Tryouts a few months later

[RookKev]

So, my dd is rather tiny. She is 12U, but could probably play on 8U's by her size. I was trying to figure it out, she must be about 4'-10" and around 76 lbs. She went to tryouts in the fall. She had one tryout she didn't do real well on in her outfield work. However, her performance in all other areas during that tryout was good. She tried out for 4 or 5 different teams. In all her tryouts, she performed very well. Solid contact hitter, drove a few to the outfield, but mainly, nothing close to the strike zone got past her. She laid down good bunts, to all 3 areas of the infield. Fielding was good, and her arm held up well, with the ability to throw from all bases accurately (3rd to first with a slight hump). She was picked up by a team that we were very happy with. The schedule really matches with our family, and I believe the team she ended up on was more than jut chance.

Now, I see teams that she did try out for still looking for a player or two...even going so far to ask for specific positional players, of which she tried out for. This will be our first year of competitive ball, so I feel so green to the politics of it all. If you had a tryout, and by the stats you took, a player was clearly in the top 4 players, wouldn't you take her? I was shocked by some of the teams that didn't invite her, and then even more surprised by the teams that did. Now, a few months later, those teams are still looking for players...posting on website forums... why not call up players that tried out for you? Is that considered bad form....? It just seems strange to me a bit. We wouldn't change team, but don't they know that maybe the player they need already tried out of them...?

 

[Michael N]

I wouldn't take it personal or even try to make sense of it . Different coaches have different thought processes on what it takes to make a team and most of them make no sense to me .

Softball makes for some strange forms of entertainment . I personally like watching the group of parents who think their DD's are the next Cat Osterman or Crystl Bustos become upset , quit the team , start a new team for their DD and then have it implode before Christmas . Of course I have been told that I am kind of a sick individual

 

[Momo'sDad]

RookKev, I'd be operating under the assumption that those players we'd passed on were selected by other teams. Anyone would be welcome to try out again, but unless I knew the players personally, I would not assume that everyone we didn't take was still available 4 months later.

 

[alexander58]

Every coach sees something different during tryouts. I've heard coaches say they pick their team strictly by the numbers on their ratings sheets, as though that's objective.

 

[RookKev]

I thought it would be more by the numbers as well. I even knew about the hovering parent syndrome, and my wife and I stayed pretty far back from it all. At one tryout, they asked if any parents could help catch, so I did. I was recognized by one of the coaches from the facility where my dd practices. It sounded like good commentary... I have to wonder if my dd was passed over because she is a pitcher, and the coaches daughters are pitchers as well, typically. I'm pretty sure that has to have some factor in things. At first I was offended, but, as events progressed, I realized that it was just the way of things.

 

[quincy]

DD is smaller then yours and it is a disadvantage, she is what she is.

 

[PA SB Dad]

It is impossible for you to know what the other coaches saw or thought when they made their offers, so I would not waste another minute trying to glean any insight.

At this point of the year, if teams are still looking for players, they are either looking for that "phenomenal" player that is disgruntled with their current team and is looking to switch, or a player to fill a roster spot, pay the fees, and sit on the bench. Either way, it is probably not worth your time or effort.

 

[undergroundga]

Don't sweat it. This past summer my dd had a very similar experience. Was in the top 5 at tryouts for a team that I really wanted her on. She didn't get picked. Dd ended up on a team that I thought was less desireable(my perception, no rflection of the team). Several people commented that they were surprised dd didn't make team.
After a couple tournaments the other team imploded and fell apart. Meanwhile, Dd is loveing her new team.
So don't sweat it. Enjoy her where she is.

 

[iMlearning]

Open spots

I recently talked to a coach that said they leave one or two spots open after tryouts and usually pick one up late in the year. He said that they ALWAYS get a really good player by doing this. This year it was my daughter LOL. I wouldn't take it personally. My daughter didn't make a team last year after the coach was talking to us about how impressed he was by her. You never know what they are thinking.

 

[RookKev]

I think in the end, my comments are more inquisitive than hurt/disappointed/upset... to me, the tryouts deomonstrate that wishful thinking that coaches have. That hope, that maybe some phenom will show up and wow them. I think about how I would try and evaluate these young ladies from the small sampling they get at a tryout, and I shudder at the thought. It would be fun one day to have 3rd party come in and rate the players, and then present the data to the coaches. And see how many of them pick their own daughters for their teams based on just data.