Hello all. It had been a while since I have been here. Our situation. We picked up a player at try outs. She did good at try outs certainly not the best but she had heart and was coachable. We just finished our fall league and are starting indoor work outs. All thru fall we have not seen the same kid talent and attitude wise. I have tried talking to her and mom they assured me nothing going on outside of Softball. Any advice? I'm to the point of ready to release her from the team. Thanks.
Cutting Players
- Thread starter Bulldogs Coach
- Start date
Welcome to Discuss Fastpitch
Your FREE Account is waiting to the Best Softball Community on the Web.
- Jun 24, 2013
- 1,057
- 36
I would prefer DD to be cut then sit on the bench all year, there are other Teams that she can play for.
Figure out the money and try to find her a new home.
It is not going to work out well but do what you can for her.
Figure out the money and try to find her a new home.
It is not going to work out well but do what you can for her.
You didn't say the age level, but...all athletes quit. It is simply a matter of when. So, she may not want to play softball anymore. It isn't for everyone.
Like James said, figure out the money and cut her loose. You'll be doing everyone a favor...
02Crush
Way past gone
I am having a similar situation. Reading this helps clear it up.
medicpelle
You are looking live.....
Sounds like you already made you decision in your mind and your gut is probably telling you the same thing. If you have other highly competitive girls and parents they are not going to tolerate it much longer period. If that happens you will have a bigger mess on your hands. Make the hard choices now to give you and her parents other opportunities early in the off season. Just remember to be honest and mention as many positives as you can along with her short comings. Invite them back next tryout. Don't burn a bridge you might need later on.
What did you communicate to the player and family about the purpose of the fall? Did they view it as a trial, and were they charged only for the fall with the understanding that family and team would re-evaluate at the end of fall whether things were a good fit?
CB brings up a good point. I believe that commitment is a two way street. A dad I know had considered taking his DD to tryouts for other organizations. He mentioned this to the HC, who asked him to be patient and skip those other tryouts. He was told "She is a valuable part of our team". A few weeks later, after tryouts were over for all local orgs, HC called this dad and told him DD was being cut. I am not opposed to cutting. Sometimes it is necessary, and I understand the competitive nature of the sport. But coaches also have a responsibility to "practice what they preach". If you have not made any similar promises to this family, and don't feel she can be "coached up", then I would release her early enough that she can find another team.
- Jun 7, 2013
- 984
- 0
As a coach, I believe the most important thing is to honor your commitment to your players. If you are one of those
coaches who is constantly dropping players to find "better" players, you will get a well deserved bad reputation and
the smart good players will avoid playing for you. And let's not forget that we are dealing with girls here, not highly
paid professional athletes.
The other thing to consider is that anyone can have a bad fall due to distractions, family issues, minor unreported injuries
or whatever. If you drop a girl in the fall you may find her kicking your butt in the summer! Just a thought.
coaches who is constantly dropping players to find "better" players, you will get a well deserved bad reputation and
the smart good players will avoid playing for you. And let's not forget that we are dealing with girls here, not highly
paid professional athletes.
The other thing to consider is that anyone can have a bad fall due to distractions, family issues, minor unreported injuries
or whatever. If you drop a girl in the fall you may find her kicking your butt in the summer! Just a thought.
Here is what I did. I had a player last year that had a stellar tryout, but when practices began, I was way off. But our organization doesn't let us cut players after we bring them on the team unless they (parents included) are causing major drama or issues or have broken rules we have established. Our philosophy is shame on us for not noticing she may not be up to par like the rest as we didn't do a proper tryout or ask the right questions. We just have to do our best and put them in a position they excel at (maybe courtesy running, maybe a flex player) to get through the season. Maybe, just maybe they will come out of it. In my case they didn't and I cut at the end of the year. Just my opinion.
If it were my DD I would like to have the discussion of where the coach thinks she is as a player. Unless you clearly stated fall was a tryout I wouldn't cut them, but I would give them the facts. Tell them at the current level of play she will play about this much and not much on Sundays,etc. They might need a coach for hitting,etc or them might say thanks and go play for another organization. One other observation is that teams often all do the same drills,etc. If a player is having an issue throwing or with grounders it might take a one on one session for a bit to correct and it's often not done.
