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UPPERDECKER
34 Posts |
 Posted - 09/03/2013 : 12:01:43
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| I am a little amazed and disappointed at the same time at the lack of courtesy that coaches display when they have been contacted about tryouts that they have posted. What I am trying to say is, when a coach makes a post stating that they are looking for players and then someone contacts them shouldn't the coach have the decency and professionalism to reply back saying that their rosters are full and that they are no longer looking to add players? Maybe I am to old fashion and to southern, but I personally believe that it is common courtesy and professional to follow thru with any and all inquiries that are received. Coaches need to remember, that this is the kids game and not the adults. A coach can't coach if they don't have kids wanting to play, and just like a player and their family need to always conduct themselves professionally on and off the field because they one day may have the opportunity to play for a team, the coach needs to remember the same. A player and their family will not want to play for you because of the same reasons....lack of professionalism. It can be disappointing to the public eye because you never know if there are people out there that may have a high opinion of a coach and then when the coach does not have the courtesy to respond to inquiries, it can hurt their level of standard that the player or family may have of them. This post is no way about being disgruntled because my son has a team, but it is a situation that I hear a lot of from other families. It is just to express the disappointment that there are some coaches that are not courteous enough to reply to inquiries about a post they have made. What is some of yall's experiences? |
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coach0512
123 Posts |
Posted - 09/03/2013 : 14:30:10
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For some reason this is the first season I have run into this myself, UD. I don't know if there is a level of cowardice or if it is just becoming the norm to avoid giving bad news nowadays. Or maybe they are still on the fence about a kid and will ride it out as long as they can praying someone better comes along and when the parent complains they feign some sort of issue and ask to see the kid again. In any case, IT IS ENTIRELY UNACCEPTABLE UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES WHATSOEVER TO NOT COMMUNICATE AN ANSWER TO A PLAYER WHO TOOK THE TIME TO WORKOUT FOR YOU.
My kid tried out for a team that was screaming for players and the coach looked at him and another kid at the same time. Then said he would call no later than 10:00am the next morning with his decision. That was 5 weeks ago, still no phone call. I guess he went with the other player and thats perfectly fine, but he should have called NLT 10:00am to communicate that or at least to ask for more time. Nothing.
And before the others chime in, no, it is NOT my responsibility to contact the coach when he missed the 10:00am time. It is HIS responsibility to contact me as he said he would. We communicated by phone and email to set up the tryout so he had multiple ways to connect. He simply didn't. Inexcusable.
Had another team play him in a scrimmage, were very impressed and said we needed to communicate during the week to have my son come out the following weekend and play again. Coach said there was no problem with him joining the team and we would get forms signed and monies deposited the next weekend. No contact with the coach the next day, or next day, or next day. So I contacted him leaving a voice mail and email. No response at all. Weekend came and went. Three emails and voice mails later and still nothing. Completely unacceptable.
So my son went to yet another tryout after declining two other offers and made the team and we are off and running.
Ridiculous and unacceptable behavior by those coaches. |
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SSBuckeye
575 Posts |
Posted - 09/03/2013 : 16:50:53
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| You are both correct. Good coaches are good in all phases of the game, and that includes the administrative part that occurs around tryouts. My guess is that you both were lucky you found this out about the coaches you mention before you committed to those teams, because I'm sure there is a strong correlation between their behavior here and their behavior once their teams form. |
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ABC_Baseball
90 Posts |
Posted - 09/05/2013 : 23:17:12
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I have to agree that there is some level of cowardice in the entire process. Last season my son had some options. We turned down 2 of those options and went with a 3rd. I told the other two coaches that I would call on the Saturday following the tryouts and let them know what we were going to do. I think both coaches thought we were going with them when they received my initial call. Once I told them we had made a decisions to go with another team, they were disappointed.
Last year was the our first experience with travel ball. I gathered from that experience that coaches are not at all use to getting a "we decided to go in another direction call." It seems that the norm is you just don't hear back from the players who you are waiting to hear back from. I will say that goes both ways. There were also other teams that never said anything. Its more or less if you don't hear from us immediately after, we have decided to move in another direction.
For our team this year there were a handful of kids that accepted offers, then decided to back out and our coach heard about it via word of mouth or put two and two together when a call was not returned. I do wish "men would be men" and do business with a handshake and honesty. One of the coaches we turned down last year I consider a friend in the baseball world. He understood our decision and accepted it. We have seen each other a couple of times and always shake hands and engage in small talk. The politics would not be so bad if all parties would just be open and up front. |
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AllStar
762 Posts |
Posted - 09/06/2013 : 12:49:44
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Definitely goes both ways. Certainly everyone that didn't make my teams heard as quickly as I could decide. One time when we as a coaching staff were on the fence, we were trying to decide if we could afford to give our last roster spot to a (pretty good) non-pitcher, I called the dad and told him that we were still finalizing our decisions. By the time we made our decision, he had found a new team. He let me know right away. We decided that we had to have one more pitcher anyway.
Far more often I just got no response. I would wait about 48 hours, follow up, and if I didn't even get an acknowledgement I would move on.
Sure don't miss it... |
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GeorgiaPeach
26 Posts |
Posted - 09/06/2013 : 13:09:38
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| To add to this topic, the biggest scam going on in today's travel baseball regarding tryouts is that many teams are either already complete or nearly complete before tryouts even begin. The coaches of these teams most always say that all positions are open, when in fact nothing is further from the truth. The cold hard truth is this. They want as many people as possible at tryouts in order for these teams or organizations to gather as much revenue as they can knowing full well the majority of the kids trying out have zero chance of making the team. It is disgusting and there are those who will deny that this goes on, but it does today and it will tomorrow. I would love to call out the teams and organizations that do this, but unfortunately this board does not allow such. I just hate it for the parents who have such high hopes for their son making a good team, but not knowing what really goes on behind the scenes. Unfortunately, morals for the most part seemed to have left our society. |
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Canton Chargers
885 Posts |
Posted - 09/06/2013 : 14:53:57
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Yes, this definitely goes on for the reason you mentioned. That being said, I have paid to go to tryouts knowing full well that my son wouldn't be considered and that the team or org was looking for certain spots, but figured that depending on the cost, it would be a good experience in that the kid is getting a workout and trying out for a job. As they get older, it definitely becomes a job no matter how much they love the game. It is an interviewing process, which in life, becomes more and more valuable on how to act and to bring your best stuff. In every tryout I have been to in the older ages, the coaches give a 5-10 minute speech to the parents and say "If you don't hear from us by such and such a date, you probably didn't make the team". Some coaches are more communicative than others. Parents do the same to coaches as far as getting them committments when they are looking. They either don't return contact or lead you on until it is time to pay. It goes both ways, but you have to be realistic with where your son is in level of talent compared to teams they are trying out for. Some coaches post their rosters to let everyone know who made team or not, some don't, as they are still working a parent and waiting for an answer. It's all a game and gives us all something to talk about :)
Good luck to all who are still looking on both ends;) |
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bball2000
39 Posts |
Posted - 09/07/2013 : 22:39:00
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| Agree with Georgia Peach. They have workouts that you have to pay for, no tryouts to it, because teams already set. A scam to get your $$$$. Save your money and toss the ball to your son at home:) |
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Where Did The Courtesy Go?
