Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Bad Coaches

I thought this was an interesting article, but I would expand its focus to not be about "youth sports" but any team, especially when it pertains to this bullet (emphasis mine) about being cut from a team:

— Instituting “cuts” even when they aren’t necessary. “Few events in a young person’s life are more traumatic and devastating than trying out for — and then being cut from — an athletic team ... it should only be done as a last resort ... Coaches owe it to the kids to do everything in their power to make cuts unnecessary ... Creating more teams means more kids get more playing time. More playing time means more kids have more fun — and that’s the whole point of youth sports.

“... if cuts must be made (do it) with sensitivity and compassion ... face them individually and tell each and every one of them specifically why they were cut ... it should be as painful for us as it is for them.”


Alex was cut from his high school golf team. He went to tryouts on a Monday and was told to come back the next day. He was cut on the second day. It was definitely painful for Karen and I, as a parents, to watch our son deal with what happened.

No comments: