Going to a Tryout when you don't even know who the Head Coach of the Team is?

[Davemy]

Coming up on Tryout season and It drives me crazy the things I hear months later from parents. Parents that say things like, we hardly practice or I don't like the Tournaments the Coach picked or We are not doing enough Tournaments. The Coach made promises and didn't keep them. I don't like the Budget that was given to me. The Coach is favoring some players. Playing Time issues and on and on.
Am I missing something? There are so many Travel Teams out there, why wouldn't you do your homework? Why would you go to a tryout when there hasn't even been a Coached named for a Team or find out how many openings there are on a Team? Its a long year, why take that chance? I know its a very stressfull time for all involved but wouldn't a good plan and good research make things a lot easier than flying by the seat of your pants! I am a big believer in commitment and when I see a kid quit a Teams in the middle of the season, It drives me nuts! Who fault is it? Most likely its not the kid, and they are the one that suffers. Knowledge is power!

 

[Socal16]

Agree do your homework!!!! Learned the hard way. So glad we found the Ohio Ice great organization with great coaches.

 

[Irish196]

I get what you are saying to some extent. But, if you are late to arrive to the travel softball scene, the whole thing is way more difficult. You don't have a reputation as a player, so that puts you at a disadvantage and if you don't know people playing travel, you don't know who to get honest opinions from. Even if you do your research and pick 5/6 good fits for tryouts, you end up going to tryouts with 40-50 other kids all vying for the same 3 or 4 open slots. And you see a lot the same kids at every try you go to. Oftentimes there isn't a lot that separates the kids from each other skill-wise. So maybe 3 or 4 will stand out- but they stand out at each try out and keep going to tryouts until they get the offer they want. So the other 35 or so never get an offer and at some point think they have to settle for any team just to get on a team.
So that's how it happens that kids get on a team they know little about or that might not be a good fit.
My two pieces of advice would be: 1. Set yourself apart by your attitude. and 2. Don't think the typical 2-3 week tryout season is the only time you can make it on to a team.
Yes, I know it seems risky to come out of August and not have an offer yet, but positions *always* open up - even on very good teams. Some teams get a little "greedy" during tryouts and wait on players that could have been good fits for them hoping to get someone better and then they end up not getting anyone.
The whole thing isn't a science but -as you said- planning and knowledge goes very far!