CoachZ - By all appearances you look to be a thoughtful and thorough man and coach. Anyone that will admit they have things to learn and seeks knowledge is already 90% of the way to be being successful at anything IMO.
I suspect that you will be successful in your coaching career and your approach has at least 1 Virginian by way of New England rooting for you. Go get'em!
Do not do this. Bad idea. This will backfire.
This sounds like something I would have done as a new coach or people manager.
Thanks again everyone.
Here in Maine, we don't have a pitch count rule, only a innings rule: 1 inning every day, 1-3=1 days rest, 3+=3 days rest before pitching again. We are so rural, there isnt much opportunity for travel ball. If a kid really wants to go for it, they can play legion, but the nearest team is about 1 hour drive away. Some kids do AAU basketball and such, but Maine also has a "bonafide team" rule stating that if your HS team is having a game or practice that day, you are required to be with your HS team, they take priority over any and all other athletics you might be involved with.
Us coaches have to go through concussion and heat stroke training among other things, but do not have to put the whole team through it.
How do you all address the issue of cuts? Just to give a little back story, we are such a small school most of our kids have never had to try out for a sport in a situation to be cut. its basically: "hey, enough people signed up for us to have a team this year!" the only sport we have a JV team for is basketball because, well, it only takes 5 guys to throw a team together. However, I currently have a large group signed up and anticipate a couple cuts. 1 thats really going to have to show me something is a senior who hasnt played since MS...just wants to be all sport his senior year. I had a bad experience with a senior like this last year. In this community, I think most people would expect him to make the team, and probably play the whole game on senior night. "cut the freshmen, he has 3 more years, let the senior have fun his senior year." ...that type of thing. I have a strong group of freshmen coming up who only lost 1 game as 8th graders last year, I don't anticipate cutting any of them, even though they might not play a lot right away. I'm thinking keep it short and sweet? and just mention that "there is no room for seniority, we are here to compete at a high level and be good teammates and those will be the people to make the team."
Last year was a rebuilding year for us (lost 6 strong, up the middle seniors from the prev. year) and this year will be a "reestablishing" year where we should be competitive, but pretty young mostly. Unless a few kids really come around, or really fell off, I anticipate making 1-3 cuts, and them being almost entirely upper classmen, which I anticipate will ruffle some feathers, but I know my AD sees it coming, we talk regularly. I teach here and help him out coaching the volleyball team too so we get a lot of time to talk shop.
How do you all address the issue of cuts? Just to give a little back story, we are such a small school most of our kids have never had to try out for a sport in a situation to be cut. its basically: "hey, enough people signed up for us to have a team this year!" the only sport we have a JV team for is basketball because, well, it only takes 5 guys to throw a team together. However, I currently have a large group signed up and anticipate a couple cuts. 1 thats really going to have to show me something is a senior who hasnt played since MS...just wants to be all sport his senior year. I had a bad experience with a senior like this last year. In this community, I think most people would expect him to make the team, and probably play the whole game on senior night. "cut the freshmen, he has 3 more years, let the senior have fun his senior year." ...that type of thing. I have a strong group of freshmen coming up who only lost 1 game as 8th graders last year, I don't anticipate cutting any of them, even though they might not play a lot right away. I'm thinking keep it short and sweet? and just mention that "there is no room for seniority, we are here to compete at a high level and be good teammates and those will be the people to make the team."
Here is how they addressed cuts at my kids team meeting...
<paraphrasing>"Selecting this years team was especially tough. We had to make some tough decisions and let some good players go. Congratulations to those of you who made the team, we have selected the players who we feel give us the greatest opportunity to win this year and over the next couple of years"
Thats about all that was said at the meeting. Our coaches meet with each kid they cut to let them know they have been cut and what they can do to improve if they wish to tryout the next year.
Our coach prefers not to cut. Wants to keep kids in the program working and developing. Kept some even though he doesn't have enough uniforms. Those bubble players know their roles.
I prefer not to cut and dont have enough uniforms also haha! I have a couple who I anticipate might make themselves academically ineligible anyway (regardless of the fact that I have been checking in with them all year) so it might work itself out without me having to do much. However, I see potential issues with discipline and a kid or 2 who could be potential "cancers to the team,"...that type of thing. So if that starts to materialize, cuts will happen if needed.
Here is what I had in my 8 page (4 front and back) handout:
I had my parent meeting on a Saturday after one of our practices. The parents were welcomed to come and watch that practice, sit in the stands, etc.
How about how pitch counts/innings will be handled?If its not brought up do I just raise my hand when its questions time?While everyone in the room(including coach) knows "my deal"I am not going to meeting to make the coach look bad.I would love it if they guy lead them deep into june playing time.But I do feel very strongly that this subject needs to be touched upon during the meeting.Do I bring it up?When The answer or talking point is given and its just a circle with no clear answer do I just put it out there?
Our coach prefers not to cut. Wants to keep kids in the program working and developing. Kept some even though he doesn't have enough uniforms. Those bubble players know their roles.
Cutting's a reality at our school. School of about about 3600 kids. If they did not cut the Frosh team would have 80 players split between the two teams. Around 30 on the Soph team and probably 30 or so on the V/JV team.
How much heat stroke is there in northern Maine in the spring? I would be praying for enough heat to have a stroke. 
Friends of mine who played at Maine told me the bullpen sat in running cars to get warm. I believe Maine now has heated dugouts and bullpens. In fact, I believe the field is heated.
When my son was in high school he received a flyer on the Maine program. He looked them up online. He saw incredible facilities including a MLB like locker room. He was impressed. Then I told him to chart out who Maine plays and calculate the bus drives. Then I showed him pictures of the Bangor area in March and April. To quote my son, "Never mind!"
If you have to cut players encourage them to play summer ball anywhere just because they love the game enough to want to play.
you got it RJM. There is a reason basketball is king up here..its the only sport we can play year round. I went to UMaine myself and they do have great facilities. But, of course, hockey is the big thing there. Football gets a good turnout also. we do have some good summer ball happening around the state though with legion teams and such. Also, the author Stephen King is from Bangor and had a solid stadium (Mansfield) build near his home in Bangor. The senior league world series is played there, so we do get to see some good high school aged ball, kids from all over the world coming to play there.
I lived in Portland from third to seventh grade and always at Little Sebago in the summer growing up. I remember Mt Ararat basketball had a succession of five 6'6" or taller brothers at one point. I played baseball for Caldwell Post (now Nova Seafood). I played college summer ball with a few of the Maine guys who went to Omaha in the 70s (Flaherty, Conley, Dumont, Leggett and Sawyer).
