I came across an excellent discussion about holding tryouts for the youngest of athletes through the Aspen Institute’s Sports newsletter*. Alexia Dellner suggests things might be getting out of hand and asks Why Are We Making 7-Year-Old Kids Try-Out for Sports. She presents a balanced report with parents explaining why they believe it is fine for their toddler to try-out along with the skepticism implied in the title. Frequent readers will recognize that, to me, this is essentially the difference between travel/select and recreational sports. A key distinction is that there are no tryouts for kids in recreational sports; everyone who signs up makes a team. And, under the H&A philosophy, they all play an equal amount and play every position. In my post on the difference, I give an example of a friend’s son who was ready for the transition to travel/select soccer. If your child is clearly more skilled than his or her teammates and just “wants it more” than them, they are likely candidates for travel/select. In that case, they will tryout for teams – and run the corresponding risk of not making the team. But, for recreational sports leagues…no tryouts.
Another post on youth sports…what does this mean to me as a youth sports coach? I suggest that each coach’s philosophy needs to be in line with the league’s set-up. For instance, it is difficult to coach recreationally in a league where players tryout, or it is otherwise run like a travel/select league. As I have moved into middle and high school sports coaching, I am experiencing this distinction. We have A and B teams in middle school. We have tryouts and cut players from the high school teams. But, for youth recreational sports coaches, I recommend, to the extent you have a say, no tryouts.
* – I recommend subscribing to the newsletter, as it is a great resource on all things youth sports. Of interest to coaches, they have a Million Coaches Challenge related to youth sports coach training. You can get more information on their site.
Hustle & Attitude 