How do you do cuts?

We always have three days of tryouts - first day defensive fundamentals, second day offensive drills and third a whole field by position they want to try out for look. Sometimes the third day is hard because we are probably in a parking lot having practice because of weather.

Before the first tryout day I tell them there will be three options at the end 1) we will keep them, 2) we will cut them or 3) we will give them a week's extension and let them know at the end of the week if they are cut or not.

After the third day or tryouts my coaches and I go into our office and make the final decision. Most of the time we usually know by the end of the second day who to cut and who to keep. The meeting is to figure out which guys we want to give a week to or cut them.

Then we call them in one by one and let them know their fate. Way I look at it if they are going to put themselves up for criticism by my staff and I as well as their peers I owe it to them to look them in the eye and tell them man to man their fate. Plus I tell them what areas they need to improve on to increase their chances to make the team.

I did the post on the door once early in my career but I didn't think it was the right way to handle it. I have had kids break down and cry in my office because it was something they really wanted. If a kid breaks down like that in the middle of the hall during school he could be opening himself up to ridicule by others. I can keep them in the office and let them compose themselves and then they can leave and nobody is wiser.

These kids are putting themselves out there and even if they are the worst players in the world who should never step foor on a baseball field they should still be treated with respect.

Excellent approach.

I have seen the notice and the phone call and they are both improper. You give these kids some helpful advice and just don't dump them.

Our teams also carded a few kids that they could call up if needed. They were registered with the province and could be used in totnaments etc.

There is no easy way. No matter what you do somebody wont be happy. Post a list call them in the office whatever works. I posted list with the instruction that I was available to those not on it to see me if they so chose. It is tough especially when you get down to the last couple of kids. I hated it.

After our three day tryout, we sit down all the student athletes that tried out and explain to them that this is the worst part of coaching and that we did what we thought was the best. We then tell them this does not mean the end of playing baseball. That there is always summer/club ball and then we encourage them to participate in other spring sports (volleyball, tennis, track).

We then tell the students if their name is called they made the team and they need to get up snd go home and practice is at whatever time the next day. After we read the list, we talk to the students that are left.

Its tough but it seems to work. It gives the guys that make it time to leave so there isnt any weirdness between friends at the moment. Just a thought

No real easy way to do it,

What I ended up doing was talking to each kid individually that would not be around for the long haul. I pulled them to the side and asked them 2 questions.

1.How did they think they were doing?

2.Do you really think that you are cut out for this?

Every kid that I cut already knew the answer to both questions, and said they were not cut out to play baseball and only showed up because their buddies did.

I shook their hands and let them finish out the rest of the practice and leave with some dignity.

I think having all the players together and calling out the names is tougher on the kids than reading the names on the list. Just my opinion.

I have always just posted the list, often just posting it in the evening so a player can drive over to the school and see the list after 7PM if they want.

BUT, this year, I'm thinking of posting the list on our website, so the player can look it up in the privacy of his own home. Then he can call or email me to set up a meeting, as I do with any player that wants

We talk to each kid privately who we cut. We tell them why they were cut. We tell them what they need to do to have a better opportunity to make the team next year. We also tell them that it does not mean that we do not like them as a person. And that it does not mean we are right. We tell them that they have every right to prove us wrong next season.

There is no easy way to do it. As a coach I hated it. But seems today it is a lot harder because of the climate these kids grow up in. You know everybody has to play everybody gets a trophy etc etc etc. the other day I talked to a high school kid that was on a freshman team that had a no cut policy. He was one of 27. sooner or later reality has to be faced. How as a coach you deal with that reality is a monumental task considering the circumstances.

People deserve a face to face meeting. www.webball.com /coaches/coaches corner has a good segment on making cuts.

I coached Junior Legion ball one summer and I was a volunteer coach with no office and no way to communicate with the kids other than when they were on the field or by phone. Not wanting to embarrass the kids that were cut in front of everybody, I had no choice but to do it over the phone. I hated doing it that way. I could hear the disappointment in their voices and I really wished I had the opportunity to do each one face to face. That would be the right way to go about things.

We post a list and then tell them that we are in a room and they are welcomed to come, knock on the door and talk. Why do we do it this way? A few years ago, we used to talk to each player that was cut. Then, one of the kids started crying and wanted to know why he had to sit down and talk to me when I was breaking his heart. He told me he didn't want to talk to me or anyone else for that matter. I decided that he was not alone and had never looked at that method as adding to their misery. I don't think that there is a right or wrong if you offer the player a chance to discuss it on their terms. Thus, we're in the room if they want to talk.

