tryouts for teams you aren't considering. etiquette

[absdad]

What about the flip side of the coin? Should a travel team that has only 1 or 2 openings advertise "open" tryouts if they have invited/recruited players to fill those specific openings? IMO, tyrouts should be open and transparent interaction between players and organizations or reputations become jeopardized.

Just sayin' - GM

Yeah, it's crazy. I see so much of that here in our area. I wonder if the coaches are just saying that, just in case the ultimate stud SS shows up? So many tryout postings here say "all positions open", I don't even buy into it. I always contact a coach ahead of time and ask them flat out, you looking for this? I'm not going to bother going if they're not looking for my dd's position.

 

[absdad]

He was understanding about our situation after we explained to him after the tryout and appeared happy to make our acquaintance. I would definitely recommend his team to someone to look at who might be a fit. The tryout posting we saw said "looking for dedicated players looking to play competitive ball." I guess thats all relative. They could be dedicated only in the spring and I guess competitive could be anything above rec or little league

We haven't been to too many tryouts so no I don't know that there is never a bad coach at a tryout and unless I go to a tournament they are in how could I ever watch them play? we are in tournaments every weekend as well. Are there better ways to research a team?

I know alot of coaches are pretty easy going about it, and don't have a problem with it. You let them know, so i think that's a good thing.
Your other point, about not alot of tryouts. That's sort of the flip side to this... DD is going to have butterflies, nervous whatever; get a few tryouts knocked out on teams you're not really interested in to get her used to them. I think that's a great idea.The first 2 or so that my dd wen't to a couple years ago were like that. Now it's just old hat, and a week or two in August that she dreads, but can handle. I personally hate tryouts, and I think alot of coaches make it worse than it really needs to be, but it is what it is. My dd would pick teams that she was interested in, and we'd make a point to try and catch them at least once over a couple of weekends between games or on an off weekend. I don't think there is a good way to research teams. In the past, I've thought I picked a good team/coach and then found out it wasn't all we thought. I am by no means an expert, and my dd has actually taken over more of the decision making on that.

Good luck to you this season, hope you find a good fit. It's a trying time, that's for sure.

 

[interested18]

I think it is important to remember that we are talking about 10-12 year olds here not 18 year olds. As a coach I welcome anyone who wants to attend my tryouts especially if they are getting some fun out of it. Remember this is a game. A heads up might be nice if you are really that not interested in the program but it is softball and these are 12 year old girls let them have fun trying out if that is what they want to do.

 

[Momo'sDad]

I'm honest and upfront in my dealings with people, and so I expect the same in return. In our situation, before the fall season, DD attended a tryout for a team so that the coach could get a look at her for the spring. They were not going to be nearly the team he'd advertised, though, with or without her. This was not apparent until we showed up and saw the skill levels of the other players. She attended another tryout for a possible future coach as well. This coach had a couple of solid players and wanted her to join, but knew ahead of time she already had a fall team. She has an open invitation to join them for the spring if she wants.

A 3rd coach was only interested in players who were available for the fall season, so that was a polite way of telling us that it would be a waste of time for her to try out. I had no problems with that at all.

 

[02Crush]

I think there are more pitfalls than benefit. Sure it is more practice. However you can get that anywhere at anytime without going to a tryout. Plus Tryouts can be all over the place coaching wise. And there is no telling if your player will be challenged or not. I always just ask people, "if you are happy then why are you looking?" it is not meant to be a mean spirited statement but rather challenge you to think about what you are doing and what the true motivations are behind it. At some point in life we ought to be content with things as they are. Now if your player feels it is time to move on then take a more serious look at it, weigh all options and lay out a plan of attack to seek change. After all it is about them not us and we should move to help them not because we want to see them on a better team.

 

[mad hornet]

"all positions open and must be earned" = we suck, I dont have a clue and we need all new players.

I gotta disagree with this. I preach to my kids that every day is a tryout. Inevitably you have some players who tear it up early, establish a starting role, then get this attitude that they don't have to give 100% anymore. I coached a team last year that had a lot of success at 10u (six tourney championships including ASA State, and three runner up finishes). I knew that a few would be staying down for another year at 10u and I wanted my returners to be challenged. When I posted "all positions open and must be earned", I meant it.

