Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 2nd grade DS tried out for a travel select team this week (no longer in DC area), and they rotated a group of about 70 kids (25 make it) from station to station. My kid was paired with a peculiar group - one kid who was a ball hog and never passed, one kid who kept flinging himself on the ground and tantruming and crying, then my DS and one other boy. Tryout was pretty much a washout for my kid. Blah. Feel bad for him.

2nd grade??

This means nothing, absolutely nothing.

If your kid was better they would have taken the ball.

LOL, um - that is not how this works. They are looking for positional awareness, not hyperactive hogging.

In 7 year olds? No, they really aren’t. They’re looking for your kid to be faster and more
Competitive and beat the other kid to the ball

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 2nd grade DS tried out for a travel select team this week (no longer in DC area), and they rotated a group of about 70 kids (25 make it) from station to station. My kid was paired with a peculiar group - one kid who was a ball hog and never passed, one kid who kept flinging himself on the ground and tantruming and crying, then my DS and one other boy. Tryout was pretty much a washout for my kid. Blah. Feel bad for him.

2nd grade??

This means nothing, absolutely nothing.

If your kid was better they would have taken the ball.

LOL, um - that is not how this works. They are looking for positional awareness, not hyperactive hogging.

So Maradonna tried out with your kid. No wonder they didn’t pick em.

Anonymous wrote:My 2nd grade DS tried out for a travel select team this week (no longer in DC area), and they rotated a group of about 70 kids (25 make it) from station to station. My kid was paired with a peculiar group - one kid who was a ball hog and never passed, one kid who kept flinging himself on the ground and tantruming and crying, then my DS and one other boy. Tryout was pretty much a washout for my kid. Blah. Feel bad for him.

Never do a tryout. Email the coach of the team and ask to bring him to a few practices.

Anonymous wrote:My 2nd grade DS tried out for a travel select team this week (no longer in DC area), and they rotated a group of about 70 kids (25 make it) from station to station. My kid was paired with a peculiar group - one kid who was a ball hog and never passed, one kid who kept flinging himself on the ground and tantruming and crying, then my DS and one other boy. Tryout was pretty much a washout for my kid. Blah. Feel bad for him.

2nd grade??

This means nothing, absolutely nothing.

If your kid was better they would have taken the ball.

Well, sounds like age-appropriate behaviour. Not sure what you were expecting.

I can’t speak for other clubs, but at our current club 2d graders only “try out” for pre-travel and the only consideration is whether the kid seems ready for and enthusiastic about a coached practice, nothing to do with skill level or athleticism.

All second graders are ball hogs if they are athletic and competitive. And, honestly, at ULittle, they’re just picking the athletic and competitive / aggressive kids. They can hone their ball handling skills later if the kids haven’t had much playing experience and they can teach position play and when to pass. They can’t teach being fast, or aggressive, or being hungry to win and they can’t teach being coordinated and strong.

Tryouts for second graders are an absurd concept.

In second grade, there is a kind of expectation that the good kids are ball hogs because they are the most competitive. Team concepts and playing a position come later.

That’s frustrating, OP.

And this is only second grade. There will be other opportunities.

Well, second graders and you’re bashing the competition. I feel bad for all involved.

Anonymous wrote:My 2nd grade DS tried out for a travel select team this week (no longer in DC area), and they rotated a group of about 70 kids (25 make it) from station to station. My kid was paired with a peculiar group - one kid who was a ball hog and never passed, one kid who kept flinging himself on the ground and tantruming and crying, then my DS and one other boy. Tryout was pretty much a washout for my kid. Blah. Feel bad for him.

Being with a ball-hog at the younger ages isn't always a bad sign, I can literally be a good sign. What I have come to learn is some coaches love younger players who are ball-hogs. They are generally revered for loving the ball/ wanting it more. Therefore, they develop more ball mastery skills & talents. I was surprised to learn some Tech Directors want kids to be ball hogs & showoffs at the younger ages to develop their skills. I will say the ball hogs on my U11 kids team have the most skill on the team. Then, they will be coached to pass the ball more at the middle level. (Well lets hope, it does get annoying to see how many times they could have made simples passes -vs- losing the ball dribbling...)

But aside from that, it sounds like your kid wasn't in a very good group. It is hard to play well, when you are in a crap group. (But tell him next time if he finds himself in a lower skill group, to play like hell to get noticed to move back up!)

I will say it is interesting they had stations to rotate kids. If that is the case, it sounds like they were evaluating kids based on individual skills -vs- scrimmaging?

-Better luck next year!

Don't worry. Just have him play where they place him. If he's good they'll move him to the team he belongs on. You've got a long way to go.

My 2nd grade DS tried out for a travel select team this week (no longer in DC area), and they rotated a group of about 70 kids (25 make it) from station to station. My kid was paired with a peculiar group - one kid who was a ball hog and never passed, one kid who kept flinging himself on the ground and tantruming and crying, then my DS and one other boy. Tryout was pretty much a washout for my kid. Blah. Feel bad for him.