With us we have everyone tryout at once players are to wear t-shirts that are certain colors so we can identify which grade they are in(red-freshman, blue-sophmores, whit/grey-senior-juniors). We give most players 3 days we basically get rid of the kids that have trouble playing catching and throwing. We give the rest of kids the remainder of the week, so all kids get an opportunity to show wha they can do. On thursday we begin with normal pro tryout again, then move to inf/oF drill then play a intersquad, and friday we play another full fledge intersquad. We do this to give the kids an opportunity to show what "baseball" they know not just the skills. Then we post the list on saturday on our website, we take the best 16 players put them on varsity and the next best 16 players and put them on J.V (eligible players of course no Jr's). This way we can instantly begin practice on monday and kids who are cut don't bring their stuff to school the next day to find out they are cut and get emberassed when they have to take their stuff home. We also leave a message that if any players want to question why they get cut feel free to come by my office in the morning between so and so hours. We also offer on the J.V team our managers positions to players who almost made the team but got cut, these players are allowed to practice with the team all year but do what managers do. Also if we manage to lose a player due to grades or discipline problems this manager who almost made the team has been practicing with the team all year can now take the players spot on the roster. It gives some kids an incentive to stick with baseball.

It's that time of year again. On the third day of try-outs, the head coach calls every kid up to the press box. In no particular order, returning starters and super-stars alike. The ones who get cut are told why and are encouraged to keep working at it and to play in the local rec or little leagues. They can stick around until the end of practice so no one knows or pack their gear and leave.

Here's another interesting twist on cuts. We will probably have 25 players trying out for our varsity team. We will keep 18. I am planning on having three days of tryouts and making cuts at the end of that last day.

A little background, we are a smaller school of about 1000 students and this will be the first time there will be cuts on the baseball team.

Here's the tough part, our basketball team does not play their first regional game until our second day of tryouts. They will most likely win that game which will take them through our first week of practice, three days past the end of our tryouts. There are three or four players coming out from the basketball team. Two of them will be simple decisions because they were starters and Juniors. The other two are borderline players who may or may not make the team. How do I keep this fair for all players if we are cutting to a specified number due to only have so many uniforms? I don't think it would be fair to cut a kid with the assumption that the kid on the basketball team is better. It is also not fair to keep 18 without those two kids and only give them a token tryout once their season is over.

Any thoughts? I'm sure we are not the only state that deals with this.

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A little background, we are a smaller school of about 1000 students and this will be the first time there will be cuts on the baseball team.

This is a small school????? Really? We have 850 and think we are good sized school. I guess it really comes down to area you live in. We have two schools in our county - ours and a city school that has about 120 kids K-12.

Do you just have to have 18 or can you have more based on uniforms or whatever? Could you get another two or three uniforms in case?

That is what I do. I have about 30 uniforms for varsity and keep around 16 - 18 kids. This allows me to keep my team low and stagger my tryouts for basketball. Also, at the end of the season I can bring up some JV players just to be around the older guys, get some exposure to the big game feel and reach our max of 24 players for postseason rosters.

Yeah that is a smaller school in the Northwestern Chicago Suburbs. I guess more or less we are a school that size and need to compete against schools 2 or 3 times our size. We only have 18 uniforms. Our sophomore uniforms are very similar to ours, so those are what we use for call-ups during the season, but I feel that giving a kid who makes the team a sophomore uniform would differentiate him from the rest of the team and regardless of the kids role, I am unwilling to do that.

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but I feel that giving a kid who makes the team a sophomore uniform would differentiate him from the rest of the team and regardless of the kids role, I am unwilling to do that.

I agree that if you have a kid like this he needs to have the same uniform and not similar. Is there anyway to get more uniforms and try what I do or something similar?

I couldn't imagine thinking a school with 1000 kids being small.

However you do it, I think it is a MUST for the coach to sit in front of each kid that is cut and explain to him why he was cut. Give a list of skills he needs to improve upon. Be personable.
I've always hated a list that is stuck up on a board somewhere

My son's high school usually has 6 days of tryouts. On the final day, each player is handed their rating sheet. On the rating sheet is the coaches view of where they were offensively and defensively, their 60 time etc. etc.

At the very bottom of their rating sheet, it will say "See you at practice on Monday" or "Sorry, you did not make the team this year. Please feel free to stop by my office to discuss your rating's." But each player's rating sheet is kept folded and handed to them at the conclusion of the final day of tryouts. It's up to each player whether they read it there or at home later on!

Just the way they do it here!

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Originally posted by Goodie:
However you do it, I think it is a MUST for the coach to sit in front of each kid that is cut and explain to him why he was cut. Give a list of skills he needs to improve upon. Be personable.
I've always hated a list that is stuck up on a board somewhere

I'm all for talking to the kids you've had to cut. But providing a laundry list of things to work on sets them up for future disappointment, IMO. 15-18 year old kids can see for themselves whether they have what it takes to play with the kids who made the team. They know their strengths and weaknesses. While the list is a nice thought, I wouldn't bother.

