Tryouts vs recruitment

[PA SB Dad]

My buddy and I are forming a 10u select team for next fall (only) and looks like we may have found catcher #2 already. Both of our DDs pitch, and we've got a third pitcher who will get plenty of innings. Six players are already guaranteed spots.

This is the usual formula for how Daddyball teams are formed at 12U and particularly at 14U (ie both coaches DD's pitch, already have guaranteed spots for half the team, blah blah blah).

However, nanotech, I'm on the fence about calling it Daddyball at 10U because you do need to start somewhere, and unless you are part of an established organization, how else do you do it? It is usually the pitchers' dads that end up starting teams at younger ages - have you ever seen a non-pitcher's dad start a new team? I'm sure it happens but I have not seen it yet.

 

[undergroundga]

And about the forming a team with pitchers in place. I guess the thing in question is, are the positions available? Let's say x girl comes to tryout, and she writes down middle infield... but also asks if she can show her some pitching? Does she even get the chance? If the answer is no, and I mean no, as in sure, we'll watch you, but in the back of the head is 'our daughters are the pitchers'... then it is daddy ball. Now, teams have to start somewhere, so having insurance policies in place is a good way to begin, but you should be open to players trying out for the spot you were worried about. If a better player comes along, then that should mean your other player will have to share time now.

I have spent some time thinking about this same thing. My dd weent to 3 tryouts(all we had in 10u). At all she was in the top tier of athletes(not the most oustanding but right up there). She had been learning how to pitch for about 2 mos(so you can imagine where she was at) and wanted to tryout for pitching. So she did and as you can imagine didn't really impress. We never heard from the first 2 teams but the third offered her a spot. They are a second year 10u team and dd plays second base and left field.
I have wondered if trying out for pitcher and not being very good killed her chances with the other teams, especially since her fielding and hitting was above average at the tryouts. Maybe they thought all she wanted to do was pitch, dunno. She likes were she is at who know's maybe one day she will get a chance to pitch.

 

[sluggers]

My point and question is............. If you're putting a team together shouldn't you already know who you want from the area? ( 50-100-200 miles ) Shouldn't you treat it like college/professional drafts or recruitment? Shouldn't you know the positions needed and go after the best talent?

Again, this falls into the "it depends upon where you live" category and the age group.

E.g., in Chicago, there are 10 million people in a 50 mile radius. While you might know all the excellent pitchers at 18U and most of them at 16U, you won't know many of the good to better players. And, at 12U and below, there is no way to know them.

Many times, not even the kids and parents know that the DDs are good. E.g., on my DD's freshman team, I was hitting fungoes, and this one kid started doing over the shoulder catchers out in center. I thought maybe the first was a fluke, but she started catching everything hit out there. She was throwing the ball on the fly all the to home. All she had done was to play with her brothers in the backyard and played a little rec softball. In a less populated area, everyone would have noticed her. But, in Chicagoland, no one had seen her--and she didn't know travel softball even existed.

Another 12U young lady was a hockey player, so she didn't play softball. She wandered into a tryout and found she was an incredible hitter. A year later she left our team to join one of the top travel programs in Chicagoland.

Shouldn't you know the positions needed and go after the best talent?

Right...but, in a large metro area, there are a 100 teams out there all going after the same kids.

 

[Momo'sDad]

This is the usual formula for how Daddyball teams are formed at 12U and particularly at 14U (ie both coaches DD's pitch, already have guaranteed spots for half the team, blah blah blah).

However, nanotech, I'm on the fence about calling it Daddyball at 10U because you do need to start somewhere, and unless you are part of an established organization, how else do you do it? It is usually the pitchers' dads that end up starting teams at younger ages - have you ever seen a non-pitcher's dad start a new team? I'm sure it happens but I have not seen it yet.

He's welcome to call it Daddyball in a derogatory sense. I don't mind and there's a lot of parental support out here for the plan. But unless he (well, not him, of course, but someone else) shows up with a better pitcher than what we have already, no one else is likely to crack the top 3 within the next 6 months. At this age, a lot can change in 6 months, but we do not intend to put unproven players in the circle during a game just to see what they can do. There are other teams available for that purpose.

 

[RookKev]

The first time my dd didn't try out for a pitchers spot, she made the team. Then, when she asked if she could pitch, just so the coach could see what she could do, she made the team. It made me really look at positional play on a piece of paper differently.

 

[GOINGDEEP]

I can see younger teams having tryouts. ( 8u-10u ) So many players to choose from at that age, and still developing at a rapid pace.

I guess I needed to vent last night. I've been trying to help a couple of 12u and 14u guys put a pretty successful team together for 2012. Not an ASA Nat champion, but a solid contender in the states that border ours. ( I'm not involved anymore than just lending a hand with experience, my DD plays 18U ) They keep singing "tryouts-tryouts". And I'm like........forget that and go after girl x,y,z for now. Set your base of 6-7-8 key stud players and THEN plug the final pieces.

Teams have split, girls not happy, wanting to try new things. BANG BANG the time is right to wine and dine, be a salesman, and get commitments!!! But they are just not listening.

I know these girls, they want to be ASKED to play, not tryout. I guess it's a status thing to them.

Am I wrong to be pushing on them what has worked all these years for us?

 

[sluggers]

absolutely not. You are giving great advice.

 

[alexander58]

I believe in tryouts, if you want to be true to the process. Our girls believe they are grandfathered in, so they need to earn their spots. I am uncomfortable with the "wining and dining" of adolescents. I would hope any communication would go through the parents. I had a coach recruiting my daughter (16u) years ago, and didn't appreciate it.

 

[Michael N]

At 16U and 18U you might be able to get away with primarily recruiting girls but their skill set from 8U-14U changes very quickly . Their interests from 12U-14U are changing rapidly also so the girl who was gaga for Softball 4 months ago has now switched gears and wants to be a Cheerleader .

I believe a combination of Tryouts and Recruiting is probably far more effective than just using one or the other . My DD went to a tryout for a team she had no interest in playing for this year just because some of her friends were going . After the tryout the coach approached us and offered her a spot which we postponed due to the fact that she still had another tryout to attend for the team she played for last season . This new coach then proceeded to Recruit my DD by calling and e-mailing us . She answered all of my DD questions and even helped her to identify some of her strengths and weaknesses and had a plan to help her improve her game (all through me) .

When we got to the tryouts for her old team we found out that her coach was moving up with the older girls and she would be getting a new coach for her team . During the tryouts my DD just didn't seem to be meshing with the new coach and by the end of it my DD didn't want to play for the new coach . In the end she chose to go with the Coach who had been Recruiting her , but had she not gone to e Tryout they never would have met .

This of course is just our experience . My DD played Rec Ball up until this past summer and was a virtual unknown to most of the TB teams in our area . There are also a lot of teams forming and dissolving in our area and while many teams seem to have that core group of girls it seems that most are always on the lookout for players 8-11 and girls who's changing desires find themselves looking for that spot

 

[GOINGDEEP]

I believe in tryouts, if you want to be true to the process. Our girls believe they are grandfathered in, so they need to earn their spots. I am uncomfortable with the "wining and dining" of adolescents. I would hope any communication would go through the parents. I had a coach recruiting my daughter (16u) years ago, and didn't appreciate it.

I agree to a point on earning spots. If I'm trying to "produce" a team. I'm trying to teach building a team based on successful experience on individual positions. With years of success at "said" position.

When I say wine and dine. It's the parents I call first. Say what they want to hear, let them know my plan and their DD's role in it. I keep my promise to them because I need them as much as the other girls that make a team.

You HAVE to convince the parents and the DD you need her, cause ultimately YOU DO!! Period.