Been reading the NDA cutting thread and not letting juniors on JV and it lead me to think about the internal debate that most coaches have?

 

How do you make your cut?

 

Personal meetings. Makes the coach feel better but not the kid necessarily.

Post a list with names of the players.

Post an anonymous list with numbers given to the kids so they don't have that embarrassment standing right there at the list and there name is not on it.

Calling them over and telling them as a group, they have been cut.

Telling the whole group, who has made the team.

Running the people trying out till they cut themselves.

 

What do you guys think is the best way.

I just had this conversation yesterday.

 

Bad ways IMO: putting a list up.

Notifying the cut-ees right before practice when the whole team is there.

 

IMO the HC needs to either place a call to the kids that were cut or to email them. We're still talking about kids so we need to be sensitive. Having them come to practice after school and THEN find out they were cut and then have to do the "walk of shame" out of the gym and call their parents for an early ride is simply insensitive at best.

Depending on how many kids you have try out. I think talking to them and giving them the option of sitting on the bench all year and participating in practice.. or being cut are their options. Most kids will stay a few more days so they do not have the stigma of being cut and then simply will stop coming. This gives them a chance to save face and make the decision.

 

Tell them at the time that they must let their parent know about the conversation and also that if they stay with the team then they have a chance to be looked at daily in practice for any improvements. I know many girls who want to play BBall for the excercise and do not really care one way or another about playing time.

 

However if they are disruptive or have attitude problems then do not keep them.

I picked Have group together and call out the names of the ones who made the team because, while it may seem heartless and uncaring, I would personally rather be cut as a group than in some secret meeting, like the coach was embarassed for us. When you announce who made the team, you're saying who the best players are. When you have private meetings on who was cut, it becomes your personal failure. Besides, everyone is going to know you didn't make the team anyway.

I picked Have group together and call out the names of the ones who made the team because, while it may seem heartless and uncaring, I would personally rather be cut as a group than in some secret meeting, like the coach was embarassed for us. When you announce who made the team, you're saying who the best players are. When you have private meetings on who was cut, it becomes your personal failure. Besides, everyone is going to know you didn't make the team anyway.

 

Good point unless there is a small number of kids who will not make the team.

 

What are your thoughts on calling the individuals at home or sending them an email at night?

Good point unless there is a small number of kids who will not make the team.

 

What are your thoughts on calling the individuals at home or sending them an email at night?

And good point to you on small number of kids. If I had to pick my 12 players, and only 14 tried out, I would probably handle it differently.

 

Email is just plain wrong.

 

In the above case, I think the call to home would be fine.

 

I think posting a list is a bad idea unless you have at least twice as many people trying out as there are positions available.

I just went through a situation where 40 kids were trying out for the 12 spots. The hard thing was it is a very deep class. No real super stars but about 25 kids that could actually play. It was very even. A very tough decision to make.

 

When it came down to who to cut and who to keep I guess it just boiled down to size or what the coach thinks the team needs. All of this means some kids got cut that didn't expect it and could make a valid argument for why they should be on the team.

 

Those last few kids cut really took it hard. They new they were good enough but there were only so many spots. In this case I think those kids at least deserve some sort of explaination instead of just seeing a list and finding out they didn't make it. If for nothing else, ecouraging them not to give up. Granted thats a tough thing for a coach to do but I think the kids that worked there butts off deserve at least that much.

And good point to you on small number of kids. If I had to pick my 12 players, and only 14 tried out, I would probably handle it differently.

 

Email is just plain wrong.

 

In the above case, I think the call to home would be fine.

 

I think posting a list is a bad idea unless you have at least twice as many people trying out as there are positions available.

 

I generally agree on email but how is it worse than a list? At least the email is read at home and not before you either a)head to class for the day or b)THINK you're going to practice.

I just went through a situation where 40 kids were trying out for the 12 spots. The hard thing was it is a very deep class. No real super stars but about 25 kids that could actually play. It was very even. A very tough decision to make.

 

When it came down to who to cut and who to keep I guess it just boiled down to size or what the coach thinks the team needs. All of this means some kids got cut that didn't expect it and could make a valid argument for why they should be on the team.

 

Those last few kids cut really took it hard. They new they were good enough but there were only so many spots. In this case I think those kids at least deserve some sort of explaination instead of just seeing a list and finding out they didn't make it. If for nothing else, ecouraging them not to give up. Granted thats a tough thing for a coach to do but I think the kids that worked there butts off deserve at least that much.

Seems like this is a no brainer and school should field two teams.

 

Or are you talking about football and not basketball?

Seems like this is a no brainer and school should field two teams.

 

Or are you talking about football and not basketball?

 

Basketball.

My caveat to my vote for the anonymous list would be that the coach be available for call/meeting of explanation of what player did or didn't show during tryout.

Voted to post list of names. Seems kinder than the option of having the announcement made in front of the whole group. Would be nice if the coach was available later to tell the ones who wanted to know why they were cut what they could improve upon for the future. I thought personal meetings would be time consuming and also sort of awkward.

 

This isn't something I've put a great deal of thought into because my kid's school doesn't hold tryouts for anything beyond the academic teams and school plays;)

Having a personel meeting with the player to be cut is kinda in a way better then any thing else. Not an easy decision for any coach to do.

Face to face meeting with the player or players is IMO the best way to communicate this information. Grant it, cutting a kid is not an easy thing to do in the first place.

Why is a face-to-face meeting better? It makes the coach feel better but in my experience it made the student feel worse.

 

When it was good was when it was initiated by the player.