Why do coaches call a player back for a 2nd tryout

[default]

Hello,

i am very new to this forum but i am addicted.. our house loves softball..if we are not watching softball we are watching baseball.. I have a son..we have to. My DD made a local travel team last year.. did great qualified for an 'A' national qualifier..Coach did not take it???

This year..we broke away from the norm of a small town and went to a big org north of ohio and south of ohio and central ohio..

my question... every org asked her to come back..and even one org..apologized for not noticing her in 1st tryouts..his word.. she is a great outfielder and infielder and she has a great attidude and she can slap... and he called me 8 times in 3 days... The north and south tryout we were approached after the 2nd tryout as well and wanted her to be on the team..

why do they have the girls come back.. what are they looking for that they did not see in the 1st tryout..attidude, skills, interaction.. What??

Just wondering I have another DD trying out next year.. Thanks

 

[default]

well first, the "A" National qualifier that you mention was probably to the ASA Eastern Regional. Any team can go the the Nationals, just ask the ASA Commisioner for a bid. Now the USA/ASA Championships, that's a different story.

To be brutally honest, most coaches invite girls back because their first picks elected to go with another team and they are still trying to fill roster spots.

As a new comer to travel ball, you should not be afraid to ask lots of questions. I would ask the coach why your DD didn't get selected after the first tryout.

 

[default]

I'd say 90% of the time it is because their first choice turned them down. I do have a girl come back for a 2nd tryout if all my coaches aren't there to see them try-out.

 

[default]

I don't think that's necessarily true. In many cases, the teams only have 2-3 spots to fill and may have seen 6-7 girls that could fill those spots. They have to make a decision, so they might ask to have them come back so they're all at the same tryout and they can look at them all together.

 

[default]

Since we will be spending the entire year together and hopefully beyond that, we always invite new girls back for 2 and 3 tryouts for various reasons.......lets just say the daughter went to tryouts and was liked by coaches and team but the parents of daughter was not there.....a second visit is required to see if parents are compatible as well.....can't have one without the other.......could be a borderline case where perhaps the coaches want to make sure before making final offer.......whole variety of reasons come to ming without putting too much thought into it.

 

[default]

well first, the "A" National qualifier that you mention was probably to the ASA Eastern Regional. Any team can go the the Nationals, just ask the ASA Commisioner for a bid. Now the USA/ASA Championships, that's a different story.

To be brutally honest, most coaches invite girls back because their first picks elected to go with another team and they are still trying to fill roster spots.

As a new comer to travel ball, you should not be afraid to ask lots of questions. I would ask the coach why your DD didn't get selected after the first tryout.

Spot on. While there's more to making a selection than just talent, the top teams won't let those first round picks slip away. They are snatched up at the first tryout. Playing competitive travel ball requires leaving the rose colored glasses and ego at home.

 

[default]

Spot on. While there's more to making a selection than just talent, the top teams won't let those first round picks slip away. They are snatched up at the first tryout. Playing competitive travel ball requires leaving the rose colored glasses and ego at home.

So true. Heed Sammy's words of wisdom to make travel ball a more enjoyable experience.

 

[default]

For me, if a girls catches my eye on day 1, I want to see her again so I can take a real close look at her. I want our "hitting coach" to watch her. If she is a catcher I want my pitchers to throw to her, and if she is a pitcher I want my catchers to catch her. I want my returning players to watch and talk with her and tell me their opinions. During defensive drills I want to see what her range is. Just as parents should watch coaches closely, talk to others, and ask questions, same with myself as a coach. Seeing her again is my way of getting answers I need. And for me it has nothing to do with her being a second choice. It is actually reinforcing my first choice!

 

[default]

For me, if a girls catches my eye on day 1, I want to see her again so I can take a real close look at her. I want our "hitting coach" to watch her. If she is a catcher I want my pitchers to throw to her, and if she is a pitcher I want my catchers to catch her. I want my returning players to watch and talk with her and tell me their opinions. During defensive drills I want to see what her range is. Just as parents should watch coaches closely, talk to others, and ask questions, same with myself as a coach. Seeing her again is my way of getting answers I need. And for me it has nothing to do with her being a second choice. It is actually reinforcing my first choice!

This is it. Especially if you have a team that is not looking for a bunch of girls. You have to see how they interact with the rest of the girls.

Also, we have brought girls back because we have heard good things about them (another parent knows them or endorses the family) and the girl had a bad tryout. Maybe it was nerves, or we need to see her do some specific things. Often we will have her come to a team practice.

We have never really done the A-B thing. But we are a more localized team so we do not get a bunch of girls. It is usually very obvious who is going to get an offer.

 

[default]

Got to be careful out there. While some of you are holding the Miss America pageant a lot of these good players are getting and accepting offers from your competition!

 

[default]

We would generally try to avoid bringing back anyone a second time ... we think it's important to make sure we structure the first tryout so that we don't have to do this. With that being said, we have had to do this on occasion when we are undecided about someone ... maybe the coaches disagree about the assessment or one of them saw something different than the others, perhaps there is reason to believe a girl had a bad tryout in at least one phase of the game, or when once we have assembled the rest of the roster and think there may be hole that one of the players we had considered earlier might fill.

I have to admit that as a parent, it would be hard not to assume that a DD called back for a second tryout is likely to be more of a borderline/role player, but as a coach, I would say that I wouldn't put her on the team unless I thought she had a chance to contribute significantly and that, once she's on the team, she would get the training and be given every opportunity to be a key player.

