then, there's late additions and drop outs.
We have 3 local travel teams in town and last year was the first time my dd decided to try out for one. She missed team #1 because she was on vacation with her mother. She didn't make team #2 and team #3 were a brand new team trying to create a top level team and though they told me my dd was on the cusp, they were trying to create a team of experienced travel players so they had to pass.
So now try outs were basically over and we had an offer from a friend who coaches to play in another town 30 minutes away. Before we committed though, I decided to contact the coach of team #1 and ask if there was any way my dd could try out. He was very understanding and said to come to their practice. This is now September btw. Just so happened right before we got there, one of the dads pulled his daughter out because the coach wouldn't commit to her playing in every inning of every game for the whole season. She made the team and has done very well with them. Try out season is crazy and you just have to go with the team you have the most faith in that your daughter is going to flourish with.
On a side note, both coaches from team #2 have approached me separately last month about recruiting my dd to play for them stating it was a mistake not to take her last year and team #3 started their season off strong, but now only one coach remains and they're struggling.

 

[Atlantabell]

Most coaches will give you some time, but you have to remember they are competing for players as well. They also have other players that they may want on their team but who are below your daughter in ability and they want to tell those kids something instead of leaving them hanging.

I guess you have to decide if you want to wait and take a chance that the spot will not be there or not. Again, make sure you pick a team which will be the best for your daughter in terms of coaching, development, etc. So, you may miss out on that team, but there are others out there.

 

[JNew0872]

I am planning on my daughter trying out for four or five travel ball teams this fall. I was wondering how the coaches take it when a player is selected to a team but declines opting instead for a different team. Does turning down a team negatively effect getting on that team in later years? 4 of the teams we are looking at have tryouts within a week of each other starting this week. The 5th one, which happens to be the local team, doesn't have tryouts until end of August/beg of Sept. I was thinking of calling the coach of the 5th one to see if I can arrange a private tryout ahead of time since almost 3 weeks between tryouts of other teams and this team. 3 weeks seems a little long to make a team wait.

 

[JerseyBall]

I am planning on my daughter trying out for four or five travel ball teams this fall. I was wondering how the coaches take it when a player is selected to a team but declines opting instead for a different team. Does turning down a team negatively effect getting on that team in later years?

If we offer a spot to a girl and she declines, we'll be disappointed but understand it's part of this crazy try out process. If that girl wants to try out next year, that's great! Never any hard feelings It's not unusual for some girls to jump around and return to teams they've been selected to or even played for.

 

[CPSBDad]

DD has three tryouts this week, and maybe a fourth next week. Local team seems a no brainer, but some issues like playing position, pitchers, and amount of tournaments are to be considered. Other teams are at least 50 minute drive one way. One team will play many tournaments, my DD probably will play her position, and this team does go deep in summer with regionals and nationals. Someone on the team is recruiting my DD and told me all this. DD played up this year on a 14U A team and got plenty of experience at the next level.

 

[woody916]

If we offer a spot to a girl and she declines, we'll be disappointed but understand it's part of this crazy try out process. If that girl wants to try out next year, that's great! Never any hard feelings It's not unusual for some girls to jump around and return to teams they've been selected to or even played for.

Personally, if a kid declines an offer, I'm not offended. Having that said, I'm very loyal to the kids that commit and I do not take kids that hop from team to team. This is a big red flag for me. I have found that kids that tryout for a new team every year have some issues that I don't want on my team.

 

[CoogansBluff]

I do not take kids that hop from team to team. This is a big red flag for me. I have found that kids that tryout for a new team every year have some issues that I don't want on my team.

There's certainly truth in that stereotype, but there also are many poorly organized and ill-conceived teams out there, and sometimes kids just haven't been fortunate enough to find the right fit. Therefore, they hop.

I had a couple of players on my team this summer who had been on 3 teams in 3 years, and I was the fourth. But things went great w/ them.

But you can usually tell the difference between kids/parents who aren't going to be happy anywhere and those who've just been unlucky. Just have to listen to their stories and use your intuition.

 

[chinamigarden]

Personally, if a kid declines an offer, I'm not offended. Having that said, I'm very loyal to the kids that commit and I do not take kids that hop from team to team. This is a big red flag for me. I have found that kids that tryout for a new team every year have some issues that I don't want on my team.

In my mind I substituted the word Parents for the word issues in the last sentence and it made sense to me.