Tryouts when injured

[KPower]

DD has been invited by a couple teams to attend tryouts.

Problem is...she was injured in a game 6 weeks ago and has been unable to play since then. Earlier this week she was finally given the go-ahead to start transitioning out of her walking boot. Obviously she is far from 100%. I'm sure the team she is currently playing for would take her back (she's played with them for a couple years), and *I* am leaning that direction - but DD wants to go to tryouts for the experience - and to see how she stacks up against the competition. She really has no fear or anxiety of tryouts - she just gets out there and does her thing.

So - what to do? Take her to tryouts and see how she fares? Obviously the teams who have invited her have seen her play, and at least 2 do know she was injured. Or take her and explain the situation (I struggle with this option because although she has a legitimate injury I don't want it to seem like I'm making excuses for her - I do honestly believe that she would make any of the teams who have invited her to attend tryouts if she was 100%). Or just skip tryouts this year and stay with her current team? Decisions, decisions.

 

[Little Angels Softball]

If they know her, the injury should not matter to them one bit. Just tell them her condition and ask if they'd like her to go through the formal tryout in a somewhat compromised state or if they would prefer her to do a private tryout after she's regained her strength. As a nice little by-product, the answers you get here should tell you volumes about the teams you're considering, as well as let you know how they feel about your DD.

I have never held an injury against a kid unless I thought it might be career-threatening. I really do my homework on every kid, though, and I know what each are capable of long before they ever step foot on one of my fields for a tryout.

 

[KPower]

Thank you! At least 2 of the teams know her very well - from softball.
One of the other teams knows her thru other sports and knows what kind of athlete she is.
One team was a surprise to us...we didn't know they knew anything about her.
I like the advice about gleaning info from how the teams respond to her injury. I have to remember - we have to like the team as much as they like DD.

 

[Little Angels Softball]

One team was a surprise to us...we didn't know they knew anything about her.

I would stick a feather in the cap of this team right off the bat. It shows they do their homework.

The thing to remember when making your final decision is not only that DD has to like them .... also remember that she will have a better experience on a team that really wants her rather than one that chooses her because that is what they need to do to make numbers or because she happened to score one or two points higher than another girl on some stupid form they all have on their clipboards.

As long as everything else meets your expectations, a team that already knows it wants her before she steps on the field is a great place to start.

 

[cuzmail]

LAS is throwing out solid advice today

 

[corlay]

*BUMP*

How did this all work out for your DD?

I ask, because my 11U DD finds herself in a similar position.
Injured her ankle (small fracture in Fibula/Talus growth plate) this past Monday.
Had to miss her season-finale 12U quasi-Nationals this weekend (FastPitchShowdowns in Columbus, OH)
Not a good week. :-( But she's handling it as well as can be expected...

Injury is not too serious. Walking boot for 2 weeks then a re-eval with her Ortho Doc.
Doc has full-confidence that she will recover 100%, once rested and healed.

Problem is, she plans to move up to 14U for the 2015-2016 season, and all the tryouts are next week.
Coming up from 12U, some of these 14U coaches are not familiar with her.
The coach of her preferred org is the least familiar...

Hoping they will allow her to tryout privately, once the Ortho Doc gives her the green light to play.
But as a 1st year player, moving up early, I'm not sure how much patience a coach may have to wait around for her.
I know coaches like to set their rosters as soon as possible, or risk losing prospects to other orgs.
Being a pitcher probably further complicates things.

 

[daddiox2]

Wow, I could have written the original post except with DD it was not a boot, but a knee. Right now she is not even ready yet, probably two more months of PT and strengthening. I'm struggling with making the rounds at all, or just waiting until after HS season and picking up. First priority is to get healthy, but its nice to know there is a plan for after that.

 

[KPower]

*BUMP*

How did this all work out for your DD?

I ask, because my 11U DD finds herself in a similar position.
Injured her ankle (small fracture in Fibula/Talus growth plate) this past Monday.
Had to miss her season-finale 12U quasi-Nationals this weekend (FastPitchShowdowns in Columbus, OH)
Not a good week. :-( But she's handling it as well as can be expected...

Injury is not too serious. Walking boot for 2 weeks then a re-eval with her Ortho Doc.
Doc has full-confidence that she will recover 100%, once rested and healed.

Problem is, she plans to move up to 14U for the 2015-2016 season, and all the tryouts are next week.
Coming up from 12U, some of these 14U coaches are not familiar with her.
The coach of her preferred org is the least familiar...

Hoping they will allow her to tryout privately, once the Ortho Doc gives her the green light to play.
But as a 1st year player, moving up early, I'm not sure how much patience a coach may have to wait around for her.
I know coaches like to set their rosters as soon as possible, or risk losing prospects to other orgs.
Being a pitcher probably further complicates things.

Ahhh - very much the same injury - except DD wound up tearing some ligaments in her ankle as well. She has been out of her boot for 2 weeks now, but is very well taped and wearing a lace up ankle brace whenever she does anything active. She is a catcher, center fielder and 1st baseman - so other than 1st base she is pretty limited right now.

Before tryouts even began DD decided she wanted to stay with her current team - but she did decide she still wanted to tryout for other teams for the experience. She ended up attending all but one of the tryouts she was invited to. The coaches were all aware that she had been injured and took that into consideration. It was a little frustrating because she is the fastest girl on her team and she was definitely not running at full speed. Her injury also affected her batting because she is still favoring her back ankle. Normally she can both slap and power hit, but at tryouts she was not great at either. Thankfully the coaches she tried out for already knew what she was capable of. She was offered positions on all the teams she tried out for - and was actually even offered spots on 2 other teams as well (with no tryout). So I guess it really didn't affect us in a negative way. I guess I can only say - communication with the coaches is key.

Good luck - and quick healing vibes sent your DD's way!