Open HS tryouts for spectators?

[guero_gordo]

HS tryouts are completely closed.......except for certain parents.

 

[Amy in AZ.]

It might be a good idea to have an open practice, just to try to scout out the parents that might be trouble makers.

 

[smddad]

We have open tryouts. I won't be there.

 

[GOINGDEEP]

Going Deep:

What you did is awful for new players who may feel pressure because you are there cooking out like it is no big deal, because your kid is automatically "on" the team and they are not. Shame on you. The kids don't want the parents there nor do they need a bunch of men cracking jokes and making fun of them.

Actually the girls enjoy us cooking out, matter of fact they always would "ask" us to. You have to remember this is a small town, our town population would be about the size of a 6A school in Texas. Everyone knows everyone. Just down the road in Memphis, with a million people, our "cook out / tryout" might not be a positive event.

Let me also add that 99% of the "making fun" you speak about is directed at our own kids or ones I've/they've coached since just out of diapers. If they aren't use to our sarcasm over 10 years of TB, I don't think they ever will be.

 

[softball88]

Our tryouts are closed. I will miss watching them. I enjoy watching other coaches philosophy, how its set up etc..

I'm still a student of the game after 15 yrs of TB.

 

[Cannonball]

I always allowed parents to watch tryouts. I gave each player a handout entitled "Tryout Tips" and this was at the bottom:

"Hey coach, my Dad wants to come and watch. Well, ok but he WILL NOT TALK TO ANY OF THE COACHES AND HE WILL STAY OUT OF THE WAY! Lobbying will not help. Insecure parents are typically an omen of problems to come. There are four experienced coaches making these cuts and so, we don’t need any help with anything at anytime ever when it comes to coaching! If we do need help, all of the parents will be asked to help via a handout through the Athletic Booster Club."

For the baseball team, most of the dads sat on the hillside parking lot overlooking the field. Those are great seats and you can see the cage, bullpen and field. For softball, we have bleachers beyond right field and so, most parents went there. If they came into the gym and we could not get outside, I had a row of chairs set up on the balcony. I've coached for a few decades and so, I don't have any secrets and am not the kind to back down from any parent. In my community, everyone knows me anyway which is one of the neat things about coaching in small town USA. As I have stated before, I think that open communication via a "communication plan" is the best way to go for all coaches.

GoingDeep, I wish I had some parent grill up some cheeseburgers and brats. Sweet Tea to drink would be icing on the cake. While I wouldn't talk to them, I'd take a hand-off as I sprinted by.

 

[wichita]

IMO if a coach has to have closed tryouts then that says to me that he doesn't want parents/ watchers to see who he picks and whom he doesn't and why. Now I know a lot of you fellow DFP patrons will say if they have open tryouts they will have to explain why they picked up certain players to certain parents that think little sally should have made the team. That being said our tryouts are open, anyone can come watch and I can tell you that at least at our high school there is no rhyme or reason why he keeps kids. He cut kids that have better skill than others and keeps kids that have no or little skill what so ever(in our only scrimmage games the first baseman was set up in foul territory next to the 1st base bag in the running lane and had to yell out to her to move over). Now I have no idea why he should have kept this kid and others but he did I guess because he's the coach and he can. But to me at least I believe he should have to explain why he kept someone over another, I used to when I coached it's not that bad ....and most parents ...if your 100% honest with them will understand and for the few that still don''t understand then that's on them.just my .02

 

[alabama_lowlife]

Our tryouts have been both open and closed over the past 3-4 years. This year they were open and it was more of a practice game atmosphere for the parents that were there. Like a reunion since we had not all been together since summer. We're a small school, so for the varsity girls the tryout was more of a formality. There were a handful of girls that tried out for JV that had to get cut.

 

[maksoftball]

The tryouts are open here, but parents don't hang out to watch. I wanted to watch but then I didn't want DD to be only one with parent in the stands. LOL.

 

[Cannonball]

OILF, all good points. I've done it differently and always allowed parents to watch but then again, who am I. BTW, I've never looked at those coaches who hold closed tryouts as coaches who are trying to hide stuff. JMHO!