What to do when players miss too many practices

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I thought I would ask all you other coaches your opinion on what the best way to handle this situation would be:

We have a player on our travel team that misses a lot of team practices. But, it is not because they just don't want to come, it is because of other sports, practices, or time issues. We have already had discussions about commitment to the team and what is expected of the players, and the player really tries hard when she is at practice, but she is also one of our weaker players and really needs the practice to get better and to gel with the team.

 

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Re: What to do when players miss too many practice

Did she bring up at tryouts about all her other hobbies. ?If she did, and you choose to put her on the team, I feel you'll probably have to deal with it. ?

If not, then I would make her aware, to the fact, that when she took the spot on this team, that it was her first priority, and she needs to start honoring that commitment, or face the consequences of being let go, or having her playing time affected.

 

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Re: What to do when players miss too many practice

If you don't mind me asking.... What age group?

It is just as much a commitment from the parents as the players for the younger ones. Maybe a talk with the parents instead of the player.

 

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Re: What to do when players miss too many practice

what if it is a grades ?issue ?and they miss would it still be a problem??? my dd did not miss a practice until her grades started to slip today will be the 4th practice she will miss inmo it is not fair to the team that my dd can't keep up her part of the commitment to the team . doing what needs done so you can make every practice no matter what it is. sorry just venting a little bit thanks frustrated.

 

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Re: What to do when players miss too many practice

This is a 12U team and it is more the parents signing her up for all sorts of other things, rather than the player herself.

 

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Re: What to do when players miss too many practice

Sounds like its time to sit down, first with the parents, and then with the player to find out what everyone's expectations are.
Certainly the organization has their expectations. ?It sounds like the parents' expectations are not in line with the team. ?Then find out where the player stands and try to come to some common ground. ?

If she and her parents want her to be a "well rounded"person and not dedicate as much time as you beleive necessary to be successful on your team, there needs to be a resolution, whether you all agree with it or not.

You may find that mom and dad are pushing the girl beyond her limits and she will welcome your intervention.

In any event, I believe the best approach is to get all the cards on the table and see if you can develop a solution that will satisfy all concerned. ?If that is not possible, you have 11 or 12 other players (and families) that you must speak for. ?If your team is a social event for her (and her parents), let her know how that will equate in playing time or whether it is totally unacceptable . ?If she (and her family) wants to recommit at the necessary level to achieve success, then work forward from that day.

Best of luck.

 

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I've never been a fan of missing practices at all. When it comes to grades or something like that I would take something else away as to not punish the team! I realize people feel that it's a priveledge and taking it away might teach them to do better but it does not teach them that when you are part of a TEAM that the team comes first. There are plenty of other things to take away for my kid's.even if my DD's don't feel good we still go. I'm sure they knew the committment level when they decided to play?Practice is such an important aspect of the whole experience that I always feel obligated to be there and I want my girls to feel the same way. In 2+ yrs of travel ball my 2 DD's have missed maybe 2 or 3 practices total and the teams we have played with have had practices as far as 2 hrs away at times. Being at practices shows your committment to the team. JMHO

 

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Re: What to do when players miss too many practice

iam not a big fan of it either but i have taken the ipod cell,tv,thought that practice is all that was left what do you do. team does not really come first if this was high school ball grades come then team bad grdes no ball not my rule the schools rule

 

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Re: What to do when players miss too many practice

if it's grades in school ball you have no choice so your right about that! When it comes to travel ball you have 10-11 other families counting on your commitment, but to each their own.

 

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Re: What to do when players miss too many practice

Talk it out. This is travel ball baby! If the ride is to long, gas to expensive, practice to late..........maybe time to make a change. Give them an opprotunity to recommit to the team. You are a coach, you want to coach. In order for this girl to be part of the team, you must be given the opprotunity to mold her as a player. An opprotunity to get to know her strenghts and weakness. A chance to find out if she is an aggressive baserunner or needs direction. You need to learn her swing, watch her throwing mechinics, get inside her head. It doesn't sound like the girl is the issue. Best of luck, its not a good place to be. :-/

 

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Re: What to do when players miss too many practice

I agree with a lot tht has been said on both sides of this subject.

I think players should know that the best nine will be on the field the most. You may have players that come to every practice but are still not in your best nine. I make my players aware that this is not recreational ball and we could add a player the week before the season starts that is better then anyone on the team. If that happens she will be on the field from day one. Now this probably will not set well with everyone but competition makes everyone better not time served.

 

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Re: What to do when players miss too many practice

Interesting! As a parent of a DD playing ball, I would have to say that their are alot of things to take into consideration. Examples: How much notice of practice is being given.. are they regulars practices or spur of the moment ones? ?Location.. is the location to all involved neutral? Where are your practices held in comparison to where they live.. are they week day (school nights/travel time??)... or week ends? ?Is the girl tied up playing other sports for sure? Or possibly going to clinics/training for softball that were previously lined up? Not sure what you mean by the parents signing them up for too many things??? Are there legitimate reasons for her not being there?

