Would you say something?

brainchaser · Jun 1, 2017

BobInMadison said:
Again, there is a lot of information missing, such as why her parents wouldn't let her try out, and why they think her parents would let her play now. It seems like you are holding a grudge against this girl, and you don't want her on the team.

I really don't see this as anything to get upset about. The coach is doing what he thinks is best for the team and the program. You are really making too big a deal out of the one tryout.

I'll give you an example. For my DD 3, almost every team she played on either she didn't need to try out, or else she was asked to try out as a formality and was actually offered a spot on the team BEFORE tryouts. One time for a little league season they had tryouts, but every coach had already decided to use the first draft pick on her even before the tryouts. One time she was able to switch teams while she was 1000 miles away from the tryouts because she had pitched against the other team, and the new coach wanted her on the team. So, for any tryout, her position was set pretty much BEFORE the tryouts even started. The coaches knew what they wanted, tryouts were just a formality for the best players. For the bubble or unknown players, tryouts are important.

Actually I like this girl. She was on my daughters team in the spring and is very nice. This is not personal at all and I'm certainly not going to get in to why she wasn't allowed to tryout that's not my business. I just don't like playing favorites all in the name of winning meaningless trinkets. I'd rather teach the others girls a lesson in overcoming adversity and fighting the good fight.

Maybe I'd feel different if my daughter was the superstar of the team like yours and that's not anything against you, I'm just honestly intellectually curious if that would change things. You're right though, I'm making too much of this. Even my daughter didn't seem overly phased by it when she heard. I guess I'm just too sensitive when it comes to the kids.

canyonjoe · Jun 1, 2017

I wouldn't say anything, but if you need a player it should come from the ones who tried out.

As far as playing time there is no reason you can't get everyone to play during pool games. In fact unless the competition is so good that seeding really matters you
are better off sitting your top players a little to keep them fresh for Sunday. To me the best thing about an all-start season is that you get several seasons of reps duing a
month. It's so worth it for the kids who like to play even if they don't play much on Sunday.

Eric F · Jun 1, 2017

brainchaser said:
Thank you all for your replies

I completely understand that this is tournament softball, but I think that having a winning at all cost mentality is just wrong for a rec league all star team. You do owe something to these girls who have been there from day 1 even if it means being less competitive IMO. This is not a travel team that needs to maintain a winning record in order to attract higher quality girls.

My concern here is not for playing time for my daughter. I'm very realistic in my evaluation of her skills. I know she doesn't have the same experience as the other players and she wouldn't benefit much from losing another player. I'm happy that she gets to spend a few months of the summer with daily softball activity that will make her a better player in the end. I think it's a great life lesson for her to learn that you can work your butt off and do everything right and still not make it, but that doesn't mean you stop fighting for your chance. This coach so far has been fair with playing time, allowing all the girls to play in pool games and then batting 9 or 10 in the bracket games. I have no argument there.

My concern is in bringing in another player that didn't even try out. Why bother to hold try outs if you're not going to abide by them. If they need another player then go down your list of alternate girls who actually tried out. I would be fine with that if he thought it was necessary, but this is just a way to sneak a girl on to a team and it may be within the rules but at what point do we hold to our integrity and say that there is a right way to win and we should follow that path. Why must we dash the hopes of that girl who's on the bubble of getting that starting position for the sake of winning? Is it really worth it in the end?

I understand rec league all-stars. We spent a few years in that arena, including times when my DD was one of the weaker players on the team and spent time on the bench. If the coaches are giving reasonable playing time to all the players during pool games, and playing the best 9 (or 10) in elimination games, there should be no issues. However, if playing everyone is costing games - even pool games - I would expect there to be some parents who won't be very happy.

From what you said earlier, the potential additional player is already acknowledged as being the best pitcher in the league. If her circumstances changed, and she's now available to play, I'd sure as heck want her on the team...unless my kid got bumped because of it

In my experience with all-star "tryouts" is that they are mostly a formality, and players aren't selected based on their performance at the "tryout" alone. Any coach paying attention during the regular spring season should already have a good idea who the best players in the league are. In many cases, you can predict most of the team prior to the start of the regular season.

EDIT: I have yet to find any kid who thinks their tournament trophy is a "meaningless trinket". Heck, my DD's TB team finished 2nd in the silver bracket at last weekend's tournament, and got a medal. She took the medal with her to school the next day to show off to her friends, and posted a pic of it on Instagram. The shelf in my DD's bedroom has quite a few shiny plastic trophies and medals. Sure, they won't mean much to her future college coach, but each one is valuable to her because of the effort she put out to earn it.

