Varsity one year... jv the next?

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How often does this sort of thing happen? My daughter made varsity last year and didn't this year? I'm very mad about this and do not know how this happens? can someone explain this to me. I think if you make it one year you should make it the next.

 

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Not necessarily. My DD made varsity as a freshman and this season she knew she wasn't guaranteed a varsity spot. Had to work her butt off again to outplay her teammates and earn her spot. Our varsity coach is out on the field to win and you never know who has been working over the winter to improve and who will beat her out for a position. Coach puts the best 9 on the field period. Probably doesn't happen very often but obviously it does. I don't your DD just stating from our experience. Politics involved maybe???

 

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i think it was all about politics. two freshman made it over my daughter and one of girls dad is a coach. My daughter is a very good player and leader. she is playing jv and the team is poor. she should be on varsity

 

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As hitintothefence said you hope that the coach puts the best players on the field each year. I know in the city were I live that over half the girls from last years varsity team were cut. Not even put on jv. A lot of freshman players replaced them. And thats what you want your HS coach to do, no politics

 

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Sometimes, you have girls who have either worked hard all year to improve their game and/or they have played on tournament teams and played winterball. The grade should not matter, it should be the skill level of the player. Sometimes, girls who have been on the team a year or more do not make the cut one year or are asked to go down on JV. The coaches job is to put the best nine girls out there, regardless of whether they played varsity the year before or not. And yes, unfortunately, more often than not, there are girls who are hurt or angry because of a coaches decision.

 

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Zipsfan5, I mean no disrespect at all but I can tell you from experience if a head coach allowed parents to decide who starts then there would be 15 starters.

If your daughter was outplayed by an incoming freshman without and bias, then I would say that your HS has a decent program. The fact that the head coach allowed compitition to exist regardless of class normally leads to a good team.

If on the other hand it is as you say, then welcome to HS sports at one of the schools that is typically not competitive. They are sometimes easy to spot.

 

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This is really tough, even on the coach. ?It is our job as coaches to put whom we consider to be the players that will best help the varsity win, on the varsity, just as any starting spot can be up for grabs. ?I replaced a senior returning starter this year by a better freshman. ?I have a couple girls on varsity this year who aren't going to play this summer who will probably be replaced next year by freshmen. ?

By no means do any of us who coach enjoy making such moves, but hopefully all or at least most of us carefully evaluate the players before making these decisions.

Many times, and I have seen this in my own 2 kids, adversity brings out the best in the players. ?They will work so much harder in the off-season to make sure that something like this doesn't happen again. ?It's not easy looking for this silver lining, and in many cases it won't even be realized for a year or two.

Good luck to your daughter. ?The best thing she can do is go out and prove the coach wrong. ?Too many players these days give up instead and make the coach's decision look easy.

 

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Have her go out on that field and play to the best of her ability. Coach may realize or hear from JV coach that she is varsity caliber and be moved back up. They may be looking at attitude also. I tell my DD "no matter how bad your team may be YOU go out and play the best that you can because you never know who is watching". Has worked to her advantage in another sport. Are the freshman that made the team quality players?? We had a girl last season who's father coached and his DD still made the JV team.

 

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I have a lot of respect for a coach who makes a decision to place a former varsity player on JV for the better of the team. I have seen a lot of situations where loyalty to a player hurt the team.

I wish your daughter the best. Hopefully the coach also doesn't keep a player on the team for the whole season when another player has shown great improvement.

 

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Any H.S. coach, (Or any coach at all for that matter) who selects his roster on anything but skill is in my opinion an Idiot and has to be a terrible coach. I know that sounds harsh, but it has to be said. Some coaches think that just because a girl is a junior or senior that they automatically belong on the varsity team. That is the mind of a foolish coach. The best 9 girls should be on that field every game regardless of age, grade, politics, ect. I have seen parents whine to the coach about their DD's playing time and the coach gives in as to not make anyone mad. Again, this is a poor coach. A good coach would tell the parents that their DD has to improve her game before she makes the starting squad and if the parents or players don't like that they can hit the bricks. I know the truth is hard to swallow, but sometimes parents just have to keep trying until it goes down.

 

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This situation usually occurs when there are several players of similar abilility on the team and a coach has to decide where each player can help the program, ?not just the varsity team. ? I have never seen an obviously superior player passed over in favor of a lesser talented player except in travel ball. ?My experience with hs sports is limited to the school my children have attended. ? There was always second guessing of the coaches placement of players, ? but the pitcher who threw 90 mph was on varsity no matter what grade, ? the player who had a legitimate shot at hitting a homerun every at bat was on varsity no matter what grade. ? ?The 8 pitchers that could throw 75 mph and the 15 average hitters / fielders are placed as needed and may be moved up and down. ? For the most part it seems that schools that have competitive programs operate this way. ? The schools that divide there teams any other way can usually be found at the bottom of the standings in their league. ? Travel ball can be a different matter different teams have different objectives. ? Some teams exist to win every game and go to highly competitive national / college showcase tourneys, ? other travel teams exists so that the coaches dd can pitch every inning and play ss when she wants to.

 

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The only advice I can give is watch the grade classes coming up!! Varsity is just that. The 9 best players are selected (They Will be on the field and at bat) and the bench is formed around that. So your a Sophmore or Junior. A Freshman coming up is well prepared. Nothing is a given. Work hard to overcome any threats. This is part of becoming a young adult which many older adults face every day. Competion not only against the other team but also among teammates. The real world.


Jeff Klopfer
Classics 12U

 

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timec4, sounds like some bad experiances in travelball, hope that the HS season is better for you!

 

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No Bink, ?no bad experiences. ? I don't think there is anything wrong with different types of travel teams as long as everyone knows the teams objectives. ? My main point is that there are good and bad in both hs and travel and most times the best teams are the best because they do things the right way.

 

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Looks good in print, but when time comes for the true reality of what is in fact happening out there, it isn't always as clear cut as people think. I agree with playing your best, but then do it. Play your best of what you have today and not what might be tomorrow.

 

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This might be a slightly unpopular view, and believe me is not aimed at anyone. I would like to put forward the view that the best 9 players might not make the best TEAM. While there is a lot of individuality to this game, it is still a team sport. You can only have 1 pitcher with the ball at a time, one catcher etc. TEAMS also require leadership, this means there have to be players willing to lead, and also those willing to follow. You see players that don't want to fill roles that are necessary for a team to be successful, certain positions, pinch hitting, base running, bunting. Periodically you see posters on here and other sites criticizing High School and travel ball coaches and advising players NOT follow their coaching. Sure there are kids and parents out here that know more then the current coach, but it is my opinion there are a lot fewer then our egos would have us believe.

 

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Let's also all remember that team chemistry is also a factor on a team. We all know that the mental aspect of this game is one that deserves coaching attention. Perhaps the skill of the player cannot outweigh the negative attitude that this player may bring. And, skill does not necessarily translate to hustle either. Without knowing the whole story here, if the coach saw players of equal caliber, perhaps the good attitudes and hustle swayed the pendulum their way.