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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I coached softball. Here’s what I found and what I told parents:

This is travel ball. It is a select team. Yes, we are developmental, but playing time is neither even nor guaranteed.

In doubleheaders and pool play on Saturdays I bat the roster and rotate the defense evenly. Everyone gets an opportunity. That doesn’t mean your kid starts at their preferred position if there are other players better in that spot, but I will look for opportunities to put them there to give them a chance to prove themselves.

On elimination Sunday, however, only the best 9 are starting. And that “best 9” is situational — who worked hardest in practice that week, who produced on Saturday, who hits fast pitching better versus slow pitching (and vice versa). A lot of variables. And that “best 9” might change game-to-game if we advance, depending on the opponent. If your kid is on the bench, I will try to get them into the game, either as a courtesy runner or as a pinch hitter, but it’s entirely situational.

One time we lost our first game and were out of the tournament early. One kid didn’t play in that game. Parents start screaming at me. I looked at them evenly, told them they signed up for this and reminded them of the player contract they signed that, among other things, had a 24-hour rule.

I cut the kid the next day. [/quote]

So you're an a**hole who is incapable of properly assessing kids at tryouts and then gives offers to kids who don't play? [/quote]

If this was communicated up front, I would have no issue with it for older kids, but I think 11u might be a bit too young for this.  Might be different for an "elite" 11u team, but I would not have signed up for that type of team in the first place. DS's 14u team plays to win in tournaments and typically bats the full roster the first game, but then the batting bench shortens. Everyone has an opportunity to contribute, but the best kids in their positions are out there. It's a team sport and boys know they need to earn it. Coaches are not parents so maybe that helps. Regular season games are a little different with everyone batting, but there are definitely kids who play less--specifically kids who can really only play one position well. If you are versatile and can contribute at multiple positions, you will play multiple positions and sit less, but if not, you will get less playing time. Again, I think this is a reasonable strategy for 14u, but I think at 11u kids should still be rotating through positions and no one should be on the bench for more than an inning or two. [/quote]

I'm of the opinion that at 11U, if the coach thinks the kid is good enough to roster, then the coach should play the kid. That's an age where you can make a kid hate a sport by just letting them sit on the end of the bench. Parents have no clue if their 10 year old is good enough or not, all they have to go by is the coach extending an offer. The kid doesn't know, again, they got the offer. At older ages, the family knows if a kid will be on the bench on a team vs starting for another, but everyone is clueless when kids are that young  [/quote]

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