What were some of the good/bad tryouts you attended

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softball_coach

I was there too- it was crazy. At one point, looked like 3 of their teams on on field, plus the

girls trying out.

The pulse had theirs separate- it went pretty smooth.

 

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It is difficult to find a players range and effort if you make every ball catchable. I find out a lot more about a player when I hit balls that are not easily caught or even possible to catch. I am big on effort(will they go all out, will they dive or will they just give up). I give more thought about the girl who gives it her all on every play than the one who only wants to go for the easy play. I think if they are at these try outs they should be able to catch a routine fly ball, if not they may need to think about working on that. Same goes with infield, if I am hitting balls I almost always give a kid a chance to dive for a ball, if they don't and they are a position player it is probably time to move to the next player. Yes I do know what position they are looking at and push the outfielders in the outfield and the infielders in the infield. It is not about making a player look bad it is about seeing how far you can push them and how they respond. I personally have many people evaluating the players and their parents.

 

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Okay, maybe I'm missing something, but aren't you looking for all around athletes. Girls that can come off the bench and be put anywhere you need them. Not just one position players? Isn't that the idea behind having them field infield and outfield?

 

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Manitou,
Our first experience at the higher level of play, the same thing went through our mind. At 14, Our DD was a catcher and only a catcher at that time. They put her in the OF her first tourney and her and another ran into eachother cracking heads... We said oh **** what did we do??? You know what, over the years we found out it was the best thing we ever did, as when she was needed to play OF, Third, catcher, or wherever they played her, she learned the spots and held her own.

During college visits, most asked what other spots are you capable of playing besides your primary??

Seeing one of our town's kids be OCC player of the year, all state, outright one of the best players in the state back then, go play D-1 ball, but not play her primary position for a few years in college was a true eye opener to what the thought process is.

 

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question --at 14u for a kid who never played more than 6--8 innings of infield and who is trying out for an OF position be expected to field grounders for 15-20 minutes ? just curious --I'm sure my kid could be made to look bad if expected to play any infield spot very smoothly . Would we expect a catcher to pitch ? A SS to catch ? Why expect OF's to play IF ? MD

MD, I guess it all boils down to perspective. As a coach I would never try to make a player look bad, I will try to see what their limits are though. During a tryout I expect all my head coaches, assistant coaches and other helpers to encourage and instruct during the tryout process. This can be stressful enough on the younger girls (especially 13, 14 years old) why make it any worse.

At 14u I have found that many of the players have been convinced that they play a certain position and that is it. Well depending on the quality of the assesment that made her that position to begin with, she may be better suited (physically, agility, ability, etc..) for something else.

I understand what you are saying about a kid that is an obvious outfielder, middle in, corner, etc., but from a coaches perspective I am always looking for depth. We have all the players fill out a profile sheet that includes positions they have played and those that they would like to play prior to tryouts. This coupled with the tryout evaluation has proven to be extremely valuable.

 

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Ok, I understand pushing players and seeing what they can do. What I was getting at is this coach, and you could tell, was just hitting the ball! In an infield drill, you hit the ball to a spot where you can get the player to move so you can glean information! You wouldn't just hit the ball as hard as you can and say" what will she do now". There was no rime or reason to this coaches hitting. One over their heads, next one right to them. No one was observing anything! Just a waste of our time if you ask me! IMHO

 

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Tiger, maybe the coach possibly couldn't hit?? remember they are just Dads, mom's or young adults that love the game as well??

Doesn't sound like a good situation for you, but there are many other tryouts listed as well. I can say, you will see the good, the bad and the ugly...

 

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Tryouts seem to be a crazy time of year, everyone is looking for what they think will be the best fit for thier dd. Alot have said they didn't think they got a fair tryout, as a casual observer of a few tryouts I can honestly say that most coaches can tell in the first 10 minutes if they are interested. While attending ASA nationals I talked to a few Cali coaches, they said they charge 500.00 non refundable just to tryout, you would have to really be honest with your dd's abilities.

 

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Tryouts seem to be a crazy time of year, everyone is looking for what they think will be the best fit for thier dd. Alot have said they didn't think they got a fair tryout, as a casual observer of a few tryouts I can honestly say that most coaches can tell in the first 10 minutes if they are interested. While attending ASA nationals I talked to a few Cali coaches, they said they charge 500.00 non refundable just to tryout, you would have to really be honest with your dd's abilities.

wow!

 

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wow!

I've talked to a few California teams that charge three times that just to try out, non-refundable. Glad we live in Ohio, LOL...

 

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Tryouts seem to be a crazy time of year, everyone is looking for what they think will be the best fit for thier dd. Alot have said they didn't think they got a fair tryout, as a casual observer of a few tryouts I can honestly say that most coaches can tell in the first 10 minutes if they are interested. While attending ASA nationals I talked to a few Cali coaches, they said they charge 500.00 non refundable just to tryout, you would have to really be honest with your dd's abilities.

I agree(not with the $500.00 ) you can tell a lot about the DD's just by watching them warm up! How she throws the ball and how she catches the ball. How she is reacting to the other DD she is warming up with tells you tons of information. I would love just to form a new team, call for a tryout and after a 30min warm up tell everyone thanks and we will let you know! Pick your girls and see how they fair! You might not be in the top 10 in the state but I would bet the $500.00 you would win more then you loose!

 

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While attending ASA nationals I talked to a few Cali coaches, they said they charge 500.00 non refundable just to tryout, you would have to really be honest with your dd's abilities.

Are you saying this is a good idea? What about the girls who ARE solid candidates but their parents just don't have that kind of money? maybe i'm missing something with your comment....are you suggesting that there were alot of girls at your tryout whose parents were not 'honest' with their dd's abilities?

