Lots of informative posts on this thread. I agree that there is no perfect way to tell a kid he can't play a game he loves. But I probably learned the most from CoachB25's post about kids telling him how hard it was for a player to have to sit there and let someone watch him deal with the news, trying not to show his pain. At my kids' HS, a list was posted after practice on the final day of tryouts, so players could read the list, leave in privacy if they needed time to deal with bad news, then meet with the coach for feedback the next day IF they wanted to. In a couple of cases, the coach met privately with upperclassmen a day or two before the list was posted, either to warn them that they hadn't made it, or to explain that if they made the team they were expected to play a limited role. I thought he handled this duty with respect and kindness.