Help understanding the mentality of 10/12u tryouts

[Ksphenom]

At 10 It would bother me too if we had no notification or communication on what the Coaches needed my kiddo to do better or work on. It's hard to cut a kid working like crazy to be better but it does happen.

I've known small kids that couldn't run, hit, or throw turn into great players, with time and tons of work. All paths aren't the same for everyone.

Softball isn't for the faint of heart. Cutthroat for sure. Coaches will always be looking towards upgrading players and it's part of the game



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[uncdrew]

In defense of some coaches in these positions, it's tough to have a team where half are really talented and half aren't there yet. It's much easier to have a team where the girls are generally matching in skill level. Better for the girls too.

Sometimes not inviting back some of the team is better for everyone involved.

 

[bmakj]

In defense of some coaches in these positions, it's tough to have a team where half are really talented and half aren't there yet. It's much easier to have a team where the girls are generally matching in skill level. Better for the girls too.

Sometimes not inviting back some of the team is better for everyone involved.

I agree, as long as it is done the right way. no need to tell girls in the parking lot they are being cut, phone call, with support and suggestiong on what to improve on, possible other teams to look at, etc., is much better. bridges should never be burned in either direction, that 11 yr old you cut this year because she was not as big and strong as the rest of the team, may in two years tower a head above everyone her age, knock the cover off the ball at the plate, and be a flamethrower in the circle with pinpoint control.

at the ages being discussed, so much of the differences a lot of coaches see is mostly just girls at different stages of physical development. much of that evens out at by 14 or 16u

 

[Nimrod]

At 10 It would bother me too if we had no notification or communication on what the Coaches needed my kiddo to do better or work on.

I guess so, but wouldn't that be pretty obvious after spending a whole season with a team?

Kid: "Coach, why did you cut me?"

Coach: "You hit .142 this summer.''

Kid: "Is that bad? Because if I you had notified me that this was frowned upon, I would've hit much better. ''

Jokes aside, I know it's not just the .142 hitters who don't make their teams. But I can't imagine going through a full season with a team and not knowing my strengths and weaknesses. And what a player needs to work on isn't the deciding factor anyway. Is kinda like a player asking a coach what she needs to do to bat higher. Simple: Become a better hitter than somebody who hits higher than you. Everybody needs to work on something. But making a team is about how you rank within the pool of talent/skill that the coaches are choosing from, not what you need to improve on.

 

[Orange Socks]

In defense of some coaches in these positions, it's tough to have a team where half are really talented and half aren't there yet. It's much easier to have a team where the girls are generally matching in skill level. Better for the girls too.

Sometimes not inviting back some of the team is better for everyone involved.

This is a primary reason we chose not to go back to a team. At the end of the summer, I thought our team was coming along rather nicely, but there was one kid that just not good. Fast forward to tryouts, I noticed that some of our better players were missing at both tryout days. Our "manager" did not secure a commitment from any of the players other than an email saying Let me know if you are coming back. I told my DD we are NOT going back to that team if that certain player comes back! We need to compete at a higher level as a 2nd year 14U team and from what I saw it was not gonna happen. They were looking at a 12U pitcher in the program to bring along. Uh No Way! My DD and a pitcher left and went to another program(stayed 4 years). That 14u team folded and those players were scattered amongst the other teams in the program.

 

[NBECoach]

Wow....cutthroat TB at U8.

Maybe there should be some special notes on the tryout form that U8 is tilted heavily towards development,and that depending on the amount of teams, that not all U8 players who age out are guaranteed a spot on the U10 teams.

 

[texasck1]

I guess so, but wouldn't that be pretty obvious after spending a whole season with a team?

Kid: "Coach, why did you cut me?"

Coach: "You hit .142 this summer.''

Kid: "Is that bad? Because if I you had notified me that this was frowned upon, I would've hit much better. ''

Jokes aside, I know it's not just the .142 hitters who don't make their teams. But I can't imagine going through a full season with a team and not knowing my strengths and weaknesses. And what a player needs to work on isn't the deciding factor anyway. Is kinda like a player asking a coach what she needs to do to bat higher. Simple: Become a better hitter than somebody who hits higher than you. Everybody needs to work on something. But making a team is about how you rank within the pool of talent/skill that the coaches are choosing from, not what you need to improve on.

Yes it should be obvious, but so many parents have their heads in the sand or just don't know that little Suzie need to work on certain things outside of practice. However, from my experience, coaches need to be doing a better job of communication with their players about expectations. Both before they join and throughout the season. Especially at the 10U/12U level. Hiding them at the bottom of the lineup and in right field until the next tryout isn't doing them any favors. At least talk to the parents about outside coaches they could see or skills they need to work on outside of practice.