 

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If we could charge $500.00 for tryouts, we could cut 10 players and not have to do fun raisers.

 

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There are many Cali teams that do this. It prevents the masses from attending tryouts. LOL...I agree, no need for fundraisers.

Semperfi....you are dead on. DD attended a tryout and the coach knew who she liked and wanted after about 20 minutes. And yes, this is an elite team.

 

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Manitou,
Our first experience at the higher level of play, the same thing went through our mind. At 14, Our DD was a catcher and only a catcher at that time. They put her in the OF her first tourney and her and another ran into eachother cracking heads... We said oh **** what did we do??? You know what, over the years we found out it was the best thing we ever did, as when she was needed to play OF, Third, catcher, or wherever they played her, she learned the spots and held her own.

During college visits, most asked what other spots are you capable of playing besides your primary??

Seeing one of our town's kids be OCC player of the year, all state, outright one of the best players in the state back then, go play D-1 ball, but not play her primary position for a few years in college was a true eye opener to what the thought process is.

to continue this just a little further --we all know that girls need to feel good to play good (at least up to 15 or 16 may apply at all ages) but if you stick a kid out of position before moving them to their primary spot , and they fail or perform poorly at the start of a tryout it may be all downhill from there. MD

 

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Good Point MD, I think ours had them start at Primary at the tryouts and worked from there...

 

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Ditto. Was the big name tryout in Wellington that we will not venture to again. Those in charge seemed to need a day off-- the stations were the most minimal we've ever seen and the sense that the coaches were going through the motions was tangible. Not quite sure that they were even looking for players-- would've been nice to know beforehand.

Tell me about it. After they hit us outfeild and we all ran into the line on the other side of the feild they had to have mixed up the numbers or something because they asked me what team I played for but they called me by the name of the girl after me. For all the hype they get that was incredibly pitiful!

 

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Hardwork... I would agree with you in regards to the 16u Stingrays tryout. The coach that ran the tryout for the true 16's did a great job, however my dd was there trying out for 15u. We came from another organization, (by the way in which we are happy with, just wanted to get some different experience) and realized almost immediately that there was no point in trying out for this team. You could tell right from the start who the girls were from the previous organization that the new coach came from and who the others were that he had asked to specifically come to the tryout. There are a few things that stood out to me.... The girls were fielding ground balls at ss and throwing back to home and in this situation they were all instructed to backhand the ball, well one of his previous players came up and asked " Do I have to backhand it", the coach replied "yes", she made a grunt sound, rolled her eyes and by the way didn't backhand it. This behavior was displayed in front of everyone. One of the best parts of the tryout were the situationals. When the true 16's were on the field it truly looked like a tryout and they were trying to find the best they could. When it came time for the 15's to do the same, the favortism began. The kids were told to go to their primary positions, well as soon as they started to get a spot, the head coach specifically called out names of individuals he knew and told them where to go. There were several instances where the same 6 or 7 players were allowed to stay on the field and others were not given a chance at all. My dd did have 2 chances to go to the outfield( where she plays) but sitting back and watching this I was dumbfounded. There were girls that never had the chance to even go out and tryout for a position. There was a situation where I personally heard someone say ( a player)"has everyone had a chance to play this position" and the coach called out (to this same player) " No" you are going there. There was another situation where one of his (previous)players was using foul language on 3rd base when she missed a couple balls. My daughter was personally told by one of his players from his previous team (while in the outfield catching fly balls) that he was bringing the girls from his previous team and a few others he knew to make the team. My dd was crushed. The ultimate favortism was when it came time to hit. The girls from his previous team did not even have to show they could hit. They were sitting on the bleachers or in the dug out and some of them were actually on the field behind the pitching machine hanging out with the coach. It was terrible to see the favortism that was being shown to some girls. My heart truly ached for the others because it was so obvious they didnt even have a chance.
Of course my dd would be the one that would want to stay for the second tryout thinking that if maybe if the others left she would be looked at. Well the head coach didnt even attend the afternoon tryout. Terrible!!!!! I have always heard great things about the Stingray organization however things sure did get proven wrong with this one.

We did attend the Laser's tryouts and WOW what a difference.

We were there and I totally agree with everything you said!One thing I'd like to add is that the pitchers & catchers was not even looked at. I saw 2 guys walking(slowly) out to them with radar guns but, by then the majority of the pitchers were done pitching. I think the girls realized why keep pitching if no one even cares enough to walk out & give them a look.Very bad tryout...

 

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Tell me about it. After they hit us outfeild and we all ran into the line on the other side of the feild they had to have mixed up the numbers or something because they asked me what team I played for but they called me by the name of the girl after me. For all the hype they get that was incredibly pitiful!

How about the fact that they wasted about 50 minutes doing outfield and then back to infield and no one was around to evaluate. At that point why did they continue to waste everyone's time. Yeah occasionally some one walk over and asked what number was up, because they were not paying attention. My daughter doesn't play outfield but did amazing, I was surprised with her speed. But, all for nothing though since no one was around.

 

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How about the fact that they wasted about 50 minutes doing outfield and then back to infield and no one was around to evaluate. At that point why did they continue to waste everyone's time. Yeah occasionally some one walk over and asked what number was up, because they were not paying attention. My daughter doesn't play outfield but did amazing, I was surprised with her speed. But, all for nothing though since no one was around.

I know! They prolly were just looking at a few people because there was a girl in my group that was last and they asked her to go first for the sad excuse they called hitting. But I dont think she was in our feilding group at all. And the feilding "evaluator" was off in the clouds most of the time anyway