tryouts for teams you aren't considering. etiquette

[Coach JV]

There is no question of etiquette here. Put on your coach's hat for just a minute.
As a coach you are evaluating talent for your team, you have set aside a day, scheduled fields,
advertised tryouts and then, a handful of girls show up and waste your time being evaluated
with no intention of doing anything but intimidating girls who might really have a chance of
making the team. BUSHLEAGUE! As a parent, don't let it happen

 

[bobbyb]

Bad etiquette but useful timing....I think you know the answer cause you "felt guilty" ...and may be trying to justify that bad feeling.

If it was about seeing if the organization could change your mind about them....you could do that by observing the try out.

If i was the coach holding the try outs....and knew they were not there to try out..i wouldn't of let them on the field.

If i didn't know till afterwords..i would of told you and your parents...i don't appreciate them wasting my time and the other kids time..... however if i ever hold a "tryout practice" I would let them know so they could attend.

Now of course being a competitive coach…after my kids and parents left…I would of thanked you. I now have parental support (you made their kids look foolish and I confronted those that did it)……and I have a group of kids that want to improve (are motivated) to beat the little show offs that came to make them look bad. We would have had a goal to put a “softball whoopin” on your little A team showoffs!

 

[absdad]

There is no question of etiquette here. Put on your coach's hat for just a minute.
As a coach you are evaluating talent for your team, you have set aside a day, scheduled fields,
advertised tryouts and then, a handful of girls show up and waste your time being evaluated
with no intention of doing anything but intimidating girls who might really have a chance of
making the team. BUSHLEAGUE! As a parent, don't let it happen

I agree totally. I DO NOT like my time wasted, and I sure don't want to waste anyone else's. Why go and have social hour to get "practice" at a B level team tryout? The coaches will probably mostly just ignore the girls who aren't wasting anyone's time, and like you said, were all over the A level girls. Maybe a few of those legitimately trying out might otherwise have made the team, were overlooked. It's a bunch of crap, really.

My dd tried out for a particular team last year. The coach said he was looking for pitchers and catchers, Great. Turns out he only wanted ONE pitcher. The catchers were only warming up his tryout attendees. My dd sweated and worked her butt off in 100 deg. heat for two hours, so this guy could look at pitchers. When we found out afterwards, I gave him an earful that could probably be heard a few fields away..

I'm rambling... but, you wanna shoot the breeze, great. Don't waste anyone's time. I guess you could always have asked the coach ahead of time if you could bring your "A" girls there, to get some giggle and throw time, and if that would be ok with him/her. Wonder what he'd have told you?

 

[Greenmonsters]

Shoe on the Other Foot?

What about the flip side of the coin? Should a travel team that has only 1 or 2 openings advertise "open" tryouts if they have invited/recruited players to fill those specific openings? IMO, tyrouts should be open and transparent interaction between players and organizations or reputations become jeopardized.

Just sayin' - GM

 

[fastpitch]

Thanks for all the valuable insight. This board is great for that. It's years of experience all in one place.

After thinking about it and reading all the insightful posts IMHO there is still value for both the coaches and players to attend tryouts of teams they may not really consider. It gives coaches and organizations an opportunity to win players over just as much as the girls who want to play for them are trying to win them over. In youth ball its a two way street. The team with the best record is not always the best team for everyone. If the coach leaves a good impression and the org seems like a good one I might recommend a player to go to that team.

Just to reiterate; we weren't there to show off... even though DD is currently happy with the team she is on I really didn't know what this org had to offer and was somewhat curious. I definitely didn't know it was more of a "B" level team. Our area has a number of organizations popping up these days so its impossible to know what each is about until you go to the tryout and/or actually talk to someone from it. There's only so much info teams put on the websites these days. For all I know maybe this is an organization we could look at in the future or recommend to someone else.

While we probably won't leave our current team I do think we may still attend a few other tryouts of teams in the area just to see what they have to offer and get some "tryout practice" in. I will be open regarding our situation and see what happens. Maybe we won't be the right fit but someone I know or my DD knows might.

