Youth Baseball: Cutting Players

The politics of select baseball drives me crazy.

Crazy Youth Sports Coach Series

Last night, I had a conversation with a frustrated dad regarding U11 select baseball. He is rightfully frustrated with the politics of baseball. Here is his story.

• His son played on a select baseball team last spring (Team A). 
• He told me that his son was a not a superstar, but was a good player on Team A.
• Team A did well in the lowest division of the AABC league. 
• After the season was over, the coach of Team A told the parents of the players that he was going to move the team up to the next competitive division. The parents approved of the move.
• The coach also told the parents that he was going to keep the team intact. 
• As such, Team A did not schedule a tryout.
• Both my friend and his son were happy with Team A, so they did not participate in tryouts for any other teams during the tryout period last summer (Late July - Early August).
• During the tryout period last year, another local team (Team B) discovered that several of their kids were unhappy and were going to leave the team.
• Team B's best 6 kids remained.
• The coach of Team B and the coach of Team A are friends. They decided to combine their teams.
• The coach of Team A sent my friend an email telling him that his son was cut. (What a coward)
• The cut came after the tryout season - so my friend's kid was left without a team and few if any options.
• The dad called every coach looking for a spot. The frustrating process took weeks.
• He has a lead on a team, but is concerned that his son will have to go back to recreational ball.
• He later found out that the remaining six kids from Team A were the sons of the coaches and assistant coaches, not necessarily the best 6 players.

The Main Point

Is this really surprising? College coaches jump teams and leave players in the lurch without suffering any consequences. On the contrary these "role model" college coaches benefit from reneging on their contracts with universities and breaking their promises to players and their families. The NCAA teaches our youth coaches that commitments do not matter.

The coach of Team A is an inconsiderate jerk and a coward. The leadership of the respected club he plays for should have intervened.