As to the OP. Was it unethical? Probably. I don't think you should beat yourself up over it though. There are much worse things and now you can't say you didn't know. As a coach, I have gotten to where I can recognize certain players who are there to "practice to tryout". Some do this just so dad can enhance dd's resume and tell everyone, "yea Suzie got 7 offers so you should feel special she's playing here"..... We have one dad in our area who's nickname is "Resume" for that very reason.

Then you have the other dad we had last year who brought his daughter to tryout. She was the caliber player we wanted and when I called the next morning to make an offer he explained that he was head coaching another team and wanted to know how to run a tryout! OMG at least he was honest (sort of).

 

[CoogansBluff]

Call the coach ahead of time and ask if it's OK.

 

[CoachChuck]

As a TB coach I know that some of the girls at my tryouts won't be joining my team, for whatever reason. That's why I evaluate everyone at my tryout, including the returning players. This year the best girl at my tryout had absolutely no intention of leaving her team. That didn't bother me at all, I know I will get some players, and not get others. We also handed out flyers to another TB team's tryout and I told all of my potential returners to go to a bunch of tryouts to see what's out there.

I also took my daughter to another team's tryout, the same one I was handing out flyers for. The coach's took one look at her and said, "Doesn't your dad coach?" When she said yes they stopped looking at her. She has only been to 5 tryouts ever, 3 of which were for her team. Just like the origninal poster, I wanted her to have some experience at tryouts to gain a comfort level. In the next year to two she will be trying out for showcase teams and I want her to have some preparation.

After reading this I see not everyone has the same opinion as I do, so I will probably give the coaches a headsup before I take her again. But it does show a little bit of the coach's character in the mean time.

 

[GunnerShotgun]

It goes both ways, I don't feel sorry for wasting the other coaches time. If you want to hold a tryout for "serious inquires" only than put that down on the advertisement for the tryout.

We went to some tryouts in the fall even though my DD was already on a team. The first one was looking for a catcher only. They didn't mention this until the 3 hour tryout was over. A lot of parents were upset by this. Not one coach apologized for wasting the parents time.

 

[Momo'sDad]

I gotta disagree with this. I preach to my kids that every day is a tryout. Inevitably you have some players who tear it up early, establish a starting role, then get this attitude that they don't have to give 100% anymore. I coached a team last year that had a lot of success at 10u (six tourney championships including ASA State, and three runner up finishes). I knew that a few would be staying down for another year at 10u and I wanted my returners to be challenged. When I posted "all positions open and must be earned", I meant it.

As to the OP. Was it unethical? Probably. I don't think you should beat yourself up over it though. There are much worse things and now you can't say you didn't know. As a coach, I have gotten to where I can recognize certain players who are there to "practice to tryout". Some do this just so dad can enhance dd's resume and tell everyone, "yea Suzie got 7 offers so you should feel special she's playing here"..... We have one dad in our area who's nickname is "Resume" for that very reason.

Then you have the other dad we had last year who brought his daughter to tryout. She was the caliber player we wanted and when I called the next morning to make an offer he explained that he was head coaching another team and wanted to know how to run a tryout! OMG at least he was honest (sort of).

That's a bit unethical, but also flattering if you look at it that way. Because of the way new teams and the transition from rec to TB are generally handled in this area, our situation was a little different from a lot of families since DD was on an 01 team for the fall. It was just the core of the summer rec all-star team that added some more rec players and continued on for the fall. The HC of that team didn't want to go back to rec, so he's started a new TB team with most of that group.

During the fall tournaments, both she and I got a chance to take a look at some of the other teams out there and mom got to interact with some of the parents from other teams.

Prior to signing DD up for this tryout cycle, I contacted each prospective coach with a few questions. How many players are they looking for? What sort of tournament schedule will they play? etc. Now, the dilemma is that she has ruled out a few teams, but is already registered for their tryouts. She feels she is honoring her commitment by not no-showing those teams. Would you say I'm wrong in supporting her on this?