Would you take a player at tryouts that didn't play her for HS team?

[DanMaz]

Would you take a player at tryouts that didn't play for her HS team?
Since we have all this talk about "red flags" to college recruiters for any girls that may choose to not play softball at their HS...

How do you look at it as a travel ball recruiter / coach at tryout time?

does this even come up as a interview question during tryouts? and what weight does it have on your decision to take her? Or is it just a get to know you question like "what HS do you go to?"

this should be interesting especially when you consider all the different scenarios like teams that need 1 or 2 players or teams that need 5... or positions like this player is a really good pitcher or SS or lefty slapper etc.... i have my guess and will save it after we see what others have to say. but if you need a player... hmmm... LOL

 

[CoachB25]

There are some very good home schooled players out there so I wouldn't automatically rule a player out for not playing on a HS Team.

 

[CoachTEA]

I would want to understand why, but it does raise a question.

 

[Simpsoj]

OK, I've been reading some of the HS vs no HS ball and I have a question or twenty. Is a tryout strictly about talent/ability/potential? I'm all for talent but I've seen/been on some teams with a bunch of talent that never produced on the field. WHY?? Is it that all elusive "team chemistry" we hear about? Talent will take you a long way but if you aren't playing for the team.....how will you produce on the field, long term? Yes, team building events are nice but do they work for everyone?

As a coach, do you conduct interviews with the players? I certainly would!! Take a little time to get to know each player, why they are there, what they hope to gain, what's their ultimate goal AND (in my opinion) the most important part of the interview, can I work with her. Is her personality right fir MY team?

Personality won't win too many games on its own but 10-12 personalities with talent is the team I want. They'll grow together, learn together and support each other....you know, have that all important chemistry! I'll take a team full of girls who fight for each other, play for each other who work hard, are coachable and want to get better over pure talent ANYTIME!!

As always.....just my $.02 worth!!!

 

[CARDS]

We had tryouts to look for the best talent available that also had support from the parents.
Its hard to do a profile of a players contribution to a team outside of talent at a tryout. But, you can look for how a player warms up, hustle and see how they encourage the other players trying out. Parents talk and sometimes the side bar conversations with other parents they do not know can be more of a red flag.


If they are a player that will help you win I would not turn them away just because they did not play HS ball. I most likely would encourage them to start doing so.

More of a red flag would be a team hopper or a player with parent issues and, more often than not, I pass on them.

 

[daboss]

There are a host of reasons---------------respectable reasons why a kid would not be playing school ball but I would ask the question and expect a solid answer as to why. Anything less than common sense reason would have me grading her pretty close as well as monitoring the family situation to insure no parental issues would plague the team or staff over the summer. I would go as far as putting them on probation the entire year with the option to release them at any time without warning. My radar would be on alert but I would treat them fairly until I was sure there wasn't something hidden inside. A travel ball quality player not on a school team should expect the questions.

 

[bucketime]

Absolutely.

 

[CoachTEA]

By all means I would interview the player, the parents, and I would probably do a little background check with other coaches and players. I am very fortunate that my daughter plays for coaches that I truly like and respect, but there are high school coaches in southwest Ohio that I would not want her to play for. I know a kid locally that isn't playing high school ball because of the coach and she signed to play D3 ball. Skipping high school ball raises a concern, but it isn't an absolute deal breaker. Heck there are several very good travel players electing to take a pass on playing for that clown.

 

[coachtomv]

There are many things that would keep me from choosing a player at tryouts. Not playing high school ball would be low on the list, but I'd be curious as to why.
A player and families character means more to me than anything and sometimes we struggle to find that fit for our kids/team. I'd have more respect for a family that supports their kid in finding the right team fit, than to do it because its what everyone else wants them to. There is a difference between a team jumper, because you don't get your way and working to find the right situation for a player and a teams success. It may take a few attempts to find it and some never do.
My 2 cents.

 

[Dynamaterdad]

I would surprise me and disappoint me if my daughter wasn't given a tryout because she doesn't play school ball. My dd is homeschooled and while she doesn't play for the local HS, she practices 5+ times a week plus pitching/hitting lessons as well as any available practices the coach has for her and the other girls who don't play school ball. She puts her time in because she loves what she does and wants to get better and better. When we talk about tryouts, I am assuming that we are talking about college level tryouts. I do not worry about travel teams as she already has a spot and has had for several years on the same team and we have no reasons to look elsewhere

 

[justplay00]

Would you take a player at tryouts that didn't play for her HS team?
Since we have all this talk about "red flags" to college recruiters for any girls that may choose to not play softball at their HS...

How do you look at it as a travel ball recruiter / coach at tryout time?

does this even come up as a interview question during tryouts? and what weight does it have on your decision to take her? Or is it just a get to know you question like "what HS do you go to?"

this should be interesting especially when you consider all the different scenarios like teams that need 1 or 2 players or teams that need 5... or positions like this player is a really good pitcher or SS or lefty slapper etc.... i have my guess and will save it after we see what others have to say. but if you need a player... hmmm... LOL[/QUOTE

I don't think it's relevant. Not every player fits the same mold, diversity is beneficial. There could be simple reasons, maybe they just like the competitiveness of travel ball, the schedule, traveling, maybe they see HS as not as challenging or have a daddy ball situation in HS. I would evaluate the player for who they are and not overcomplicate it. At the end of the day, you want a player that loves the game and wants to get better.