Tryout season ugggh!!!

Welcome to Discuss Fastpitch

Your FREE Account is waiting to the Best Softball Community on the Web.

Jun 24, 2019
17
3
So as a new 12u coach, I’m discovering how much this process sucks. I’ve literally had a parent decline a offer after a tryout because “I don’t feel like my kids would get the instruction she needs.” How can you determine what level of instruction your daughter would get from me through a tryout where there is no instruction being given because...it’s a TRYOUT! Please someone tell me that it’s not just me that is struggling with the adults?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

marriard

Not lost - just no idea where I am
Oct 2, 2011
4,312
113
Florida
So as a new 12u coach, I’m discovering how much this process sucks. I’ve literally had a parent decline a offer after a tryout because “I don’t feel like my kids would get the instruction she needs.” How can you determine what level of instruction your daughter would get from me through a tryout where there is no instruction being given because...it’s a TRYOUT! Please someone tell me that it’s not just me that is struggling with the adults?

Not at all.

Look at it is this way - you probably dodged a bullet this time around. This sort of parent has a high probability of causing problems - and now it is going to be for someone else rather than you! Success. All a matter of perspective.

I had two families leave because my close to 30 years of coaching multiple sports at all levels from 8U through college wasn't progressing their little cupcakes fast enough in their opinion and that a 21 yr old bar tender who was a bench player for a mid-level D1 team for 2 seasons before dropping out was clearly going to provide that. That lasted all of 1/4 of a season before they came back. Not to my team - but to one of the lower level well-coached teams in our org. That was several seasons ago. One of them now plays for me again....

Take the high road, don't burn bridges and eventually the satisfaction of being in a position to say "I told you so" but then not saying it will be reward enough :)
 
Last edited:
Mar 4, 2018
126
28
I would not worry about the parents reply. Very possible that they never had plans of accepting an offer from your team and were just at the tryout so their daughter can get used to trying out for other teams.
 
Jun 12, 2015
3,848
83
I'm happy to be on the other side of it, after my DH coaching the past 3 years. I'll take having to find a team over worrying about building one any day. This side's not fun either though.
 
Apr 28, 2014
2,316
113
I think coaches view tryouts as job interviews. During most job interviews the applicant will take the job no matter what (in most cases).
Tryouts are different. Some kids are just there for a workout, while others are feeling out the team, seeing the skill level of the players and the coach. I heard of a few coaches in our area upset that 14u kids declined offers. It does work both ways.
I helped with tryouts for one of our local travel teams (good org just small and local competition). 40 kids showed up. I'm watching and knew that no matter what, out of the best 12 only, maybe 2 or 3 would accept an offer.
 
Jun 8, 2016
16,118
113
When I was growing up all there was for boys was LL. It was ages 9-12 (well there was farm league too ages 7 and 8..no t-ball yet). 9 YO played with 12 YO if they made it. You had a tryout where each coach was there with a certain number of players he needed to fill their team. They had a draft order based upon previous year finish like they do in pro sports (kids were used to this thing back then since you used to pick teams like this all the time on the playground..). You tried out and if you didn't make it you didn't play (organized ball at least). If you wanted to make a team you would work that summer to try and get better and tryout the next year.

To be honest, I don't know what is more stressful, what goes on with TB now or the situation back then. Most parents were not nearly as invested (emotionally and monetarily) back then so I would say from a parent's perspective probably now. Not sure from a kid's perspective.
 
Last edited:
Jul 15, 2016
115
18
All of the back-channeling, gossip, "confidential" workouts, etc. put a damper on this time of year for parents, coaches and players.
 
Jun 24, 2019
17
3
Well I sure wish parents would tell me if they were there just to “workout” or see what tryouts are like. I’m trying to build a team so essentially, it’s wasting my time when I set up a private tryout. Just simply frustrating! More power to you coaches that have done this for many years.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Dec 15, 2018
809
93
CT
When I was growing up all there was for boys was LL. It was ages 9-12 (well there was farm league too ages 7 and 8..no t-ball yet). 9 YO played with 12 YO if they made it. You had a tryout where each coach was there with a certain number of players he needed to fill their team. They had a draft order based upon previous year finish like they do in pro sports (kids were used to this thing back then since you used to pick teams like this all the time on the playground..). You tried out and if you didn't make it you didn't play (organized ball at least). If you wanted to make a team you would work that summer to try and get better and tryout the next year.

To be honest, I don't know what is more stressful, what goes on with TB now or the situation back then. Most parents were not nearly as invested (emotionally and monetarily) back then so I would say from a parent's perspective probably now. Not sure from a kid's perspective.

Everyone made a LL team where I was. You did try out to get ranked for the draft.

All stars though, no tryout- every kid voted on who they thought top 2 players from each team (paper ballots filled out after last league game). Top vote getter from each team (8 teams) was on the team. Coaches (last years winner and runner up) just picked the rest.

Seemed to work. The kids 2 years ahead of me (1981) made it to Williamsport.
 

TMD

Feb 18, 2016
433
43
There are many many things that I miss about travel ball...but try-outs, as both a coach and a parent, are not one of them. As marriard said above, you dodged a bullet with that one.
 

Members online

No members online now.

Forum statistics

Threads
42,830
Messages
679,481
Members
21,445
Latest member
Bmac81802
Top