Once on the Team, Always on the Team?

[Elk Grove Hurricane]

A lot of teams are part of non-profit organizations , and many of the NPF's have bylaws that require competitive selection (tryouts). Of course, most of the tryouts are done with a wink and nod as 8-10 spots are known before the tryouts, so it can be a farce for most of the people thinking they have a fair shot.
Others tell every kid/family that there are no guarantees and they must win their spot every year. They are serious, as they demand every player sell out like it's game 3 of the CWS in tryouts. While this sounds like a great plan, the reality is that most of the kids just gave that kind of effort in the team's last tournament (and usually over the whole season) and they know this isn't nearly as important as a real game. Thus, you build anxiety because the kids can't meet their coaches expectations, which leads to many families wanting to get off the ride before it starts again.
The best way that I have seen things done is to guarantee everyone a spot if they want to come back, with the understanding that playing time could decrease if someone else is better. You build loyalty, keep the camaraderie you have, and push the kids to improve. Most of the girls who are between 8-12/14 on the roster are probably going to leave on their own for better playing opportunities, thus you will always have available spots on the roster. If you have a problem child on the roster, you're dealing with an entirely different issue and not welcoming someone back is appropriate.

 

[grcsftbll]

For lesser teams, it can be a downward trend as they struggle to attract quality players, and settle on just filling roster spots with whoever they can get. This trend often continues as the better players get frustrated with being on a team that continues to struggle, and they leave in search of a better team to play with. This is one of the ways teams die.

We struggled with this for both years DH coached. Not a big name, and he was sort of thrown into coaching. No "Coach has 20+ years experience and no kid on the team" for us. We consistently had a very good top half, a middle with potential and....yeah.

This year DD is joining a team with 9 returning players from last year, from what I understand. This was a huge selling point for me. I figure a toxic team culture doesn't keep 9 players. And after the past year a non-toxic culture is at the top of my list of requirements.

 

[Eric F]

We struggled with this for both years DH coached. Not a big name, and he was sort of thrown into coaching. No "Coach has 20+ years experience and no kid on the team" for us. We consistently had a very good top half, a middle with potential and....yeah.

This year DD is joining a team with 9 returning players from last year, from what I understand. This was a huge selling point for me. I figure a toxic team culture doesn't keep 9 players. And after the past year a non-toxic culture is at the top of my list of requirements.

If you have 9 returning players, that's a pretty good sign that a lot of things are going right. If you have less than 6 returning players, it's likely a different story.

 

[uncdrew]

We struggled with this for both years DH coached. Not a big name, and he was sort of thrown into coaching. No "Coach has 20+ years experience and no kid on the team" for us. We consistently had a very good top half, a middle with potential and....yeah.

This year DD is joining a team with 9 returning players from last year, from what I understand. This was a huge selling point for me. I figure a toxic team culture doesn't keep 9 players. And after the past year a non-toxic culture is at the top of my list of requirements.

Sounds like our timeline as well.