Question for high school coaches

[Wubbamom]

I have a question about high school ball.
When your team does not travel over Spring Break have you ever had a player that wants to travel with their family over spring break? What if they are missing a few games? How do you handle that? Are they penalized when they return? If so, what is in your opinion a fair penalty? Thanks for your replies.
If they have to sit the equal number of games they missed, do they still sit if the games were cancelled to be made up later due to weather or field conditions?

 

[Jae13]

Our staff just had this exact conversation tonight at practice. So if a girls misses three games due to vacation during spring break, when she returns she will sit for three games.

 

[raidian70]

I made the kids do extra conditioning, plus take individual work to make up for the practices missed. However, missing games required a sit out of games for as many as they missed, just like Jae13 said in his post. It might cost you a few extra wins, but missing games was a pretty big deterrent for my kids. I only ever had to do it once in 6 years.

 

[GeneralsDad]

We took our first family vacation in 8 years last spring. The only time we could fit it in with everyone's schedule was spring break. Unfortunately games started the same week. The punishment was to sit a game for every game missed, and run 1 mile for every practice missed. Regardless of what I feel is fair, the punishment is what it is. I don't believe most coaches are trying to be extreme, yet there has to be some cause and effect in place to keep others from abusing the system. The team is hurt the most. My DD sat for 3 games, but the team missed her for 6.

 

[Converse Kid]

There has got to be some sort of guideline in place for the well being of the team. My DD had a girl on her travel ball team that missed the first three games of the season and practices because either her or her family did not want to make the long out of state trips (her excuse was she was still playing travel basketball). As soon as our schedule resumed back in state the girl started showing up for the tournaments only and not practices. The Coach not only played her, but sat two other starters as well because he said she was our best player and gave us the best shot at winning. It created a lot of animosity not only from parents, but from the players as well. Have your guidelines set before the season starts, and let all the players/parents know the penalties.

 

[coachjwb]

I always struggled with this issue. When I was assisting in high school, our head coach had the same rule as mentioned above ... miss a game, sit a game ... and if I were coaching high school now, I probably would go with that as well. But I just hate the idea of penalizing a youth (and potentially her team) for vacationing with family, but I don't know what else to do. One question to ask yourself is whether you would feel any differently if the high school's star boy's basketball player missed games during Christmas break for the same reason. What is fair to them, the team, and to the players who passed up on a vacation to keep their school team commitment? I hope others keep posting to hear more thoughts and ideas ...

 

[CARDS]

There has got to be some sort of guideline in place for the well being of the team. My DD had a girl on her travel ball team that missed the first three games of the season and practices because either her or her family did not want to make the long out of state trips (her excuse was she was still playing travel basketball). As soon as our schedule resumed back in state the girl started showing up for the tournaments only and not practices. The Coach not only played her, but sat two other starters as well because he said she was our best player and gave us the best shot at winning. It created a lot of animosity not only from parents, but from the players as well. Have your guidelines set before the season starts, and let all the players/parents know the penalties.

I do not think you can really compare Travel ball to High school ball with this.
In travel ball it should be the family vacation playing softball and the commitment should be 100% especially; in your better programs where you have ladies looking to get a chance to step in as the team plays every game to win and has the horses to do it.
Having a lady miss practice or tournaments impacts both programs but in my mind when a player agrees to a travel team their parents understand the investment in time and money and I have found most adjust their work and vacation schedule to make sure the ladies attend the events.
In HS ball not so much... There are parents that cringe when DD says she is trying out. Some players have to pay their own fees, get their own equipment, get rides to and from school and rarely have anyone attend their events. Heck, I remember a D1 playoff vs. a CMAC school where the opposition had one coach 10 players 9 dressed, no fans and had to get the bus driver to coach 1st base. It?s just not apples to apples.

Now I will say that some High School programs are stacked with a great feeder program and have ladies ready to step in if another cannot go however; these are very few..
Most HS programs struggle to field a competitive team and they only get 20 or so games a season (if they are lucky) to see what that team can do come playoff time.
If you have a program with a history of winning attendance is most likely never an issue same with the perennial league bottom dwellers as in both cases the talent pool is even.

