Making high school team after being cut

[Anonymous]

My kid is in tryouts this week after a long winter conditioning season. The sport is not school-funded so we have a lot of expectations for money we pay and hours we volunteer. We had one round for the winter, and another coming up this spring.

After tryouts each kid meets with the coach individually to find out why they made or didn’t make the team. The coach tells the kids who get cut what needs to improve to make the team next year, and how they can make those improvements over the spring, summer and fall. Other parents tell me this relates to workout routines, as well as learning the craft by attending the coach’s summer camp or other camps.

How likely is it that a kid actually makes a team the next year after being cut? Will the coaches really look at my kid? Won’t the other kids actually on the team jump way ahead of mine? And for camp, could my kid attend a camp near where we summer, or is it be essential to get time with the high school coach learning what he wants.

My kid has never really done sports beyond rec before so I don’t know what to think. When I was young coaches would never keep a kid they cut the year prior, but they also never devoted a 15-minute individual meeting to tell you if you made the team and what you can do to improve.

[Anonymous]

There can be pretty good competition at Langley in the P2P sports.

Tryouts don’t start this week FWIW, and they didn’t even start at the beginning of winter conditioning. They really started last summer. Did you seek out the summer camp THEN and demonstrate your kid’s eagerness and commitment?

[Anonymous]

I live in a very different area, but never heard of a coach taking on a kid after cutting them in the prior year, including one who “encouraged” everyone to attend the camps she ran outside of school for profit. The experience we had was that our kid worked very hard in the off-season, but by the next year the coach had already had her eye on rising freshman and sophomores. And then gave the “here’s the things you need to work on list” again, but with a bunch of impossible stuff the second time around.

I think I would only let my child take on this risk and workload if they were a current freshman AND if the training could be applied to another sport.

[Anonymous]

There is a ton of “depends” to this.

You are describing a “club” activity at your school. Start with who is in the club. Are they all juniors and seniors? Obviously then if the club is to continue they will need to be replaced eventually. What is required to have a good chance of being one of the replacements in the future? Does that seem worthwhile? Is it possible?

For lots of sports there is little physical difference athletically between a freshman girl and a senior girl. But, for the guys that physical difference can be huge. So - things can change very quickly.

[Anonymous]

Just say you’re talking about crew OP

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just say you’re talking about crew OP

If it’s crew, then they’ll have a bunch of novices each year to replace graduating seniors. Coach probably runs a novice boat for each varsity boat. So they’re not going to run short as they’ll always have replacements ready to go.

If your kid DOES make the team, then you as parents better step up to the plate. Say you make the novice crew. Now you need to show you’re worth being part of the team past this year.

So make yourselves essential. Take on a leadership role in the booster club. Volunteer at each regatta; go ahead and take the early AM slot that no one wants. Be GENEROUS in supporting the fundraising efforts. Buy up the fruit baskets and the wreathes and the candy bars and whatever. Buy and share top-shelf liquor and mixers for cocktails at the meets.

And here’s a subtle one: recruit kids from other schools to attend YOUR coach’s summer camp. It’s one thing to attend yourself, but that’s a given. But like with politics, if you’re a BUNDLER, then you get a seat at the table. Or in your kid’s case, a permanent spot on the team.

[Anonymous]

This would be a good question to ask Michael Jordan …

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This would be a good question to ask Michael Jordan …

MJ wasn't cut from the team. He just didn't make the _varsity_ team as a freshman. As a freshman he played on JV and was a star on that team.

[Anonymous]

In a lot of sports, if you're cut you're going to struggle to make the team, because even with doing workouts and focusing on why you didn't make the team, you're missing out on an entire year of team development. That matters. If this is crew, in crew, you can go from worst in the boat to best by working hard, and time matters a lot. Go to some camps to get the on the water experience because ergs don't float, but putting your heart and soul into conditioning and training can make a huge difference. Especially for young teenagers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This would be a good question to ask Michael Jordan …

MJ wasn't cut from the team. He just didn't make the _varsity_ team as a freshman. As a freshman he played on JV and was a star on that team.

You're pretty literal. MJ obviously feels differently about it if you've ever listened to him speak or heard him talk about it in interviews. Most kids I've ever known who have unfortunately encountered the same situation feel similarly. There are lessons to be learned from the experience that certainly could be applicable to OP's kid's situation.

And, yes, OP, if your kid's coach is holding a camp then you certainly should have your kid attend the coach's camp even if it disrupts summer plans slightly. That seems like a no-brainer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid is in tryouts this week after a long winter conditioning season. The sport is not school-funded so we have a lot of expectations for money we pay and hours we volunteer. We had one round for the winter, and another coming up this spring.

After tryouts each kid meets with the coach individually to find out why they made or didn’t make the team. The coach tells the kids who get cut what needs to improve to make the team next year, and how they can make those improvements over the spring, summer and fall. Other parents tell me this relates to workout routines, as well as learning the craft by attending the coach’s summer camp or other camps.

How likely is it that a kid actually makes a team the next year after being cut? Will the coaches really look at my kid? Won’t the other kids actually on the team jump way ahead of mine? And for camp, could my kid attend a camp near where we summer, or is it be essential to get time with the high school coach learning what he wants.

My kid has never really done sports beyond rec before so I don’t know what to think. When I was young coaches would never keep a kid they cut the year prior, but they also never devoted a 15-minute individual meeting to tell you if you made the team and what you can do to improve.