 

[default]

Spot on. While there's more to making a selection than just talent, the top teams won't let those first round picks slip away. They are snatched up at the first tryout. Playing competitive travel ball requires leaving the rose colored glasses and ego at home.

Agreed. Often borderline players are asked to come back to allow the coach to keep them in his pocket just in case his next tryout or 2 does not produce the players he is really hoping to get.

Many parents read more into this (especially if the org/team is one they are hoping to make) and they will forgo other offers/tryouts and get hung out. I have seen kids hold out hoping to make their first choice of teams and be told on the last weekend in Aug she was not going to make it.

I tell our coaches that we should make a decision after 2 tryouts or tell them to look elsewhere. This may sound mean but if a coach can not project a kid to better his team after two tryouts to make an offer, then she is probabaly a marginal player and you can usually pick them up in the spring to fill a roster. It is best to be honest and let them go find a team and not pass on a good opportunity while waiting to hear back ...

 

[default]

Agreed. Often borderline players are asked to come back to allow the coach to keep them in his pocket just in case his next tryout or 2 does not produce the players he is really hoping to get.

Many parents read more into this (especially if the org/team is one they are hoping to make) and they will forgo other offers/tryouts and get hung out. I have seen kids hold out hoping to make their first choice of teams and be told on the last weekend in Aug she was not going to make it.

I tell our coaches that we should make a decision after 2 tryouts or tell them to look elsewhere. This may sound mean but if a coach can not project a kid to better his team after two tryouts to make an offer, then she is probabaly a marginal player and you can usually pick them up in the spring to fill a roster. It is best to be honest and let them go find a team and not pass on a good opportunity while waiting to hear back ...

I agree, this is what I see most often.

 

[default]

I've asked players back before because I want to be sure. On the first look there may be other players there and you might get lost in the mix a bit. Additionally I may want to look at them for a more specific position so I'll focus on that during the call-back. And .... I may want to see how the player interacts with the team if the 2nd look is during a normal team practice.

 

[default]

For those that call girls back for a 2nd view, do you let them know at the first try-out that you would like them to come back or is this decision made a day or two after the initial try-out?

I am not picking on anyone's program. I have no dog in this hunt anymore but I do like to remain "in the loop" and help families out that are looking at getting into travel ball.

I would think that in fairness to the girl, you would want to say something at the first try-out that you would like her to come back for a second look. It keeps the girl interested in your program and the communication never hurts.

 

[default]

From a parent/player perspective, this was my take:

A "No invite" (meaning not even a sniff) at the first tryout I always assumed to be a "No thanks". In this case, continue on the try-out trail until you DO get a sniff. This is of course assuming you have prioritized your team tryouts with the most desirable teams first on your list. Don't tell me about the tryout times conflicts either, because a serious coach will always schedule a private session - we did two of them. If a team won't accommodate your schedule, look elsewhere.

An "invite back" always meant to me that the coach was either unsure of her skills, or stringing us along. Either way, once we left a tryout without a firm offer, DD was still a free agent. If we DID receive an offer from team #2, we would call team #1's coach and say "last chance...". Either way, your DD wins - she's not "hung out" and she has a team.

Number one thing to remember is don't take it personally. It's not a popularity contest, but rather a skills evaluation. As such, a lot can be learned about what your DD needs skill-wise to make her top choice team.

 

[default]

From a parent/player perspective, this was my take:

A "No invite" (meaning not even a sniff) at the first tryout I always assumed to be a "No thanks". In this case, continue on the try-out trail until you DO get a sniff. This is of course assuming you have prioritized your team tryouts with the most desirable teams first on your list. Don't tell me about the tryout times conflicts either, because a serious coach will always schedule a private session - we did two of them. If a team won't accommodate your schedule, look elsewhere.

An "invite back" always meant to me that the coach was either unsure of her skills, or stringing us along. Either way, once we left a tryout without a firm offer, DD was still a free agent. If we DID receive an offer from team #2, we would call team #1's coach and say "last chance...". Either way, your DD wins - she's not "hung out" and she has a team.

Number one thing to remember is don't take it personally. It's not a popularity contest, but rather a skills evaluation. As such, a lot can be learned about what your DD needs skill-wise to make her top choice team.

I couldn't agree more with this, this is how I see it as well. I wish ALL parents would read that last paragraph, too many take it personally.

 

[default]

Great comments all - I invited a number of girls back for a 2nd try-out because we were a little overwhelmed by the sheer number of girls who showed up for our first try-out. Maybe it was poor planning and organization on my part, but we had twice the number of girls than what I expected and needed more time to see and evaluate. I also went into my try-outs needing to fill 3 spots and I had prioritized those spots and it was difficult because I immediately saw my 3rd spot, but didn't my #1 and #2. Lesson learned, I let a talented player slip through my fingers. However when I did see what I wanted/needed I didn't hesitate and I was very, very happy with the players we did land!:yahoo:

 

[default]

I was talking with a friend last night this happened to her daughter. The coach the week before asked her daughter to come back for a second try out. Late night before the tryout she gets a call saying they don’t need her to come back. The coach then tells her they are just going to have another tryout for new girls only. I understand a coach wanting to have another tryout because they didn’t find what they were looking for or they weren’t happy with their choices, but I think the way this was handled was just wrong.

 

[default]

We use the first tryout as a filter for what players we are interested in. Second "tryout" is usually for sizing up the parents..as someone said earlier..just being honest.