Our Club Team – Turning away players

[quincy]

Our club was begging for Players for fall ball. Spring or Fall you are on a Team, have tryouts for the higher level teams but you will be on a Team.

They learned the hard way last year that a 14 player team rosters frustrates everyone.

Anyways they told DD’s friend, who I recruited, away and told her there was not a spot for her in the fall. I am really annoyed.

Not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing. I do not know of any player being told no before.

 

[starsnuffer]

Go ask the 5 players sitting on the bench every game (and their parents) if they wouldn't be "really annoyed" if there were 6 sitting there instead. It's a softball team, not a charity.

-W

 

[quincy]

I know it is a numbers game, I just hate telling a player they cannot play.

 

[glf0845]

Hopefully the coach told her in time to try out for another team. This is nothing new where we live. You have to produce, show up for practices and tournaments and you cannot be a problem kid/parent/family or you will not make the team again. Unless it is daddy ball and you are one of the chosen ones.

 

[Chewy_06]

I dont know how densely populated your area is or how many other associations/clubs/ball programs exist around you; but, I know our association loathes turning players away - and I can't remember the last time we ever turned a child away cold (i'm the registrar, so, I'm in a position to know...). What we have done when we've hit awkward team sizes - too many for the number of teams we plan to run & too few to create a new team - is to take our entire status list (ie last year, we really wanted, but werent desperate for a couple of mini-mites [u8], are perfect for mite [u10], are desperate for squirt [u12], had three extra peewee [u14], had one or two extra bantams and were perfect for midgets...) & shopped it around the other associations within our district (which all were still within the same city); we werent able to completely solve all of our less than ideal circumstances, but, at the end of the day there was a spot for every single kid & there weren't any teams that were far too large.

Yes, there's a risk to an association that they may lose great kids/families permanently & there may be some hurt feelings, but, at the end of the day, given the other alternative, anyone would argue that shopping them around & finding new homes for them isnt best for the kids / game in the long term.

The OP recruited a kid who was turned away - if that had happened to me, i'd be calling my association on the carpet for it & telling them to get off their collective hineys and go find a spot for the kid somewhere!

 

[GOINGDEEP]

Quincy, you must only have 2-3 teams in this club league. Cause you could always split into a 4th team and have 10 players with plenty of playing time. ( if it's 3 teams of 14 )

 

[glf0845]

I dont know how densely populated your area is or how many other associations/clubs/ball programs exist around you; but, I know our association loathes turning players away - and I can't remember the last time we ever turned a child away cold (i'm the registrar, so, I'm in a position to know...). What we have done when we've hit awkward team sizes - too many for the number of teams we plan to run & too few to create a new team - is to take our entire status list (ie last year, we really wanted, but werent desperate for a couple of mini-mites [u8], are perfect for mite [u10], are desperate for squirt [u12], had three extra peewee [u14], had one or two extra bantams and were perfect for midgets...) & shopped it around the other associations within our district (which all were still within the same city); we werent able to completely solve all of our less than ideal circumstances, but, at the end of the day there was a spot for every single kid & there weren't any teams that were far too large.

Yes, there's a risk to an association that they may lose great kids/families permanently & there may be some hurt feelings, but, at the end of the day, given the other alternative, anyone would argue that shopping them around & finding new homes for them isnt best for the kids / game in the long term.

The OP recruited a kid who was turned away - if that had happened to me, i'd be calling my association on the carpet for it & telling them to get off their collective hineys and go find a spot for the kid somewhere!

Chewy,
That is so great! I have never heard of that being done. Is club ball different from travel ball? Soccer and volleyball use that term here not softball.

 

[CPSBDad]

A local team only took 11 girls. 13 tried out. I understand about playing time and being benched for part of or all of the games(s). That's gotta be a tough decision for the coach. Should he have taken all girls consider they all go to school together and will be in the same HS eventually? I don't know. The two girl's parents now have to decide whether they want to drive 1hr one way or play school ball only--this is 14U. Both girls were pitchers and the team had two already.

 

[Coach JV]

Anyways they told DD’s friend, who I recruited, away and
told her there was not a spot for her in the fall. I am really annoyed.

Quincy,
You seem like an honorable guy using this forum as it was intended,
to better gain knowledge to navigate your way thru the softball maze
for your family. Bearing this in mind, it is an admirable thing referring
a friend. You will find that you must put your DD first and refer, but do
so with no guarantee. Your DD will always have close friends in softball as
they have this as a common interest. My message is beware of referrals
as they sometimes have a fuse.

 

[rdbass]

Yes,I kind of stay away from referrals also. I also felt responsible for that referral for better or worst. Seems also responsible for the family of the referral. Responsible for the referrals lack of playing time. To me it was more pressure than I needed. Hard enough worrying about DD. kind of like work, if I referred a person for a job at my place your always held responsible for what kind of worker he/she is.