This is how you take bad tryout news with class

The coach of my DD's 1st year 14U team shared this email from a player's father, who was in the organization last year, but was cut after tryouts Sunday, with me and the other assistant coaches. No wonder the girl is such a great kid.

Subject: [Player Name]


Hi [Coach]: Thanks for the call this evening. I was in restaurant and couldn’t really talk much. I’ve done a lot of campus recruiting during my career with [Prestigious accounting firms] and had to make plenty of calls to fine college students to let them know we didn’t have positions for them. It was never easy as the majority of them were great kids.



[Player name] had a wonderful experience this past season with [Team name] and we thank you and the coaches for having the faith to offer her last season. She improved a lot and enjoyed playing on the team with a bunch of great girls. While she’s going to be very disappointed she won’t be moving forward with the team next season, we’ll see what happens with other tryouts and how things shake out in the greater Seattle area when the dust settles. Should she not get on a team, my wife and I will be looking for private coaching and [Player's name] will try out again next season.



[Team name] was a lot of fun and we’ll see you around. Best wishes to you and [Coach's daughter]! Good luck with your startup venture too!



Regards,



[Player's dad]

I had a drunken lady approach me 5 years after I cut her daughter and she wanted to know the "real" reason. Turns out that she didn't really want to know that I cut her dd because mom was unreliable and couldn't be counted on to answer her phone, or to actually make it to tournaments.

This letter was much better then that conversation

Totally serious here...

I'm going to take it at face value that the kid and her family are great people. I'm going to assume that the letter reflects the dad's interaction with the coaches during the last year. I'm also going to assume that the kid gave her best effort.

Questions:

Was she really THAT weak as a player?

What kind of team is this that cuts such a great kid with great parents???

Is it turning itself into a Super Elite Gold Select team that will only play the top 14U teams in the country?

Or, is it the run-of-the-mill organizational team that THINKS it's good enough to pitch a "great kid" over the side because they THINK they've found something better?

Perhaps I'm built differently from some other coaches, but I would have a tough time looking myself in the mirror.

Strike2 said:

Totally serious here...

I'm going to take it at face value that the kid and her family are great people. I'm going to assume that the letter reflects the dad's interaction with the coaches during the last year. I'm also going to assume that the kid gave her best effort.

Questions:

Was she really THAT weak as a player?

What kind of team is this that cuts such a great kid with great parents???

Is it turning itself into a Super Elite Gold Select team that will only play the top 14U teams in the country?

Or, is it the run-of-the-mill organizational team that THINKS it's good enough to pitch a "great kid" over the side because they THINK they've found something better?

Perhaps I'm built differently from some other coaches, but I would have a tough time looking myself in the mirror. To me, the letter says far more about the dad than the coach.

Click to expand...

You can be "a great kid" and still suck

CoachKevin said:

You can be "a great kid" and still suck

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And you can be the best softball player in the country and be a "nightmare" to have on the team.

I'll take the kid who sucks every time!

CoachKevin said:

You can be "a great kid" and still suck

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DID she suck? She made the team last year.

darken said:

And you can be the best softball player in the country and be a "nightmare" to have on the team.

I'll take the kid who sucks every time!

Click to expand...

Thankfully, there are more than just these two types of players. I tend to prefer good players with good attitudes. There's lots of them out there.

Strike2 said:

Totally serious here...


Questions:

Was she really THAT weak as a player?

What kind of team is this that cuts such a great kid with great parents???

Is it turning itself into a Super Elite Gold Select team that will only play the top 14U teams in the country?

Or, is it the run-of-the-mill organizational team that THINKS it's good enough to pitch a "great kid" over the side because they THINK they've found something better?

Perhaps I'm built differently from some other coaches, but I would have a tough time looking myself in the mirror.

Click to expand...

She played in the organization last year, but on a different 12U team. 5 girls from her team aged up to 14U and we didn't have spots for them all. We hate cutting returning players, but it happens.

Lobster Birch said:

She played in the organization last year, but on a different 12U team. 5 girls from her team aged up to 14U and we didn't have spots for them all. We hate cutting returning players, but it happens.

Click to expand...

I understand the above questions are challenging, but they remain unanswered. Players routinely "age up". On a stand alone team, that may make them ineligible to return, but isn't the point of an organization to provide continuity and use the younger teams as a source for the older ones?

Were the other four retained? Were there new additions to the 14U team that resulted in available spots being filled? You may hate cutting returning players, and it (apparently) happens, but PEOPLE consciously make those decisions. It didn't just happen to you because of bad luck.

Strike2 said:

I understand the above questions are challenging, but they remain unanswered. Players routinely "age up". On a stand alone team, that may make them ineligible to return, but isn't the point of an organization to provide continuity and use the younger teams as a source for the older ones?

Were the other four retained? Were there new additions to the 14U team that resulted in available spots being filled? You may hate cutting returning players, and it (apparently) happens, but PEOPLE consciously make those decisions. It didn't just happen to you because of bad luck.

Click to expand...

If there are only 3 spots, there are only 3 spots. Would you rather take a roster of 16 and give this girl no shot of playing time...