Open Tryouts

[Sam]

Guys

I have been to some big name 18gold tryouts just to see how they conduct their workouts and have seen all 3 tryouts with all their returners working out with the newbies...are they wrong? I don't think so. All I am saying is as a parent coming out to a tryout and evaluating the team, seeing a few returning team mates screwing around and making comments is counter productive. I wasn't the only parent commenting on this issue.

Your initial comment seemed to be at the 12U level. Gold is a totally different game. Returning players are more of the exception than the rule....lots of different variables....competitiveness of the team....# of comitted players....# of signed players coming back to play after freshman college year....# of graduated players not returning. These girls are pseudo-professionals at this point in their softball careers.

You might want to tell us what level you are speaking of next time before we waste our time responding to a totally different subject.

[Demonboy]

I think that Sam has hit this one right on the head...We have held tryouts the last 2 weeks and I had all 11 of my returning players attend the tryouts. Most came for both tryouts and 2 came for 1 and one was out of town for both. We had an additional 13 girls there plus my returners so it was busy.

I instructed all my returners to have fun and make it a relaxing time for all the new girls. My returners did all the drills but when I was low on time, I would skip my returners at bat or defensive play. I don't plan on bringing all 11 of my girls back but it was important for all to see the talent level of my team as well. You want the girls and their parents who are trying to see what kind of team if they don't know your team. We're not all big name organizations so we have to sell ourselves and our team in general.
If it's all serious and absolutely no fun, that may rub some people the wrong way....Save the seriousness for practices and games, tryouts should be relaxing...It's tough on the girls!

You had girls you don't plan on bringing back attend your tryout? You just used them as window dressing for your tryout?

Oh I love that.

[Demonboy]

Guys

I have been to some big name 18gold tryouts just to see how they conduct their workouts and have seen all 3 tryouts with all their returners working out with the newbies...are they wrong? I don't think so. All I am saying is as a parent coming out to a tryout and evaluating the team, seeing a few returning team mates screwing around and making comments is counter productive. I wasn't the only parent commenting on this issue.

What teams?

[softballmafia]

Sam

WE TRYED OUT FOR 14U. I have in the past sat at 18g tryout for viewing expierence just to see what these top gold teams look at....thanks for all your insite.

[narent]

I don't plan on bringing all 11 of my girls back but it was important for all to see the talent level of my team as well. You want the girls and their parents who are trying to see what kind of team if they don't know your team.

This may be just me speaking from personal experience, but I think it's better to let the girls know that they won't be asked back instead of putting them on display as "Last Year's Models". That way, they can do something better with their time than be at a futile tryout. Perhaps they could be attending another tryout instead.

[hotwheels]

Demonboy,

I have 2 girls in particular that I have some concerns regarding attitude and committment. It's not that I have no intention of bringing them back but it is up in the air right now. I was up front with both of their parents and explained to them that I wasn't set on bringing their daughter back and I needed to see some major improvement in certain aspects of their behavior. Nothing has changed with these 2 girls in 1 month off obviously so at this time I was mainly looking at their behavior if that makes sense.....

[Sam]

Sam

WE TRYED OUT FOR 14U. I have in the past sat at 18g tryout for viewing expierence just to see what these top gold teams look at....thanks for all your insite.

The top Gold teams don't have tryouts, per se. They invite the kids they want on the team and then compete amongst themselves for players. Doesn't compare to 14U.

By the way, it's "insight."

[dustyshoes]

In contrast to the goofing off experience mentioned above, DD's very first 12u TB tryout was completely different.

The team was an A level travel team but I thought there was a possibility of a fit for DD since the existing 12u team was aging up together, the 10u team was young and struggled and the sponsoring rec league had been in decline for the past couple of years. I emailed the coach to ask if it would be worth his/our while to attend since DD was fresh from a 10u rec all star team and hadn't even touched a 12" ball at the time, to which he encoraged us to come.

It turned out that the org went to the free agent market both for it's coaches and players. The kids, even more so than the coaches, were all business. They weren't particularly friendly or hostile to DD or each other, they just kept to themselves and worked all the stations. I said hello politely to anyone who acknowledged me but mostly kept to myself as many parents knew each other and chatted about how relieved they were to be free from last year's team which happened to be the most well known, nationally recognized travel org in the area. I thought DD did very well for her ability under the circumstances but she was clearly the youngest kid there with the least refined skills and both of us thought it wouldn't be a fun team to play for in the unlikley event she was offered a spot on the roster. I thought it was good experience for DD and I was glad it was going to be an easy decision to make or not even have to make.

As we were leaving I heard the coach tell another parent he knew that he thought he would be finalizing his roster in the next week but then I noticed they ended up adding another tryout.

[Ace]

I don't plan on bringing all 11 of my girls back but it was important for all to see the talent level of my team as well. You want the girls and their parents who are trying to see what kind of team if they don't know your team.

This may be just me speaking from personal experience, but I think it's better to let the girls know that they won't be asked back instead of putting them on display as "Last Year's Models". That way, they can do something better with their time than be at a futile tryout. Perhaps they could be attending another tryout instead.

Just because you dont "plan" on bringing them back doesnt mean you are going to cut them. I have players on my team that may not make the cut after tryouts, but the also might be better then everyone who shows up. Sometimes your players are better than you think they are and it takes an open tryout to reinforce that. Other times the new players are head and shouloders above your borderline players and the parents need to see that. Running a tb team is hard, if you dont cut the questionable players, the top players will leave. I care about all my players, but if you are the parent of a player who is the 11th 12th or 13th kid on a team, its not up to the coach to tell you to tryout for other teams.

[hotwheels]

Well said ACE