HS Cuts

[RichK]

I'd ask "why cut at all" but 22 is a lot (though if at least some go down to JV maybe keep the dedicated but less talented seniors on the roster?) I'm always curious about these kinds of decisions in high school ball. I agree winning comes first, but in a school sport I also think a dedicated player with skills deserves a shot to work everyday and support the team. I also realize that can create player and parent drama down the line, rather than just one sad/crappy cut day. Just curious, coach....

Also curious -- did your staff know most of the players coming in? I assume they did. Any surprises or was it all chalk? Again, I think going in with preconceived notions is one of the biggest mistakes in high school ball.

BTW, my DDs are all done with this, I coach other's kids now, so my own personal views have, shall we say, evolved

Good luck with your season!

 

[let it be fun]

We will not let a senior play JV. If they can not make the varsity they will get cut. We have a senior that did not play last year and she could not start on our JV. So unfortunately we will have to have the talk with her. She did run track last year so she could still join their squad. ( I have already contacted the track coach.)

Not a fun part of the job at all. I would rather deal with a parent yelling at me (even if they are wrong, LOL) than cut a player.

That is one way of dealing with it. I have seen coaches allow seniors on JV if she is a good kid who works hard and just can't make the cut. She can be a huge leader on the JV team. However, you can't put a disgruntled senior on JV. That is a recipe for discord and drama. At my DDs' HS, the coach kept the seniors on varsity and never cut them even if they were not likely to play. She would try to get them in from time to time to pinch run, play an inning in the field, pinch hit in a blowout etc... Those girls also got honored on senior night along with all the other seniors. That coach saw it as a nice way to show appreciation for girls who worked hard for years and stuck it out even if they never got much playing time. She also preferred that the younger girls get the playing time on JV over a senior.

 

[CoachJD]

I am not a HS coach but I do help out a little with the JV and Varsity teams at the HS I work at. Our teams are never that good it usually consists of a couple girls that will play college ball, mostly small schools, and a few lower level TB players and some rec players. Its school ball so the coaches usually will take every JR and Sr that try out, which usually leaves a few spots for underclassmen. It works out because they usually don't have to cut many players, some just have to play JV.

It cracks me up (and then makes me cry) when I see posts like this saying a team is "never that good" because they only have a couple college players and just a few other TB players.

I have 26 players this year. Nine have never played and eleven played for the first time last year.

 

[Coach Foster]

I'd ask "why cut at all" but 22 is a lot (though if at least some go down to JV maybe keep the dedicated but less talented seniors on the roster?) I'm always curious about these kinds of decisions in high school ball. I agree winning comes first, but in a school sport I also think a dedicated player with skills deserves a shot to work everyday and support the team. I also realize that can create player and parent drama down the line, rather than just one sad/crappy cut day. Just curious, coach....

Also curious -- did your staff know most of the players coming in? I assume they did. Any surprises or was it all chalk? Again, I think going in with preconceived notions is one of the biggest mistakes in high school ball.

BTW, my DDs are all done with this, I coach other's kids now, so my own personal views have, shall we say, evolved

Good luck with your season!

Cutting players sucks...there's no way around it. I think you've answered your own questions, really. I've had conversations with players when our numbers were borderline cut/no cut like "We're not going to cut, but I just don't see a lot of playing time for you. If you'd like to be a part of the team, you're welcome to stay and work hard at practice just like everyone else. Or if you'd rather try out another sport, we can help you with that as well." There's been times where that has worked great, where the player comes to practice, works hard, and just wants to be a part of the team. And I've had others where after a few weeks all the drama starts because they aren't playing and it turns into a cluster for everyone involved.

Other times, like Coach said, you have 30 show up and cuts really are the better choice.

 

[JAD]

You should be thankful you have enough girls at tryouts to require cuts! County just opened up a new HS near us and DD's former HS coach is worried he may not have enough players to field a JV and varsity team next season.

 

[BuckeyeBW]

It cracks me up (and then makes me cry) when I see posts like this saying a team is "never that good" because they only have a couple college players and just a few other TB players.

I have 26 players this year. Nine have never played and eleven played for the first time last year.

Why does it crack you up or make your cry? It is what it is

 

[CoachJD]

Why does it crack you up or make your cry? It is what it is

It's funny that a team is "not that good" with a roster that, if I had it, would win every game we have on our schedule easily. And then it makes me cry because I will never, ever have a roster like that.

 

[Cannonball]

I'd ask "why cut at all" but 22 is a lot (though if at least some go down to JV maybe keep the dedicated but less talented seniors on the roster?) I'm always curious about these kinds of decisions in high school ball. I agree winning comes first, but in a school sport I also think a dedicated player with skills deserves a shot to work everyday and support the team. I also realize that can create player and parent drama down the line, rather than just one sad/crappy cut day. Just curious, coach....

Also curious -- did your staff know most of the players coming in? I assume they did. Any surprises or was it all chalk? Again, I think going in with preconceived notions is one of the biggest mistakes in high school ball.

BTW, my DDs are all done with this, I coach other's kids now, so my own personal views have, shall we say, evolved

Good luck with your season!

Rich, I often have to hold my tongue when seeing the various threads on HS ball because so often it seems like HS ball is a joke in some areas. It is not in mine. If we do not win, we will lose our jobs. It is that simple. We play in a very tough conference. We play what is essentially a schedule like we are in another conference comprised of schools much bigger than us but without their bad teams. We also travel up North for a very good tournament against some of the top teams in the mid part of our state. So, we have to get after it right away and 30 would not enable us to do that. We cut 2 seniors who did have some talent. However, when we created our group of the "Top 12," they were not in that group. It was very hard to do that but they would never get into games. 4 of those players ahead of them are freshmen. So, we can have 4 years of varsity play out of those players or one out of those two seniors both of which didn't play varsity last year. We do some complicated drills and so, these drills can be dangerous. We cut a few players because they will get hurt when we start those drills. We also have the JV and Varsity practice together. Typically, I do all of the hitting and our HC and all other assistants do the fielding/pitching until it is time to do the most dangerous fielding work. I come in then and allow the HC to roam and coach which she is exceptional at.

Per keeping large numbers of players, the parent drama, in my case has gone so much above what is reasonable that I refuse to keep large numbers. "Back in the day," people were happy if their child made the team. Now, they are upset if they aren't starting varsity, hitting 3rd and are the star of the team.

Regarding the players coming in, yes, we know just about every player. We had 2 move ins this year and both made the team. Both are pretty good. Still, we do know them all but, nothing is a guarantee. We really do have tryouts. We are a small town or, actually, 3 small towns and so, everyone knows everyone. I have taught some of the parents of some of these players. As long as I am a coach, our tryouts will not be mailed in. As we say every year when they get their letter, that letter was for the completed season and will not have any bearing on the next year.

 

[BuckeyeBW]

It's funny that a team is "not that good" with a roster that, if I had it, would win every game we have on our schedule easily. And then it makes me cry because I will never, ever have a roster like that.

OK, gotcha. SE Michigan is no hotbed for talent but we do have some good teams. We have one city that seems to just breed travel softball players and their school teams win districts just about every year. They have so many that some of them run track instead of school ball so that they can work out with their TB coaches instead. Our school has 1 pitcher that is going D-1 and one more playing at a CC next year. Our team next year will suffer because of lack of pitching. There are worst teams than us but not many.

 

[rdbass]

They 'cut' in college also.....