Tryouts: Guest Play vs make a Team Commitment?

[LetsTalkSoftball]

The tryout's are starting to be posted for everything from brand new teams with open tryouts to private tryouts on more experienced teams.

Rather than just get exposure to a team from a tryout and then be forced to essentially commit immediately after any offers why not:
- Wait for Fall to take shape and see what teams are looking for.
- Tryout but not commit right away. Keep the team on the radar and see if they need Guest players come Fall.

Rather than start paying $$ right away to a team who you may not be a good fit come Spring/Summer, take some time to find that right fit through Guest Play.

Thoughts For or Against it welcome. Just talking softball...

Background is would like to find a new team and there are many choices within a 45 minute drive and lot's more if willing to go 1 hr +. DD is a position player @ catcher 12U, starts on her Club and Travel team. We tried our hand at guesting for a major tournament and was relatively happy with the experience and would do it again.

 

[djcarter1966]

This works if you are a stud and every team wants you. If you are average to good but not great the odds are there is not a spot for you come Spring/Summer, things always happen and you could fall into something but I would not count on it.

If you traveled around last year you should have a good idea from the tournaments you went to 1) where your DD stacks up to the competition 2) which teams you would consider and which one you want to avoid. Talk to other parents and get the real scoop then pick a top 2 or 3 and try out, be up front about their catcher situation as of now and how much time she could expect to play.

and as I've always said I know you said you DD is a catcher but if she is not a pitcher she probably need to be a hitter first, that way if there is already stud at C she still gets playing time somewhere else while she waits her turn or rotates when #1 C is tired or needs a break

 

[grcsftbll]

My DD said if we weren't going to stay on our team she would just want to pick up all fall. She loves doing that. It seems like a good idea to me if your kiddo's strong enough of a player. You get to know the coaching styles, the parents (who can really ruin a team), the girls, etc. I think this is easier for pitchers and catchers to do than most other positions, seems like those are the positions I'm always seeing teams post about needing (at least at 10U, I don't pay much attention to the older groups yet).

 

[HeftyLefty22]

If she is already on a team, why are you looking for another team? Assuming she will not play on her current travel team in the fall while you are looking? Subbing can be fun, but there's something special about the bond that these players develop after playing together all season! Our team did a lot of team-oriented fundraisers in the fall and it was a great bonding time.
Regarding waiting to join until spring, I know our team has already had a lot of players requesting early tryouts, I think if you waited even until early fall there would not be a spot on the team left. Agreed, most teams look at hitting first, so if she is a really good hitter a team might take her late, but I know we would still charge you player fees...

 

[Me_and_my_big_mouth]

The tryout's are starting to be posted for everything from brand new teams with open tryouts to private tryouts on more experienced teams.

Rather than just get exposure to a team from a tryout and then be forced to essentially commit immediately after any offers why not:
- Wait for Fall to take shape and see what teams are looking for.
- Tryout but not commit right away. Keep the team on the radar and see if they need Guest players come Fall.

Rather than start paying $$ right away to a team who you may not be a good fit come Spring/Summer, take some time to find that right fit through Guest Play.

Thoughts For or Against it welcome. Just talking softball...

Background is would like to find a new team and there are many choices within a 45 minute drive and lot's more if willing to go 1 hr +. DD is a position player @ catcher 12U, starts on her Club and Travel team. We tried our hand at guesting for a major tournament and was relatively happy with the experience and would do it again.

Team chemistry and bonding becomes really important as the girls get older. Through some pretty cruddy circumstances that are no fault of our own (teams blowing up), DD has had a different team every year since she started travel 3 years ago. She's 14u now, and playing with a group of girls who have a core that has been together since they were 10u.

DD is perpetually an outsider, doesn't have the shared memories and experiences that the other girls have, and feels very alienated from her team. They are an extraordinary group of girls, and she likes them all well enough, but the next level bonding isn't there for her like it would have been, had she started and stayed with the same girls for years. These girls trust each other, and know each other's strengths and weaknesses. It shows on the field.

We will be encouraging her to stick it out with the same org until she graduates, because there is more to this softball thing than just being on a winning team or getting the right exposure. There's also the leadership, conflict-resolution, and interpersonal skills that the girls all have to learn to be successful in the world as adults - which is frankly more important to us than college scholarships.

Guest playing, while a good way to test the waters, doesn't really help players truly develop like a long term position on a solid team would. There is a ton of work that happens throughout the off season, when girls are working with coaches to achieve goals and work on challenges so they hit the ground running in the Spring. So, unless your DD already knows all the things, and makes friends very easily, and is ridiculously charming, my vote is to find a team and stick with it as long as you can.

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

 

[grcsftbll]

ITA for the long term. But for a couple of months in the fall to try to make a careful decision of which team to join, I think it can be great to do.

 

[CLM265]

Something to be said about getting on a good team that you like early and sticking with it. The little stuff is going to happen on any team your kid ends up on. DD's been on a TB team with a great core of girls and playing in her 4th year now with them. Get unsolicited comments all the time about them playing so well as a team.

 

[#7sDad]

In our area, the best clubs have strong turn out at tryouts. DD's club goes into the fall with a full roster and won't leave an open spot for a stud who may or may not come along. They take the best 12 from tryouts and coach them up during the off season.

Now there are still plenty of clubs looking for players in the fall. But the strongest clubs are much less likely to have a spot for you.

Research isn't a once a year activity. Talk to other coaches and parents at tournaments and scrimmages. Watch how teams play and how the kids and families behave. Look at their websites to see what kinds of tourneys they enter. Who are they playing? Then, you'll have a pretty good idea of the clubs that are the best fit for your family come tryout time.

You know you've found a good fit when DD doesn't even want to tryout for anyone else!

 

[InsidePitch]

Sounds like you're more interested in getting a free season. I'd pass on you if you turned down our offer to try some other teams out.

 

[JAD]

This works if you are a stud and every team wants you. If you are average to good but not great the odds are there is not a spot for you come Spring/Summer, things always happen and you could fall into something but I would not count on it.

This^^^^^^