That's a good point Larry. I always told them that their skills weren't at the point we need them to be at for the team. Now they know they aren't good enough but it also leaves the door open for them to ask if they want a more detailed answer. If they ask then I will tell them straight up.

We give every kid 3 days. During those 3 days, we test every skill imaginable in small groups and have them flying around the field in stations for 2:30 per night.
At the end of day 3, the players go out to the local pizza place together (at least many of them do) while the coaches stay in the clubhouse and make final decisions.
We then post the list at the field....but I stay in the clubhouse to meet with any players that want to talk, either good or bad. I do this because this allows each young man the opportunity to handle it HIS way, not the way that I think is best. He can talk to me then, set up an appointment to talk later....or he can hate me forever....but the choice is his.
We have a ratings system that is pretty good and I always have 7-10 people doing the observations.
Hope this helps. I can send my basic tryout format if interested. Coach Knight

COACH KNIGHT
I would love to take a look at your rating system, could you send it via email ribeale@comcast.net.

thanks

we usually have a good number of kids (50 +) trying out for our jv team, so we have tryouts the first 3 days for jv only (varsity guys are hitting in the cage) the next 3 days are varsity only. after the first 3 days we cut jv down to a workable number 21 or so, and give them a couple of more days to show us what they have. varsity cuts are usually easier (most guys now by their junior or senior year if they have what it takes (usually only have about 20-21 tryout for varsity)
we do the list post thing but only after it is prefaced at the last practice of telling them we appreciate their efforts, we could be wrong, to try out again next year, and that our office is open for any questions etc.
i have been coaching high school for 25 years, and this part of the job doesn't get any easier

As I stated in an earlier post when I coached I hated cuts but mostly for a personal reason. Way back when as a freshman I as they say got the axe. so I know how i felt. I went home and my mood was sullen. My father who was reading the paper looked up and said what was wrong. I told him I got cut from the team. He looked at me said "work harder" and continued on with his reading. no phone call to the AD or a letter to the principal touting my athletic prowess. I worked harder and it all worked out fine.

where my son goes to school, it is a small school so he didnt have to worry about making it as one of only 3 travel ball players. At least that's what he thought! But, as a sophomore, the other 2 travel kids ( his good friends) were put on the varsity while he was placed on JV. He was put there because he was a LHP and the coach knew he would get plenty of innings at that level to work on his game instead of sitting watching the senior pitchers. His buddies were position players. While he was disappointed, he handled it well and worked hard. The following year, he pitched varsity, went 8-1 and his team won their class Long Island Championship for the first time in school history.Guess the coach knew what was good for his long term development. I was also very pleased with the way he worked hard with the JV placement in spite of his disappointment at the time. It was a learning experience for him that worked out well.

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Originally posted by Will:
My father who was reading the paper looked up and said what was wrong. I told him I got cut from the team. He looked at me said "work harder" and continued on with his reading. no phone call to the AD or a letter to the principal touting my athletic prowess. I worked harder and it all worked out fine.

WOW. Where are dads like that today!!

I have done it several ways. My preference is to meet with each kid face to face and have always done that with Sophs and up - I meet with every player trying out and explain what their role was if they made the team or explained why they didn't. With incoming freshmen, I have often asked them if they would rather meet with me or have the list posted, and to a man, they always say post a list!

One other method I used for a couple of years was a letter. I brought them all in a room and explained to them that they were to take an envelope from me and go read it at their convenience. Inside the envelope was a letter that either said report to practice tomorrow, or a letter that explained why they didn't make the team. Seemed to work OK, just make sure you put the right letters in the right envelopes!!

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WOW. Where are dads like that today!!

JMW37

they are there. Just less of them.

some advice for what it is worth. Dont try to reinvent the wheel. when it is all said and done you are cutting the player. that is the bottom line. find a way you are comfortable with and stick to it. i think the easiest on both is to post a list of those who did not make it with the instructions for those players to see you if they felt a need.

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Here's the tough part, our basketball team does not play their first regional game until our second day of tryouts. They will most likely win that game which will take them through our first week of practice, three days past the end of our tryouts. There are three or four players coming out from the basketball team. Two of them will be simple decisions because they were starters and Juniors. The other two are borderline players who may or may not make the team.

What year are the borderline players? If they are juniors you could keep them on varsity until deciding to send players down to JV. If they are seniors you could give them uniforms and if they don't earn a position they're on the team for commitment and time served in the program over the years as long as they can maintain a positive attitude on the bench. Whatever you do, explain it up front.