It is the middle of the road teams where the sit policy hurts the team and this is the majority of the teams. I think there should be penalties for missing but I struggle to understand how it is fair to the others on the team to not to try and put the best product on the field every game at the varsity level. Especially; since in most cases the absence is not due to the fault of the player.

Now DT, and school discipline are a totally different story...

 

[Supertech]

What about the girl that rarely gets to play? Do you sit her as well? If she is a "bench" player and she misses a game that she wouldn't play in anyhow? I could see this if she has a starting position.

 

[Wubbamom]

Thanks for your viewpoints. What about if the games that week are cancelled (as they are a lot ) is the girl just penalized for missing games or just for missing practice?

 

[coachjwb]

Great question ... I guess whatever the usual discipline is for missing a practice?

 

[brownsfan]

If we miss a practice during Spring Break, the ball player sits a game. If they miss a game, they sit two. If a game or practice gets cancelled, then no penalty.

Some were fine, others weren't happy.

 

[crystlemc]

You could always move to our district. Our kids don't get spring break. They get Good Friday and the following Monday. That's it.

 

[Wubbamom]

Ok so one more question- how are the players informed of the rules? Is it when they tell
the coach about the trip or is it in a handbook or at the first
practice? Does it apply to all sports?

It seems most have the same policy so how do families find out
about the rules ? What if there is no handouts or parent meeting?

 

[raidian70]

Ok so one more question- how are the players informed of the rules? Is it when they tell
the coach about the trip or is it in a handbook or at the first
practice? Does it apply to all sports?

It seems most have the same policy so how do families find out
about the rules ? What if there is no handouts or parent meeting?

No handouts or parent meeting? I guess if you are going to enforce the rule, you better have these things. As to all sports, I coach football also and our head coach says if you are going to miss a game for vacation, don't even bother coming out for the team. And that was my argument, "Would you ask (insert coach of another sport here) to miss a game for vacation? If not, why are you asking me?"

 

[CARDS]

Ok so one more question- how are the players informed of the rules? Is it when they tell
the coach about the trip or is it in a handbook or at the first
practice? Does it apply to all sports?

It seems most have the same policy so how do families find out
about the rules ? What if there is no handouts or parent meeting?

We have a meet the team night.
Pizza Pop and Boosters...Ah...
After the Varsity coach presents the Varsity team and the Booster rep talks about why you need to join the boosters the teams break out. Then each coach addresses the parents with rules expectations etc. This is where you will be asked or told when you need to work concessions, scoreboard, score book, TV games etc.
You also get your parent contract...Please sign and retun ASAP....

 

[Hilliarddad3]

Ours didn't care if they went on. Family spring break with no penalty..... The ones he didn't appreciate was when the kids would go Spring Breaking with other kids only......

As a parent who let's their High School kid go on a Spring break alone anyway with no parents?? Nothing good can come out of that..... Yes I know they are only a year from college Spring Break, but still......

 

[CARDS]

Ours didn't care if they went on. Family spring break with no penalty..... The ones he didn't appreciate was when the kids would go Spring Breaking with other kids only......

As a parent who let's their High School kid go on a Spring break alone anyway with no parents?? Nothing good can come out of that..... Yes I know they are only a year from college Spring Break, but still......

You would be amazed how many kids are raising themselves these days.
In the travel softball community we are kind of sheltered where most of the ladies have parents that are actively engaged in the lives of the girls.
During spring break 2006 I had 5 seniors picked up at the US- Mexico border when they thought it was a good idea to sneak in with one of my students that had family in Mexico City. They told their parents they were going to FLA. Ages 17-19 no way I would allow anything like that but for some of the kids today they pretty much have the freedom to do anything they want.

 

[backstop09]

I guess it just depends where your softball priorities are. If you schedule your vacation in mid August, you'll avoid HS conflicts, travel ball Nationals, and the beginning of the school year.

 

[Run26]

Spring Break vacations are so rampant in our HS that the AD stopped scheduling games for the whole first week of baseball/softball season. We live in a small community and it just kills the teams attendance when half of them are missing.

It solves the missing games punishment but they play almost every day in the month of April just to catch up.