re: Youth Coaches - Cutting a Player

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stop coaching not worth the drama

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True. Not so bad in football where you can hide some of your less than talented within the 22 that get on the field on O and D, plus Special Teams. Can only imagine dealing with it in baseball.

I agree with the poster that says talk to the parents now. Partner with them to find another team for the kids.

you will be dead to them, they might even actually try to kill you

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There are two or three kids on my team this season that will not be able to make the team next year - they just can't keep up.

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what even happens if you win at all costs? Get a shitty trophy to put on your dresser. It's youth baseball man.

I can tell you summers playing in city leagues were a whole lot funner than summers spent in usssa

I always pick the parents first. If you are going to spend all your summer weekends with them I would rather have good parents to hang out with. Saves a lot if drama and problems. Our team played in several state championships and won a 14 year old USSSA World Series.

When I was 11, I played 11-12 y.o. football. I was a safety/running back. I hated playing running back, but I loved playing safety -- mainly because I got to hit the some of the SOBs that were hitting me. During "preseason" tryouts, I was a little bummed out because the coach's son also played safety. I was much better (bigger/stronger/faster) than the kid, but he was a 12 y.o. and, more importantly, THE COACH'S SON. I figured that the coach would try to soften the blow of starting his son over me at safety by giving me more running plays and saying that he needed me to be "fresh" as a running back.

Lo and behold, our coach actually cut his son on the last cuts and I started and played safety every play of the season.

I had never seen a coach actually cut his son in 7 or 8 years I played playground ball, but it was the right thing to do.

Here's how I handled it. I coached youth baseball for 16 seasons.

The first thing you do is you send an e-mail to the parents and you let them know that you're wiping the roster clean and you're holding tryouts for the next season. I did this going from 11-12 level to 13-14 level, because the field size changes and not everyone is cut out for the bigger field. Most of the parents of the kids who are not up to snuff see the handwriting on the wall and cut themselves. Some don't. In the e-mail make it clear that just because you have SPACE on the roster doesn't mean you are going to fill that space. You are looking for minimum qualifications to fit the roster slot.

Then you get on the phone and start talking to players you are interested in bringing on to your team, and encourage them to try out. Also check with your league for any players looking for new homes, and start circulating the word that you're holding a tryout.

Now, this is how you make a proper cut of a player:

The first thing you do in a tryout is time them at 60 yards. Record the data.

Have them do fielding drills. Record data on arm strength and accuracy, fielding ability, position knowledge.

Give them all 10 pitches to hit. Record data on contact and power.

Let any and all pitchers pitch. Record data on throwing power and accuracy.

Ask all players if there is any drill they wish to repeat. Let them hit again if they think they screwed up the first time around. Let them run again if they think they were off their game. Record data.

You see the pattern, right? Record numbers on everyone. And when you make your cuts, you have data backing up why you are cutting someone. You are being fair this way.

Have every coach on the team keep data and together you make the call on who makes the team and who doesn't.

Something else you can do is invite a veteran coach to the tryout who has no relation to your team whatsoever. Have him evaluate your players using the same system you use, as an audit. That way you can ensure your own fairness and demonstrate to any challenger that you are attempting to be as unbiased as possible. He doesn't have to have a say on who makes the team, but that's up to you.

When you cut a player, send him an e-mail within one day that looks like this:

Dear xxxxxx,

Thank you for trying out today with the (team name). We appreciate your interest and your hard work today. We had a good tryout and it was difficult to make a decision on the final roster. At this time, we do not have a roster spot available for you. In evaluating your performance at the tryout today, our coaching staff had the following observations:

Strengths: You showed good speed and good knowledge of your position.

Areas to work on: Our coaching staff suggests you continue to work on your hitting for contact, throwing power and throwing accuracy.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me at xxx-xxxx. I would be happy to discuss your tryout further with you.

Our staff wishes you the best of luck as your further your baseball career and we look forward to seeing you on the diamond again soon.


That's how you do it.

But will you be able to keep those friendships intact? Highly unlikely. They will know that you ran a fair tryout, though. And you will have the numbers to prove it.

Data, data, data. It is your friend in building a roster.

Good luck!

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Youth Coaches - Cutting a Player Here's how I handled it. I coached youth baseball for 16 seasons. The first thing you do is you send an e-mail to the parents and you let them know that you're wiping the roster clean and you're holding tryouts for the next season. I did this going from 11-12 level to 13-14 level, because the field size changes and not everyone is cut out for the bigger field. Most of the parents of the kids who are not up to snuff see the handwriting on the wall and cut themselves. Some don't. In the e-mail make it clear that just because you have SPACE on the roster doesn't mean you are going to fill that space. You are looking for minimum qualifications to fit the roster slot. Then you get on the phone and start talking to players you are interested in bringing on to your team, and encourage them to try out. Also check with your league for any players looking for new homes, and start circulating the word that you're holding a tryout. Now, this is how you make a proper cut of a player: The first thing you do in a tryout is time them at 60 yards. Record the data. Have them do fielding drills. Record data on arm strength and accuracy, fielding ability, position knowledge. Give them all 10 pitches to hit. Record data on contact and power. Let any and all pitchers pitch. Record data on throwing power and accuracy. Ask all players if there is any drill they wish to repeat. Let them hit again if they think they screwed up the first time around. Let them run again if they think they were off their game. Record data. You see the pattern, right? Record numbers on everyone. And when you make your cuts, you have data backing up why you are cutting someone. You are being fair this way. Have every coach on the team keep data and together you make the call on who makes the team and who doesn't. Something else you can do is invite a veteran coach to the tryout who has no relation to your team whatsoever. Have him evaluate your players using the same system you use, as an audit. That way you can ensure your own fairness and demonstrate to any challenger that you are attempting to be as unbiased as possible. He doesn't have to have a say on who makes the team, but that's up to you. When you cut a player, send him an e-mail within one day that looks like this: Dear xxxxxx, Thank you for trying out today with the (team name). We appreciate your interest and your hard work today. We had a good tryout and it was difficult to make a decision on the final roster. At this time, we do not have a roster spot available for you. In evaluating your performance at the tryout today, our coaching staff had the following observations: Strengths: You showed good speed and good knowledge of your position. Areas to work on: Our coaching staff suggests you continue to work on your hitting for contact, throwing power and throwing accuracy. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me at xxx-xxxx. I would be happy to discuss your tryout further with you. Our staff wishes you the best of luck as your further your baseball career and we look forward to seeing you on the diamond again soon. That's how you do it. But will you be able to keep those friendships intact? Highly unlikely. They will know that you ran a fair tryout, though. And you will have the numbers to prove it. Data, data, data. It is your friend in building a roster. Good luck!

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Like a Boss!

SpqrTiger has it right.

But that's assuming you've already determined that the friendships you have here are losing.

Because that is what's going to happen if/when you cut some of these kids.

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youth baseball at a competitive level.

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This is dumb. They are still young and you never know what can happen by next year, they may grow and become better. But it's not worth losing some of your friends due to a kids "competitive" baseball team. Keep them on the team, play them sparingly, continue to work with them.