BobInMadison · Jun 1, 2017

It seems to me that the big issue isn't recruiting the pitcher, but instead, why aren't ALL the girls getting playing time?

I remember the all-star teams my DDs played on. DD 1 played on a 14U all-star team with about 11 or 12 girls, and she was NOT one of the starters. However, they batted around, so everyone got to bat, and she got playing time in every game, even close bracket play games that were decided by 1 run.

DD 3 was a starting player one year on a 10U all-star team, and the next year was a starting player on a 12U all-star team. I think both teams had about 13 girls. The teams batted around, and every girl got playing time.

In fact, every TB team my DDs have played on batted the girls around, and generally tried to get every girl at least some time in the field.

grcsftbll · Jun 2, 2017

To me rec all stars should still be about development. I don't really like coaches who are all about recruitment and have no idea how to develop the players they already have. That said, it's not unreasonable to add a pitcher when your #1 pitcher is injured. And why not get the best one you can?

Sent from my SM-N920T using Tapatalk

Strike · Jun 3, 2017

Are there innings limits or pitch counts for the pitchers in the all star games you are playing? I know a few organizations do that and your team may really need to add another pitcher so you are not short handed if you have to play several games. If you are not going to be playing deep in the all-star tournament, then it doesn't matter but pitching limits can be an issue with some organizations.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

_MIA_ · Jun 8, 2017

brainchaser said:
Actually I like this girl. She was on my daughters team in the spring and is very nice. This is not personal at all and I'm certainly not going to get in to why she wasn't allowed to tryout that's not my business. I just don't like playing favorites all in the name of winning meaningless trinkets. I'd rather teach the others girls a lesson in overcoming adversity and fighting the good fight.

Maybe I'd feel different if my daughter was the superstar of the team like yours and that's not anything against you, I'm just honestly intellectually curious if that would change things. You're right though, I'm making too much of this. Even my daughter didn't seem overly phased by it when she heard. I guess I'm just too sensitive when it comes to the kids.

If this pitcher is as good as you said she is then this isn't a playing favorites sort of thing. Playing favorites would be picking up one of the coaches daughters who isn't all that good. The life lessons here are twofold. First, sometimes life isn't fair and two, if you want to play and aren't because you
aren't good enough then you need to work harder to get better. Even then sometimes people are just going to better, due to natural ability, which I guess would be life lesson #3. The third life lesson is something that at least 95% of all ball players
will run into as they progress up in levels in their sport.

Rocketech1 · Jun 8, 2017

When my DD played all-stars, most of the tournaments we played in were bat round robin in pool play. During bracket play, you did DP/Flex and you played your best 9 (10). It is a short season so 13 or 14 is too many in my opinion. We would take 11 or 12 maximum and you could bring up a player from the other all-star team if there was an injury, wanted a fast pinch runner for Nationals, etc. These 4 or 5 tournaments prepared the team for Districts, State, and National championships.

When I coached, my goals were 1) field a competitive team; 2) teach softball fundamentals, and 3) make sure the players and families had fun. If done right, it's a great experience for everyone on the team.

sluggers · Jun 8, 2017

My own $.02:

The problem isn't picking up the girl to replace an injured player. The problem is a coach who doesn't know how to rotate players.

An experienced coach will give everyone playing time. Since it is tournament ball, some players will play more than others...but, there are many opportunities to give some of the less skilled players time.

4 girl's dad · Jun 8, 2017

grcsftbll said:
To me rec all stars should still be about development. I don't really like coaches who are all about recruitment and have no idea how to develop the players they already have. That said, it's not unreasonable to add a pitcher when your #1 pitcher is injured. And why not get the best one you can?

Sent from my SM-N920T using Tapatalk

Rec all stars is about winning to advance. It's a different animal imo. It's the closest to HS and playoffs as they can get.

It's not a 4 GG tourney. It's double Elimination tourney for each round. District, sectional, state, regional, and LLWS are the five rounds I am familiar with.

This is for Little League for us. Your "League" may vary.

Would you say something?

Welcome to Discuss Fastpitch

Your FREE Account is waiting to the Best Softball Community on the Web.

brainchaser

canyonjoe

Eric F

BobInMadison

grcsftbll

Strike

_MIA_

Rocketech1

sluggers

Super Moderator

4 girl's dad

Similar threads

Latest posts

Members online

Forum statistics

Share this page

Online statistics

Forum statistics