Time between tryout and response (offer or rejection) - how long to wait before following up?

[Anonymous]

Recognizing that tryouts look much different than usual, with clubs getting back up and running and many integrating potential players into small group gatherings of current players, how long is it appropriate to wait before following up with the coach? Have one offer but still waiting to hear from several others and don't want to come across as "that" parent to either the club that already offered or the clubs we haven't heard back from yet. First time trying out for travel so I'm slightly clueless...

[Anonymous]

clubs tend to fill out their top team roster then work down to the next level team. I said tend to as of course its obvious some players are not top team caliber or even on the bubble so its easy to insert them on to the second team or dismiss them all together. If your kid has an offer already he/she is likely good enough for a roster spot and the other clubs are just determining what level of team is most appropriate. If for instance she is a decent player and maybe on the bubble for top team the delay might be that they are waiting to see what other players accept offers. If they all do then your kid might get pushed down to the second team. It is very likely not the club that is delaying the process. It is for sure the parents of players that are sitting on offers and have not responded yet for whatever reason.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:clubs tend to fill out their top team roster then work down to the next level team. I said tend to as of course its obvious some players are not top team caliber or even on the bubble so its easy to insert them on to the second team or dismiss them all together. If your kid has an offer already he/she is likely good enough for a roster spot and the other clubs are just determining what level of team is most appropriate. If for instance she is a decent player and maybe on the bubble for top team the delay might be that they are waiting to see what other players accept offers. If they all do then your kid might get pushed down to the second team. It is very likely not the club that is delaying the process. It is for sure the parents of players that are sitting on offers and have not responded yet for whatever reason.

This is OP - thank you! So if we haven't heard anything in a week, would it be appropriate to pulse the coaches?

[Anonymous]

This might not apply to you as this is your first tryout but something to think about going forward....is that if you haven't heard from the club within a few days (3 or 4) after you know the first offer went out, then your kid is in probably the 3rd wave of rolling offers. Do you want your kid to play on a team where he/she is that low on the list? With that said, I really never understood playing for these big clubs with so many teams where you go for a try out and they email you and say...you have been selected for the "3rd team" team. That doesn't tell me anything. I want my kid to play on a team where she is the upper 3rd or quarter...where she will be valued by the coach and teammates. Where her confidence will continue to go. I don't want her to be the best so she is still challenged in practices or at the bottom where her confidence will tank. I want my kid to certainly be in the first wave of offers. Just something to think about.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This might not apply to you as this is your first tryout but something to think about going forward....is that if you haven't heard from the club within a few days (3 or 4) after you know the first offer went out, then your kid is in probably the 3rd wave of rolling offers. Do you want your kid to play on a team where he/she is that low on the list? With that said, I really never understood playing for these big clubs with so many teams where you go for a try out and they email you and say...you have been selected for the "3rd team" team. That doesn't tell me anything. I want my kid to play on a team where she is the upper 3rd or quarter...where she will be valued by the coach and teammates. Where her confidence will continue to go. I don't want her to be the best so she is still challenged in practices or at the bottom where her confidence will tank. I want my kid to certainly be in the first wave of offers. Just something to think about.

This is OP again - thanks for this. I agree. I can clarify that the tryout was earlier this week and I don't know that any offers have gone out from that club yet. The offer we have is from a different club. I was just curious about whether it is appropriate or annoying to reach out to the coach for a status update if we don't hear anything after a week or so post-tryout.

[Anonymous]

My son heard after 2 practices this week.

Clubs will vary. A lot of time current players are holding up the process because they haven’t responded and the Club does not know how many spots are open yet.

Good luck to your son!!

[Anonymous]

Oh- it’s totally fine to let them know if you are facing a deadline with another Club. That’s not being a PIA. It’s a very common scenario.

[Anonymous]

We got a positive/negative within 24 hours. Usually that night or the next day, always by phone call with one exception.

Worst case, One coach called D back 3 times and then gave the negative to me with D right next to me. Never understood why the coach didn't have that conversation directly with D. Acted like D wasn't present the whole time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We got a positive/negative within 24 hours. Usually that night or the next day, always by phone call with one exception.

Worst case, One coach called D back 3 times and then gave the negative to me with D right next to me. Never understood why the coach didn't have that conversation directly with D. Acted like D wasn't present the whole time.

To clarify, the negative was immediately after the 3rd call back on the side of the field.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This might not apply to you as this is your first tryout but something to think about going forward....is that if you haven't heard from the club within a few days (3 or 4) after you know the first offer went out, then your kid is in probably the 3rd wave of rolling offers. Do you want your kid to play on a team where he/she is that low on the list? With that said, I really never understood playing for these big clubs with so many teams where you go for a try out and they email you and say...you have been selected for the "3rd team" team. That doesn't tell me anything. I want my kid to play on a team where she is the upper 3rd or quarter...where she will be valued by the coach and teammates. Where her confidence will continue to go. I don't want her to be the best so she is still challenged in practices or at the bottom where her confidence will tank. I want my kid to certainly be in the first wave of offers. Just something to think about.

This is OP again - thanks for this. I agree. I can clarify that the tryout was earlier this week and I don't know that any offers have gone out from that club yet. The offer we have is from a different club. I was just curious about whether it is appropriate or annoying to reach out to the coach for a status update if we don't hear anything after a week or so post-tryout.

Most tryouts we have seen (and this is on the girls side) over the last few years, the coach has talked to the kids 1 on 1 (or with parents depending on the age) afterwards. At that point you had a very good guess of where they stood. I dont think it would hurt at all to reach out to the coach and ask him/her when they plan to have an answer to you. If they are your number one priority let them know that, and let them know that you have another offer that has a timeframe associated with it. If your player is a priority to them you will hear back quickly I would expect.

[Anonymous]

Bear in mind some kids don’t show well during tryouts-especially if they are more shy and reserved in personality. However, they can shine in games and scrimmages. It can be tough for coaches to evaluate players nowadays with restrictions related to Covid. A player that doesn’t stand out during tryouts doesn’t necessarily mean they wouldn’t thrive on the right team with the right coach.

[Anonymous]

It depends on the club. Be careful who you are signing up for, the club we're leaving is purposefully keep 'sessions' smaller than needed just to hide how few players they have. Talk to the coaches about how many players are in the age groups, teams.

I say this because our (soon to be) previous coach was a little misleading, talking about multiple teams for an 11v11 team but there's only like 8 or 9 committed so far.

[Anonymous]

Coach here -

I realize you don't want to potentially out yourself but it may help to identify club, age group and gender so others can chime in on their experience.

As for general guidance. If this is a club you're already with. I'd say a week is more than enough to hear back, unless they posted an actual schedule of when they will make notices (some especially large age groups can take a while).

If this is a new club, one week is enough time to have gone by to ask. I've seen simple things like typos in emails/phone numbers prevent players from getting a proper invite.

Honestly after about 48 hours, there isn't really a too soon. There is, however, most certainly a too late.

[Anonymous]

OP here - we just heard good news from the club. Thanks all!

[Anonymous]

T Director here -

I normally do not care the young age groups at all. I may follow with only top players I want to grab for U16 teams and above.

my my club has not started supplemental tryout yet. the tryout is for interested plays ongoing bases.

And there are not many good player who do not have home yet.

Sad, very Sad.