Tryouts While Current Season is Still in Progress

In GA, it seems that the most tryouts are occurring the weekends of 8/5-6 and 8/12-13. No less than 6 teams DD is interested in are having tryouts those two weekends. We can't be in two places at one time! I am 100% convinced that some DELIBERATELY schedule their org tryouts to compete with their primary rival org's tryouts to make girls choose. Very stressful. I am working the phones like a madwoman trying to manage coordinating private workouts since she can't make it to all the ones that conflict. I do wish that there was more oversight/delineation as to "end of regular season" and "tryouts for next season." It seems that the lines have blurred so much that there is no break anymore (we play school ball in the fall and practices for us begin 8/14).

As a coach that plays late into July I could care less if current players go to other tryouts as long as it doesn't interfere with out schedule. Players end up where they end up; it's just not a big deal.

No matter how successful you are as a team there will always be a group of players looking for something "better". Good luck with that. I never take it personal.

I know here where I live, we have tryouts for fall ball clear up to summer ball. We have our tryouts the first weekend of August and our first games the last weekend in August or first weekend of September. We mainly play local, regional games during the period and practice on weekends from November on.

DD 3 went to tryouts for a different team last week, and was accepted. She had a deadline of yesterday to decide. She had one last tournament to play in for her old team, and so didn't reply to the offer until after playing the last game of the season with her old team. We are still not permitted by her new team to tell what team accepted her, since their tryouts and roster selection are not finished. She also had an offer from her old coach to come back without having to go through tryouts.

Keeping the secret is hard, and another player guessed DD 3 was changing teams.

Fortunately we were able to leave her old team under very good terms. This is a move from a B team to an A level team, and the HC for the B team realizes sometimes A teams will snatch up his best players.

Thing is, I would prefer if tryouts were in July, rather than August, for every team.

Look at it this way. Can't take a vacation in the fall, because of fall tournaments. What about winter break? We are taking a vacation then, but it might interfere with her winter training. Can't take a vacation during spring break, because of HS ball. (DD 3 did that this year, and was told in no uncertain terms never to do that again).

Pretty much, that leaves August for vacations. If tryouts are in August, well, that's another month you can't have vacations. Makes for 12 out of 12 months.

The last time DD 3 switched teams, she was on vacation, visiting me in NYC where I had just started a new contract position. She missed tryouts for the team she wanted to play on, but the coach had scouted her, and she was on the list of girls he was trying to recruit for his team, so he let her in without a tryout.

5 years ago we were all on vacation in NYC when DD 1 got an offer to try out for a team run by a former LL coach of hers. She was still out of town during the main tryouts, but she was back by the makeup date.

In a few weeks my family and I will head off to Nashville to visit my cousin and watch the eclipse. It will be nice to be able to take a vacation in August knowing DD 3 is secure on her spot on the team.

I think suggesting that tryouts in July are immoral is just plain ridiculous. What's wrong with trying to get a team set in place so there is time to plan? Uniforms need to be ordered and schedule conflicts need to be compared so tournaments and practices can be booked. Or maybe have a month to relax and go on vacation as Bob said. The thought that conniving coaches are trying to steal your players is egotistical and reeks of a desperate hope to keep a team together. Some girls (and their families) switch teams all the time. It's their decision to make, and making them conform to one's rules of how it should be is over reaching. Do you think that the girls who want to leave their current team but haven't picked a new team are somehow more focused on hitting a ball than girls who want to leave but don't know where they're going?

Accept that tryout season is stressful. It will always be stressful. Stressful for players, stressful for parents, stressful for coaches. Shortening and delaying the process will not make it easier, or better, or stress free.

Note: DD's team tryouts were in mid July, 2 days before we left for Utrip Nationals. That gives her 8 whole days off for vacation before high school tryouts. Her travel team is in place, ready to play in late October as soon as state playoffs end.

Good and bad thing about MN goofy rules is no tryouts can be held until after MN state season is done. Normally last weekend of July. Bad part is all the tryouts for every club team is the same first Mon,Tues, and Wed of August. Have to pick and choose which you want to go to.

One org. got caught contacting and having tryouts early one year and got band from all ASA events. Not a big deal for their top teams which only play PGF. But their lower/feeder teams that normally played local had to travel far for PGF tournys they where not ready for because the other alphabets also honored band.

I wasn't crazy about the idea of July tryouts at first either, but the vacation issue made me reconsider. Families can go YEARS without having any time to go somewhere, so if it frees August for other issues I'm for it. The respect issue means you finish the season with the team you started, don't make a scene if you're planning on leaving, and be classy about telling the team you're leaving when the season ends. None of the girls signed five year contracts with no compete clauses, so its all good for me.
Having said all that, most tryouts for our local teams won't start until July 30, which is after the season ends for most teams. Some started last week, but if everyone waited for nationals (USA and PGF for several divisions won't be over until the first weekend in August) we would have even less time before the 9/11 weekend tournaments to get things rolling again.

Comocoach said:

I think suggesting that tryouts in July are immoral is just plain ridiculous. What's wrong with trying to get a team set in place so there is time to plan? Uniforms need to be ordered and schedule conflicts need to be compared so tournaments and practices can be booked. Or maybe have a month to relax and go on vacation as Bob said. The thought that conniving coaches are trying to steal your players is egotistical and reeks of a desperate hope to keep a team together. Some girls (and their families) switch teams all the time. It's their decision to make, and making them conform to one's rules of how it should be is over reaching. Do you think that the girls who want to leave their current team but haven't picked a new team are somehow more focused on hitting a ball than girls who want to leave but don't know where they're going?

Accept that tryout season is stressful. It will always be stressful. Stressful for players, stressful for parents, stressful for coaches. Shortening and delaying the process will not make it easier, or better, or stress free.

Note: DD's team tryouts were in mid July, 2 days before we left for Utrip Nationals. That gives her 8 whole days off for vacation before high school tryouts. Her travel team is in place, ready to play in late October as soon as state playoffs end.

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Except I am neither a coach nor do I have a daughter trying out as she has been asked to stay and has decided to accept. So nothing reeks.

What is egotistical is coaches trying to pull the schedule more and more into the season in order to lock up the best players before most teams have their tryouts. That's what is egotistical.

And yeah it stinks, If you want to use the word immoral that's fine too.

beachball said:

Except I am neither a coach nor do I have a daughter trying out as she has been asked to stay and has decided to accept. So nothing reeks.

What is egotistical is coaches trying to pull the schedule more and more into the season in order to lock up the best players before most teams have their tryouts. That's what is egotistical.

And yeah it stinks, If you want to use the word immoral that's fine too.

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As a person that has been involved with this sport for a while, I can tell you that the "stench" does come from both sides at certain times. I am by no means pointing a finger at you or anyone else in this forum. I have seen teams/coaches/organizations play all kinds of games trying to schedule their tryouts to compete with other teams, scheduling tryouts early, sending spies to other teams tryouts, using strong arm tactics to try to force early decisions, etc. I have also seen families/players play all kinds of games too. Going to tryouts with absolutely no interest in the team, flat out lying to coaches about their interest, accepting a spot only to change their mind 2 weeks later (and then again dumping yet another team). Ultimately what it has lead to is a system where players/families find it difficult to trust coaches/teams/organizations and vice versa. And unfortunately, I do not see that changing any time soon. But when you do find a situation where both sides really do trust each other, it can be a lot of fun.

If a kids missing practices/games with a team she is committed to at the moment I don't think it is right. Other than that I have no issue with a kid going to a tryout when committed. In our area most teams say they will give private tryouts if necessary so in most cases kids won't have to miss anything.