Really depends on the sport. For basketball, I guess some schools could be really competitive and not have a freshman team, so it would be tough for freshmen to make JV. Those freshmen could maybe play AAU and by dint of hard work, hitting the weight room and growing, end up making JV as a sophomore. However, in my experience, at competitive schools the coaches know before tryouts who they are going to have on the team, and they will know the freshmen who will wind up playing JV before tryouts begin -- they will have seen them play in middle school or they will have played summer league.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid is in tryouts this week after a long winter conditioning season. The sport is not school-funded so we have a lot of expectations for money we pay and hours we volunteer. We had one round for the winter, and another coming up this spring.

After tryouts each kid meets with the coach individually to find out why they made or didn’t make the team. The coach tells the kids who get cut what needs to improve to make the team next year, and how they can make those improvements over the spring, summer and fall. Other parents tell me this relates to workout routines, as well as learning the craft by attending the coach’s summer camp or other camps.

How likely is it that a kid actually makes a team the next year after being cut? Will the coaches really look at my kid? Won’t the other kids actually on the team jump way ahead of mine? And for camp, could my kid attend a camp near where we summer, or is it be essential to get time with the high school coach learning what he wants.

My kid has never really done sports beyond rec before so I don’t know what to think. When I was young coaches would never keep a kid they cut the year prior, but they also never devoted a 15-minute individual meeting to tell you if you made the team and what you can do to improve.

Cheesy 80’s and 90’s sports movies do a disservice to parents’ understanding of how coaches shape their teams. Yes, a promising freshman is more valuable than a senior who’s a little better right now. The booster club president has earned a spot for her kid. That’s just how it is, and really how it should be as EVERYONE benefits from her dedication.

Let’s take the story of the new kid in town, who the established kids bully even though the new kid is really good. The new kid struggles against the bullying, beats the odds and eventually joins with the reformed bullies to win the championship.

Now put yourself in the coach’s position. He’s got these kids who have played together since 9U travel. They read each other so well, know how each other moves. They’re invested in each other. In 80’s movie terms they’re a clique, and shedding one will upset the bunch.

But as a coach, if you have five kids for four spots, and four are friends who hate the fifth, then does it really matter if the outsider technically say fourth or third or even second-best? If the others will be mad and hassle the outsider, then the outsider won’t do as well. If the clique is mad at the outsider, then the outsider is a distraction. If you just pick the clique of four, they’ll focus on the sport and you’ll get their max performance, rather than 85 or 90% of a team that includes the outsider.

That’s why you’ll see cut lists that appear “unfair”. The coach has to think about what builds a program, not who scored highest on some drill. So do everything you can to show the coach he benefits personally from keeping your kid on the team. That’s how you can support your kid OP.

[Anonymous]

Mine made a team as sophomore after being cut as a freshman. Worked really hard and increased dedication to the sport. The other factor that went into it was the seniors lost from the previous year and freshman coming in. DC probably was one of the last cuts to make the team, but continued for the next three years. Coach really admired the dedication.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Mine made a team as sophomore after being cut as a freshman. Worked really hard and increased dedication to the sport. The other factor that went into it was the seniors lost from the previous year and freshman coming in. DC probably was one of the last cuts to make the team, but continued for the next three years. Coach really admired the dedication.

Would you mind sharing what you did to support your kid? What kind of skin were you able to put in the game?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid is in tryouts this week after a long winter conditioning season. The sport is not school-funded so we have a lot of expectations for money we pay and hours we volunteer. We had one round for the winter, and another coming up this spring.

After tryouts each kid meets with the coach individually to find out why they made or didn’t make the team. The coach tells the kids who get cut what needs to improve to make the team next year, and how they can make those improvements over the spring, summer and fall. Other parents tell me this relates to workout routines, as well as learning the craft by attending the coach’s summer camp or other camps.

How likely is it that a kid actually makes a team the next year after being cut? Will the coaches really look at my kid? Won’t the other kids actually on the team jump way ahead of mine? And for camp, could my kid attend a camp near where we summer, or is it be essential to get time with the high school coach learning what he wants.

My kid has never really done sports beyond rec before so I don’t know what to think. When I was young coaches would never keep a kid they cut the year prior, but they also never devoted a 15-minute individual meeting to tell you if you made the team and what you can do to improve.

Cheesy 80’s and 90’s sports movies do a disservice to parents’ understanding of how coaches shape their teams. Yes, a promising freshman is more valuable than a senior who’s a little better right now. The booster club president has earned a spot for her kid. That’s just how it is, and really how it should be as EVERYONE benefits from her dedication.

Let’s take the story of the new kid in town, who the established kids bully even though the new kid is really good. The new kid struggles against the bullying, beats the odds and eventually joins with the reformed bullies to win the championship.

Now put yourself in the coach’s position. He’s got these kids who have played together since 9U travel. They read each other so well, know how each other moves. They’re invested in each other. In 80’s movie terms they’re a clique, and shedding one will upset the bunch.

But as a coach, if you have five kids for four spots, and four are friends who hate the fifth, then does it really matter if the outsider technically say fourth or third or even second-best? If the others will be mad and hassle the outsider, then the outsider won’t do as well. If the clique is mad at the outsider, then the outsider is a distraction. If you just pick the clique of four, they’ll focus on the sport and you’ll get their max performance, rather than 85 or 90% of a team that includes the outsider.

That’s why you’ll see cut lists that appear “unfair”. The coach has to think about what builds a program, not who scored highest on some drill. So do everything you can to show the coach he benefits personally from keeping your kid on the team. That’s how you can support your kid OP.

Uh, that DOES sound unfair. Sounds like your targeting the "outsider" b/c the other little jerks on your team don't like him. Even though he's the better player. So, yeah. Unfair. This is HS ball. Not the NBA.