Just another thought? Does this just involve one player or more than one? ?Do you really want this player on your team? Would you miss this player? What position does she play, is it filled with out her?

Have you, as a coach, done anything to discourage this girl in any way?? and have you done everything possible to encourage her? Do you have any other coaches, how do they feel?

Depending on age, there are a lot of variables?

Sounds like there may be more going on than shared here? But everyone needs to talk it out, for the benefit of the child.

 

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Re: What to do when players miss too many practice

Thanks to all for your help. As a coach I want all my players and their parents to get the most from the season as possibe without making anyone feel slighted or discouraged. I know from years past when my DD played for another team, she never missed, but another player that played her position would miss alot and just because she was older would get more play time than DD.

I guess the bottom line is that I don't want to lose a team member, but at the same time I am not going to let the dedicated players feel slighted when they sit for someone who is not as dedicated to get play time.

 

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Just my opinion, but those things should be ironed out before a player is given a spot on the team. The occasional extenuating circumstance (death in family, school function, etc.) is to be expected, but violin lessons and the like must be changed to times when there's no softball. This is a team. You're being counted on by others. Letting them down is not acceptable. "Make a choice, or we'll make it for you."

 

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Had a parent claim soccer and family circumstances. Suggested they go to Parks and Rec program. Dad initially agreed, then thought he needed to express himself. Bottom line, they are playing Parks and Rec.

 

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In spite of what everyone says here it usually depends on how good the player is. If it is a pitcher who is the teams best and who is dominate I think most coaches will say "hope you enjoyed your time off" now get in there and win the game, that is unless their dd is the number two pitcher.

 

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Re: What to do when players miss too many practice

I dealt with the same situation last year as a parent and as a coach and its a tough one.

On my daughter's tournament team there was a player that missed almost all of the winter practices but started and played in almost every game. That's a hard pill to swallow when your DD and others who regularly attended practice sat the bench. It's also hard to explain to your DD go to practice and work hard, it will pay off when to her it didn't. (In the end attending those practices did make her a stronger player and in life not everything is fair but try explaining that to a 12 year old )

On the local travel team, I had Sally No Show who made maybe 3 practices before the first game because of dance, ect.. When I put her in to at least get an AB and an inning in the field, the young lady that I took out was in tears and the other members of the team were chirping in the dugout about how unfair it was and that they didn't even know Sally No Show was on the team. To top it off Sally No Show's mom sent me an e-mail after the game berating me for not playing her daughter more. > I explained that Sally didn't know the signs (which had been sent out in an e-mail a month before the first game) and really didn't know her position and that it wasn't fair to the others to play her alot when she hadn't practiced much but Sally's mom was a pain for the rest of the season.

Bottom line is this, expectations have to be made clear that practice is important. Certainly, there needs to be exceptions for illness or church or family activities but these should be the exceptions rather than the rule. As a coach you have an obligation to all of the girls on the team. (This differs from the parents who are ususally concerned only with their DD) I'm sure some of the girls on your team have given up/missed other activities because of their commitment to the team. I know I've told my DD more than once that she couldn't attend a sleep over because she had to be up early for practice the next morning. I'm sure she's a nice kid but her mom and dad need to know that your team is not a third or fourth option of her laundry list of activities.

Hope this helps.

 

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Re: What to do when players miss too many practice

Like I posted before, I think that there is information in this and probably many other situations that isn't posted here. For example, if a coach decides there will be no practices during a time period, there is nothing wrong with a player doing other things. Whether that be taking lessons for softball or playing another sport, etc. If a coach later decides to have practices, during said time... well then I think that the coach needs to be flexible.

Again, I think that an open table conversation for these situations could resolve alot.

 

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As a travel ball parent, our lives revolve around softball 24/7. This is what we choose as our recreation,as our summer vacation, as our friends. A team must be a team. Minus nobody. It is very hard to organize everyone, reserve fields, order uniforms, line up tournements and keep everyone happy. All coaches really ask for is bring your kid to practice, sit back, relax and watch the team grow together. It may take awhile to get used to the concept of Travel Ball and all the sacrifices involved by an individual and a family. Once you get in a rythmn it is a beautiful thing.

 

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Ask yourself what would you do if it was your best player or one of your top pitchers and she had a great attitude but it was just a matter of being over loaded by her parents or other activities. It's always easy to find a reason to replace weaker players. Will her schedule ease up once summer is here. I've struggled with basketball all winter. It's the nature of the beast in the Midwest where many kids are multi-sport athletes.