Team Tryout Philosophies

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I wrote this in response to a post in the teams recruiting section, but I wondered what the masses thought.....

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Just an observation - as the kids get older the showcase type teams will be looking for committments from January through December. Because of the lead time required to enter the fall tournaments you really need to have your roster, and funds, in place before the normal August tryout time. A team may still fill in some gaps in the summer - but I would think the strong teams would be set and ready to go in the fall. I don't know about up north, but the fall down here is a huge recruiting season these days. As the sport continues to change I think you just might see the older teams getting rosters set for the year in late December and early January.

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I assume that the normal tryout time period for most teams follows the National Tournament Schedules. Do teams see this changing, or will we just get to the point where there are two tryout dates - main one in August and a fill in in December/January?

I know many top teams don't have official tryouts - especially the older ones. Players workout for those teams by invitation only, but the younger ones must still follow the old pattern, right?

Poll allows multiple selections

 

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I prefer completing in the August if possible. Not always the case.

 

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Mark ... I am coaching 12-U, and as long as pretty much everyone continues to have tryouts in August, we have no choice but to do so as well, so that's how I "voted". With that being said, I've never been crazy about the whole August tryout thing for many reasons, and I think it will be great to debate this subject some. I don't have a chance right now to offer my thoughts, but will do so in the next day or so.

 

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If I had a vote I would vote for no tryouts until September 1st. Give everyone a month to relax and refuel.

Plus I could then get a weekend or 2 at a cabin on the water and forget about the world for 9 days straight.

With tryouts the 2nd-3rd weekend in August all of August is pretty much shot. Prepping and planning. Say you do second week (no rest) you then have to have a team meeting and get deposits the next weekend. Once you have done that then I guess you could just shut down for a few weeks.

I am so happy my oldest is in HS. That will be a nice break from travel. Although the younger 2 will be playing it just seems like a lot less stress.

 

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I don't see the main tryouts changing to Dec/Jan as suggested for the following reasons:
1. Many 18u teams have to replace players they lost to college and this ripples down to other teams.
2. Other teams with a mix of birth years trigger a lot of player movement to realign with next year's age groups.
3. Championship play is a stress that leads to a lot of turnover after Nationals.

Having to pay entry fees way in advance happens for the Summer season too. We had to pay our entry fee this Fall for the Louisville Slugger (Boulder) showcase/tourney next Summer. Which Fall showcases require payment prior to September? I expect they were the more exclusive ones.

The year is broken down into 2 seasons by a lot of teams out here with some more player movement after the Fall. Our team has a separate budget for the Fall and payments were structured just for it. The coaches are going to sit down with each family at the next practice to discuss what they see the player's role being for next Summer.

From what I've seen, Northern Cal goes through another tryout season after the Fall season.

 

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SoCal - down here it is definately going the route of two seasons rosterwise. I have always been a little different so we stay with one roster from Jan to Dec. Obviously we have to fill openings after the summer and again after the fall season, but for the most part we do ok. I don't know about up north or in Cali, but the normal tryouts usually stop at most 14u teams. After that it is mostly team workouts and invitational tryouts. PersonallyI have never liked the cattlecall tryouts. As a coach it ****s telling kids and/or parents that you won't be taking them.

 

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I personally do not like invitation only tryouts.. Wouldn't you miss a great athlete you can mold?

My older daughter didn't like softball till 14U and if everyone would of went invitation only she would of missed out.
Also, trying out for top teams gives you and DD a perspective on where you are as a ball player. Although do to lack of experience she didn't make the top teams she knew she could compete with them with hard work. Getting a 2nd look when she was younger gave her hope to continue.

Hopefully not all top tier teams go invitation only... They may miss out.

 

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I personally do not like invitation only tryouts.. Wouldn't you miss a great athlete you can mold?

My older daughter didn't like softball till 14U and if everyone would of went invitation only she would of missed out.
Also, trying out for top teams gives you and DD a perspective on where you are as a ball player. Although do to lack of experience she didn't make the top teams she knew she could compete with them with hard work. Getting a 2nd look when she was younger gave her hope to continue.

Hopefully not all top tier teams go invitation only... They may miss out.

I wouldn't sweat it. Pretty sure this was a poll for fun. If anything change-wise I'm seeing teams doing unofficial tryouts by invitation in July (drama: Oh yea!) instead.

 

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In our case we advertise our needs and then I personally talk to the parents about the player. If they are interested in us they will call and talk - not just show up and hope to get noticed. It is different at the younger ages I admit.

I personally do not like invitation only tryouts.. Wouldn't you miss a great athlete you can mold?

My older daughter didn't like softball till 14U and if everyone would of went invitation only she would of missed out.
Also, trying out for top teams gives you and DD a perspective on where you are as a ball player. Although do to lack of experience she didn't make the top teams she knew she could compete with them with hard work. Getting a 2nd look when she was younger gave her hope to continue.

Hopefully not all top tier teams go invitation only... They may miss out.

 

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Agree 100% with Blue Ice on this. We would have missed girls both last year and this year had we not had tryouts and gone by invitation only. We certainly don't know everyone out there, and how do good, moldable players otherwise get an opportunity to take things to the next level? And I also agree with the point that going to tryouts give the player and their family a chance to get an idea to see and hear how the team will be run, and the level of talent on the team.