Thinking back to my DDs first tryouts two years ago... we went to two total tryouts. We were 99% committed to join the first team but decided on going to a second teams tryout just for the heck of it. We ended up staying with the second team because we liked what they had to offer and it seemed to be the best fit for us at the time. If we hadn't gone we would never have known... just sayin'.

 

[absdad]

Just to reiterate; we weren't there to show off... even though DD is currently happy with the team she is on I really didn't know what this org had to offer and was somewhat curious. I definitely didn't know it was more of a "B" level team. Our area has a number of organizations popping up these days so its impossible to know what each is about until you go to the tryout and/or actually talk to someone from it. There's only so much info teams put on the websites these days. For all I know maybe this is an organization we could look at in the future or recommend to someone else.

Just about every tryout posting I've ever seen had a coach's contact name and number, for getting some additional info. Or you could look the team up through the ASA or Utrip website. Either of those, would have let you know their level. As for being "curious" about the organization, so as to be able to recommend them... If you've been to more than one tryout in your life, you know there is no such thing as a bad coach at a tryout. Wanna see what a coach/team is made of? Watch them play. I could see a C or B or rec level player, wanting to go to an A team's tryout, to get an idea where they stand skillwise. There is certainly a benefit to that. But it would seem to not benefit anyone the other way around.

Was the coach happy when you told them? Or did you tell them?

 

[fastpitch]

Just about every tryout posting I've ever seen had a coach's contact name and number, for getting some additional info. Or you could look the team up through the ASA or Utrip website. Either of those, would have let you know their level. As for being "curious" about the organization, so as to be able to recommend them... If you've been to more than one tryout in your life, you know there is no such thing as a bad coach at a tryout. Wanna see what a coach/team is made of? Watch them play. I could see a C or B or rec level player, wanting to go to an A team's tryout, to get an idea where they stand skillwise. There is certainly a benefit to that. But it would seem to not benefit anyone the other way around.

Was the coach happy when you told them? Or did you tell them?

The truth is the 14u coach seemed like a jerk in how he handled the girls but the 12u coach seemed inexperienced but nice. He was understanding about our situation after we explained to him after the tryout and appeared happy to make our acquaintance. I would definitely recommend his team to someone to look at who might be a fit. The tryout posting we saw said "looking for dedicated players looking to play competitive ball." I guess thats all relative. They could be dedicated only in the spring and I guess competitive could be anything above rec or little league.

We haven't been to too many tryouts so no I don't know that there is never a bad coach at a tryout and unless I go to a tournament they are in how could I ever watch them play? we are in tournaments every weekend as well. Are there better ways to research a team? I'm sure there are. DD went to a clinic for one team and was able to recommend them to a friend which worked out. We went to the tryout this weekend for that team and found out they had nice coach and were more of a B level team.

Tryouts are exactly what they are... trying out. If its not a fit for either player or coach; it doesnt work; its not personal. I know I started this thread asking about etiquette but the more I think about it; the less I'd be inclined to play for a coach who took it personally if a girl after trying out didn't want to play for them. It means to me they have a problem keeping better players and probably really aren't that good of a coach or an org. The best coaches/teams in our area never have that issue. If a girl they offer declines for whatever reason there are five more girls willing to play for him/her...

EDIT - Just found out the team DD tried out for this past weekend competed at PONY Nationals this past summer. While PONY Nationals isn't as strong as ASA competition is still good at the younger ages. I guess they aren't a true B level org after all. The inexperience of the coach, the level of players at the tryout and level of commitment required (ok to miss practice for soccer/basketball in fall winter) had me assuming that is more of what they were.

 

[SnocatzDad]

Sounds like you need to use the tryout posting translator

"looking for dedicated players looking to play competitive ball." = "starting team from scratch, will play at level team can handle when we finalize roster"

"Looking to add one or two more pitchers" = "we have no pitching please please come here if you can throw strikes"

 

[Mike]

"all positions open and must be earned" = we suck, I dont have a clue and we need all new players.

 

[abbygale]

"all positions open and must be earned" = we suck, I dont have a clue and we need all new players.

....sure can seem like it.