Not IMO. The new kid is getting some experience with her next team. DD practiced with her new team, but was not asked to travel to JO Cup in NY. The team actually picked up a pitcher from GA looking to get some exposure. Seem like DD's team often picked up players at National events throughout the years. Those players got playing time.
Not to derail the thread but I can't count on 2 hands and both feet how many times I`ve overheard parents in the stands say, "I'm perfectly fine with my kid sitting all weekend if we'd just win a tournament!" this year alone. I can't tell you how many of my past players went to A teams even though they weren't even close to that level of play, sit all weekend long and brag about all the games and tournaments they've won and the player and her parents are perfectly fine with it. Of course they're playing B tournaments but they're taking home hardware to show off to prospective teams and players being recruited. I can't fathom that kind of thinking either.
Of course a coach should show appreciation for a guest player showing up, but that coach should show more appreciation for the players who (I assume) pay to be part of the program and show up every week. If I was a parent of a team member who sat for the better part of an entire game/tournament to make way for a guest player, I would be rightfully upset about it. Make sure the guest gets some playing time, but less of it than each of the regular players. The regular players are the team.I'm spinning this off the Hissy Quits thread, because I think it brings up an interesting set of questions about guest playing.
I've got two sets of questions, i guess. The first is as a player/parent, what are your expectations when it comes to guest playing? Do you think if you are invited to play, you should play, period, or do you see yourself/your Dd as just there to help out if needed? Does it matter how far you traveled for the tourney -- if you're a local who got picked up, should you have different expectations than if you're a peer of the team, ie you traveled with them to someplace out of state? Does it matter if you know the team already? Do you have conversations witht eh coach beforehand, or are you/your DD just happy for another chance to play?
Secondly, as a coach who is bringing in guest players. How much responsibility do you feel to them? Do you feel more responsibility to your own team, or to the girl who is making a sacrifice (?) to help you out? If you have a guest player who is clearly better than your own player at a position, are you inclined to play them over your own? And if you do, how do you justify it to your team? Does it matter to you if you invited them, or if they sought you out (responding to a Facebook post you made about needing players, for example)?
We've had a mix. Because we live in Colorado, DD got the chance to play with a team from Florida for Sparkler who posted on Facebook they needed a pitcher. I wrote them and they were thrilled to have an emergency arm. When they saw her pitch, they weren't overly impressed, but they were very nice the whole time, put her in to pinch run a few times during pool play. Then they had one of their players get hurt and another left early, so when it got to bracket play she was their starting first baseman -- made it to the semifinals, so she ended up playing every inning of five straight games (no errors, I'm proud to say). So that was three days of doing nothing and then two days of full time -- and interesting mix. But she's also guest pitched for a few local teams, and has had a couple of tourneys where she was invited and then barely got in at all.
For our team, our coach goes out of her way to reward guest players. We've recruited local pitchers when we've been shorthanded out of time, and she always makes sure they get at least a start if not more. And she's not been hesitant to start a guest over one of her own -- not because she thinks the guest is better, but to show her appreciation for them coming out. Not sure how I feel about that, so I thought I'd toss out what other folks feelings were about these strangers who occasionally invade our teams
You would be getting a better deal than a player whose family pays for the privilege of being on the team in addition to the expense of attending the tournament, but then sits in favor of your guest daughter who just pays the tournament expense. A guest really has no rights here. But if the coaches are gong to ask her to show up, they should find a way to get her a reasonable amount of playing time without slighting the regular players.
