Open tryouts
- Thread starter JDT
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Most teams here (SE) tryout in late summer for the next year. Therefore, if a player ages up to 14U in January she would try out for a 14U team in August. There are some teams that continue to play down in the fall even though the majority of their team ages up in January, but they are typically viewed as trophy hunters. Holding the 4 spots for those girls do them no favors as few teams will have openings in the spring. They will be lucky to play as pickup players only.
- Dec 28, 2008
- 386
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Depends on what you and the other coaches have decided about your intentions for the team.
1. If you've decided that you love the players that you have that will remain and have no intentions of replacing any of them and you know that you'll let them play their same position even if Natasha Watley and Caitlin Lowe showed up to try out for you .... then you should be open and honest about the tryouts "We are looking to replace a catcher, right fielder and third baseman." That way a dozen pitchers/shortstops and their parents don't waste their time traveling to and from the tryouts when they have a zero percent chance of making the team.
2. If you want to field the best possible team then you will have open tryouts and even the returning players must tryout to make the team. Then the girls that make the team earn their spots. Last years SS might not get that spot this year. In that case you should be honest to those that are returning that it really is an open tryout and they might not earn their spot from last year so that they have the chance to go tryout for other teams.
There is something to be said for keeping players/parents together that get along well. But many players at this age are changing/developing/progressing rapidly. The bench warmer most of last season who batted 11'th out of 10 players may have worked really hard and has changed but if she remains on the same team it is harder for her to really get her chance because a pecking order has been determined. It's better for her to open her wings and try elsewhere. Other players who are at the top of the order do the work to remain at the top of the order, but if they went to another team they might not be at the top and they'd try harder to become #1.
Fortunately that's why you coaches get paid the big bucks to make all of these tough decisions.
1. If you've decided that you love the players that you have that will remain and have no intentions of replacing any of them and you know that you'll let them play their same position even if Natasha Watley and Caitlin Lowe showed up to try out for you .... then you should be open and honest about the tryouts "We are looking to replace a catcher, right fielder and third baseman." That way a dozen pitchers/shortstops and their parents don't waste their time traveling to and from the tryouts when they have a zero percent chance of making the team.
2. If you want to field the best possible team then you will have open tryouts and even the returning players must tryout to make the team. Then the girls that make the team earn their spots. Last years SS might not get that spot this year. In that case you should be honest to those that are returning that it really is an open tryout and they might not earn their spot from last year so that they have the chance to go tryout for other teams.
There is something to be said for keeping players/parents together that get along well. But many players at this age are changing/developing/progressing rapidly. The bench warmer most of last season who batted 11'th out of 10 players may have worked really hard and has changed but if she remains on the same team it is harder for her to really get her chance because a pecking order has been determined. It's better for her to open her wings and try elsewhere. Other players who are at the top of the order do the work to remain at the top of the order, but if they went to another team they might not be at the top and they'd try harder to become #1.
Fortunately that's why you coaches get paid the big bucks to make all of these tough decisions.
- Jun 16, 2010
- 259
- 28
Competitive teams make everyone try out again. Returning players ARE given special consideration. But you need to see directly how returning players stack up against new tryouts, and vice versa. Not to mention, it looks bad to have only a couple of girls trying out, and it is also difficult to do some drills with very few girls as well. Even if returning ones arent officially trying out, some teams have 5-6 of them there to help with comparison for evaluating new prospects.
we do not make our girls retryout. then again, we rarely need players. having said that, this year we are adding a couple spots (2) and we lost one player who wants to persue other interests, so we need 3. All current players are required to be there. we want those trying out to see how the current girls practice and how we expect things to be