A least if those conversations would happen, there wouldn't as much shock when Suzie gets cut.

 

[Nimrod]

I guess so, but wouldn't that be pretty obvious after spending a whole season with a team?

Kid: "Coach, why did you cut me?"

Coach: "You hit .142 this summer.''

Kid: "Is that bad? Because if I you had notified me that this was frowned upon, I would've hit much better. ''

Jokes aside, I know it's not just the .142 hitters who don't make their teams. But I can't imagine going through a full season with a team and not knowing my strengths and weaknesses. And what a player needs to work on isn't the deciding factor anyway. Is kinda like a player asking a coach what she needs to do to bat higher. Simple: Become a better hitter than somebody who hits higher than you. Everybody needs to work on something. But making a team is about how you rank within the pool of talent/skill that the coaches are choosing from, not what you need to improve on.

Just wanted to come back to my post here and stress that I didn't mean to be flippant about kids who need to be coached up and the responsibility that coaches have to communicate their expectations to their players. I would never joke about a real person who hit .142, or cut any player callously because they didn't perform better. Only let go 1 player in 4 years as a head coach, and I still worry years later that it was the wrong thing.

I was only trying to say that, in my experience, a player's ''areas that need improvement'' seem pretty evident after a long season. Surely they've been communicated by the coach (I see more over-coaching than under-coaching) or by common sense. Maybe I'm giving coaches or parent-observers too much credit. But after failing to make a team, it just doesn't seem realistic that a player could say, ''I didn't realize what I needed to work on, and if I had, I would've made the team.''

 

[Blueriverdrivers]

I don’t agree on the

I agree, as long as it is done the right way. no need to tell girls in the parking lot they are being cut, phone call, with support and suggestiong on what to improve on, possible other teams to look at, etc., is much better. bridges should never be burned in either direction, that 11 yr old you cut this year because she was not as big and strong as the rest of the team, may in two years tower a head above everyone her age, knock the cover off the ball at the plate, and be a flamethrower in the circle with pinpoint control.

at the ages being discussed, so much of the differences a lot of coaches see is mostly just girls at different stages of physical development. much of that evens out at by 14 or 16u

I don’t agree with the different stages of physical development. I can tell the girls that have the building blocks to work with and who has developed the fundamentals needed to be an above average player. Sure size helps but if they don’t have the proper skill development the size won’t really matter.

 

[Ksphenom]

Wow....cutthroat TB at U8.

Maybe there should be some special notes on the tryout form that U8 is tilted heavily towards development,and that depending on the amount of teams, that not all U8 players who age out are guaranteed a spot on the U10 teams.

10-12u. Yep it can be. I don't think 8u was mentioned in my post, in this thread.

I've had parents tell me a head coach wouldn't even let them know where the next year tryouts were being held so the kid couldn't tryout. 8u to 10u.
The parent finally got the clue after a couple of unanswered calls and texts.

Sure if parents watch practice they'd see what the coaches see. Kids need parent help at these younger ages. If the coach tells them (2) or more times in a practice to do something help your kid. etc..

Examples of what 8u, 10u, and 12u coaches have done to help justify moving kids around or natural attrition/cut. I could write for a day the bad stuff I've witnessed and heard. This is a little cut throat at 10 and 12u. Being cut might be better than having kids subject to the garbage below.

Coaches front tossing to kids with no time for a player to even load a bat properly. Basically speed pitching to kids they want to run or look bad. Turn around and pitch to kids they want to coach with 6 or more seconds between each pitch.

Hit extra hard balls to the girls coaches don't want on or in the infield. Or at least to shut up parents/kids always lobbying for their DD to be on the infield.

During soft toss a HC will only throw to the better players and leaving an assistant to work with the less talented girls.

Have a roster w/multiple catchers to carry the catching load during long tournament weekends and use only one for the entire weekend. Squeaky wheel got the DD some behind the plate time. That'll teach'em.

Not pulling the #4 pitcher on the team when she's getting obliterated because parents think DD should be used more. Just humiliate her with a massive loss so she never wants to pitch again.
Usually a nothing pool game against a great hitting team. Leave team for number 2 spot on another team after the season ends (maybe).

A coach pulling the fine print on the contract to say the kid was violation on the team code to cut a child. Kid wasn't doing anything the other kids weren't already doing the entire time. A targeted mid-season cut.

A coach blaming a loss on a kid (directly calling a girl out for the loss in the post game talk) when it's a long list of bad coaching decisions got the loss. Quits softball for thd Fall. Maybe she'll give it anoher try in the Spring.



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