How long do you hold out and at what cost?

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This topic goes hand-in-hand with all the posts of teams looking for .....

I am curious as to what others in the community feel is an appropriate amount of time to hold out looking for those missing players. I understand that it is very different depending on what position(s) you need to fill, the quality of existing talent and the total number of players on the team.

I see a tremendous amount of teams at various age levels looking for #1 pitchers & catchers and several others looking for 3+ players. I was in a similar position this year with my 18u team, I had 10 committed but only a single pitcher (both last year's pitchers aged out). I beat the bushes and was unable to turn up any serious candidates within the time-frame I gave my self.

My time-frame was two weeks after our last tryout. Was that too short of a period to wait?

My reasoning for such a short time period was to allow sufficient time for all my committed players to find another team in the event I was unable to find more quality pitching.

As a coach; do you keep pressing forward in hopes that you fill the position or do you act to ensure that your girls are taken care of?

As a player/parent; do you stick it out with the coach, waiting for those key positions to be filled (with quality players) or do you look for a sure thing?

This is a tough one for many and the only correct answer is what ever works for you personally. Please tell me your philosophy for handling these situations.

 

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You were honest about the situation. I know my DD and I both appreciated it. It is so easy for others (teams/Coaches) to waste your valuble try out time. It certainly spoke to your charactor and there is no doubt in my mind you put the girls well-being first. I think this is alot more uncommon than most care to admit.

 

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The3dm-this is the best post i have read on here in a while, that is great to hear you put the girls first, just wish there were more coaches and orgs out there like you!

 

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Never a coach so speaking as a parent I would say if you are looking for a no1 pitcher at this point you need to shut it down. Only fair to the other players or at least have a meeting and let them decide, all in or go. If my DD was on a team that didn't have a no 1, I would be looking. But I have always made sure the pitching was in place before committing to a team. DD is a catcher so didn't worry about that spot. ha. I'd want at least nine or ten at this point. You can pick up players in the spring.

I don't think two weeks is too short a period.

 

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In total agreement with all of the above. If your pitching/catching/MI isnt set by now I believe your in trouble. All of the top dogs should be committed by now. If your still looking by Sept 1 for the core of your team, then I believe you should give the players an option. The game has become so watered down with all of the teams. I believe any player that wants to play should have that shot to play, but at the same time it holds other organizations up from getting started. We need 2 more but our pitching/catching/MI is set. Just need a couple of players to round out our roster.

 

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I think you did the right thing 3dm. Once September gets here and you are still looking for a #1 pitcher or catcher, you are in trouble. You can't play deep on Sunday with only 1 pitcher.....no matter how good she is.

 

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Doug ... 10 players at this point in time is one thing, but only 1 pitcher or catcher especially at the 18U age level is another issue ... agree that the best thing to do was turn them loose while other teams are still looking ... good topic for sure ...

 

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Jeff, you know first hand where my priorities align. I have always put the welfare of the girls first and I am very proud of that.

 

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Absolutely, Doug ...

 

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I think if you still looking for a starting shortstop at this point you might be in trouble also. JMHO

 

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I know one of the players that was committed to your team. When you chose to shut it down, it was very disappointing to her, but she was able to find a new team. Had you waited till October, her choices would have been much smaller, possibly jeopardizing her ability to play in the summer.
3dm, you did the right thing, but truly its almost unheard of.

 

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unfortunately< I have turned all my players loose 2 weeks ago, when I could not find another pitcher. get that 1 pitcher hurt or jepordize her future, it is not worth it, give the girls a chance and not get them beat up or totally frustrated. there playing days just our 2 short.

 

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I think several years ago, it wasn't a big deal if your roster wasn't 90% set by October because there are always kids that defect after a few practices or scrimmages when the parents realize that (1) maybe the coaching isn't what they wanted for a myriad of reasons including the famous coaches daughter is a pitcher and isn't good, (2) the caliper of talent on the team isn't the best, (3) the teammates don't appear to be very dedicated to softball (something that is really hard to do your homework on and so on...

While that is still true today, the problem is that there are a **** load of teams still looking for these same positions so the odds of your team landing that player are not so good.

If your teams doesn't have at least 2 starting pitchers, 2 catchers, 2 solid middle infielders and at least 10 players by the end of September, you might want to look elsewhere.

Parents on your team will get very nervous if they are still advertising for a #1 pitcher and another catcher or SS in October and your teammates might start to defect- you don't want to be left scrambling.

 

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truly its almost unheard of.

This happened to us after all the tryouts were over, 3 years ago. Our coach had situation come up. Fortunately he found my girls a team w/o tryouts with Ohio Ice. I think this may happen more than we are aware of.