I also agree with Spartans that a break would be ideal, and with SoCal that the long summer season and Nationals on the back end of that can cause a lot of drama and stress, which gets magnified because everyone knows tryouts are right around the corner and can be downright cancerous if some people start talking about leaving. A "cool down" period would definitely be great.

I also am not a believer in 12 months a year of any sport personally. Kids and families need a break, and I think the Fall after the summer season is the best time to do this, at least at the younger ages. If somehow the world could change and tryouts could be here in December, I think that would have many benefits, and also increase the likelihood of keeping a team together from January through July.

 

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I wouldn't sweat it. Pretty sure this was a poll for fun. If anything change-wise I'm seeing teams doing unofficial tryouts by invitation in July (drama: Oh yea!) instead.

My girls are playing in college and committed.. Just pointing out getting a second tryout to laser white when DD just started gave her desire to play and get better. Also, she knew than she can play with anybody.

Although large turnouts for 2 position isn't ideal you get to see what it takes to play at next level.

 

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Okiedad ... pretty sure you are referring to our tryouts and, if you are, you don't have all of the facts. We had all of our returning girls who were interested in staying come to our tryouts, not all of whom we were sure would actually stay with the team (a couple didn't), and we did invite a couple of other girls who we were pretty sure would make it. But we went in knowing we needed still another 3 players who we did in fact pick up from these tryouts that we otherwise would not have identified. Yes, as we openly discussed with the parents that first evening, we had a lot more girls show up than we had anticipated, and so we encouraged everyone to tryout for other teams because we obviously couldn't keep the vast majority of those who had shown up. But I wouldn't do anything differently next year and, again, if it's our tryouts you're referring to, we will just have to agree to disagree, because I'm pretty sure those families are happy with the team right now and glad that they had the opportunity to tryout. Our coaching staff goes above and beyond in communicating to our parents, and being transparent with them.

 

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If I had a vote I would vote for no tryouts until September 1st. Give everyone a month to relax and refuel.

Plus I could then get a weekend or 2 at a cabin on the water and forget about the world for 9 days straight.

With tryouts the 2nd-3rd weekend in August all of August is pretty much shot. Prepping and planning. Say you do second week (no rest) you then have to have a team meeting and get deposits the next weekend. Once you have done that then I guess you could just shut down for a few weeks.

Years ago nobody held tryouts till after Labor Day Weekend. Now with zealous parents and coaches along with fall tournaments using berths as gimmicks to draw teams, we've got families wondering if they want to participate in any school sports in the event they may miss something. The sanctioning bodies could have taken a stand and kept this from ever being an issue but got wrapped up in their own greed to tap a market that in the past was respectfully left alone. Now you have to make choices about your daughter's athletic future a year in advance. I don't envy today's parents trying to juggle it all. I still believe in keeping the kids busy but they still need time to unwind , relax, and be a kid. Again, my job was made easier because of the time period. I still consider myself a young man-----------that's my story and I'm sticking to it! Now somebody help me up so I can go take my daily pills and wash them down with decafinated coffee that comes out of a $200 coffee maker thsat makes the house smell good but the coffee taste like sh**.

 

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It's a TRYOUT people. Are we talking about tryouts?

had an Allen Iverson moment.

 

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With Fall being a big recruiting time for college................isn't it impossible to take the Fall off?....................at least for 2nd year 14U and up.......or is recruiting more about individually going to school camps, queen of diamonds Etc.................

 

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some teams that plan on going to showcases like St. Louis and other big fall showcases need to register WELL in advance for those tournaments.......its not uncommon to have player fees cover those tournaments even if the kids might not be on the team after nationals- its the nature of the beast

 

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If I had a vote I would vote for no tryouts until September 1st. Give everyone a month to relax and refuel.

Plus I could then get a weekend or 2 at a cabin on the water and forget about the world for 9 days straight.

With tryouts the 2nd-3rd weekend in August all of August is pretty much shot. Prepping and planning. Say you do second week (no rest) you then have to have a team meeting and get deposits the next weekend. Once you have done that then I guess you could just shut down for a few weeks.

I am so happy my oldest is in HS. That will be a nice break from travel. Although the younger 2 will be playing it just seems like a lot less stress.

I whole heartedly agree with you. Personally, I think having tryouts the 1st 3 weeks of August is crazy. Not only does it not give the parents and players anytime to unwind and think about the future, but I think it interrupts the team chemistry for the last few summer tournaments. If your team is playing in a World Series or Nationals the last weekend of July or first week of August, I believe having to worry about tryouts as soon as you get back is rediculous. I mean, we train these girls for months and months so that they are ready to play in the end of the summer tournaments and be at their best. The players and families should be able to relax and enjoy the moment at these tournaments. But when you force them to have to start thinking about next year before the current year is even over, I know it takes away their mental focus for the last tournaments of the summer.

 

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For those teams at the age and talent level where they have an eye on true fall college showcases, then my assumption is that the team that played together during the summer would continue right into that season, but my assumption is that this does not apply to the vast majority of girls playing fastpitch at all age and talent levels (<10%??).

 

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I agree a break would be nice. Unfortunately we have competition and the laws of supply and demand which trump all. Nothing is stopping anyone from taking a break but chances are you won't have a team come September.

 

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I agree a break would be nice. Unfortunately we have competition and the laws of supply and demand which trump all. Nothing is stopping anyone from taking a break but chances are you won't have a team come September.

agreed.

Asked our young ladies Sunday, they definitely don't want a break. Surprised I was...