Guest Players

When are coaches and tournament directors going to get together on all of the guest players. I understand you have injuries and need a player but every weekend you show up at a tourney and you play teams with three or four guest players. All this is teaching is no committment to a real team and allowing players to play for free all year. The way it is now why do you need a roster?

 

Okay, so, my family has been on both sides of this issue.

My daughter always, always played for a team, and was always, always at her tournaments, showcases and practices with her team, without exception.

However, she was also in high demand as a "pick up" player with numerous teams and would agree to guest play as a favor to coaches she loved. So yes, you might see her playing for her team October 1, but then see her playing with team X on October 8, back with her team on the 15th, then with yet ANOTHER team on the 22nd. We made certain to purchase, out of our own pockets, what she needed for the teams she would pick up for - from different colored pants and belts, to socks, to even cleats in one instance. We paid for our own hotels, our own meals, without exception. We traveled to and from on our own gas, in our own car. Her love of the game and for these other coaches outweighed the significant dent my wallet took.

That said...

I think you face numerous issues on BOTH sides of the fence when talking of guest playing.

It irritated me, and many fellow parents, to know end, to go to a tournament where a "B" team was entered, to find that they had suddenly picked up 5 top notch players from elite programs all for the sake of a tourney win. Seriously folks, these are plastic trophies, pieces of woods, fake metals. It should not be win at all costs - inclusive of sitting you weaker players for the ringers that are brought in, or taking on the attitude of teaching your players "no need to be committed, we will just pick someone up."

I hated, hated, hated, watching a rostered player from my daughter's team or another riding the pine, because unnecessary guest players were brought in.

Yet, at times, a last minute pick up may be necessary. For example, my daughter was with her team at the Early Signing Showcase during fall of her senior year. One of our sister teams had a train wreck of a weekend, with player after player going down to injuries. A call was made to our team asking if my dd could go play for the sister team the rest of the weekend as they were desperately in need of a catcher (both of theirs down due to injury), while our team had 3. Since my dd had played with the girls from the other team in the past (in school and on the road), she was a natural choice. So off she went to play for them. No games, no trickery, just a train wreck of injuries causing a severe demand. In a case like this, I have no issue with guest or pick up players.

But don't think it is all sunshine and lollipops for the player who agrees to help out a team out of the goodness of their hearts. One of the teams my dd helped out for years called in September of her senior year, absolutely desperate that they were going down to Rock Hill short a catcher, middle infielder and 3rd baseman - all positions she had played for them across the years. My dd was horribly sick with a particularly vile case of respiratory flu and was NOT up to playing. Furthermore, we were tapped out for the month, and to go to RH, pay for 2 nights of hotels, meals, gas, would mean dipping into the deposit I had put aside to buy her a car that week, and it would mean putting off getting a car another month. But after being begged and pleaded with by a coach she though walked on water for near her entire life, she said she wanted to go. We packed up, drove like bats from you know where to Rock Hill, and burning up with fever she heads in to play 2 games. Next day, still sick, another game. Now, several players the team was hoping to roster for the following year started showing up left and right, and the dd hits the bench. Sick, miserable, watching the dirt and watching girls not at her level out there. The dd is one tough kid, but after the third game of watching she burst into tears and left the dugout. One coach, who loved my daughter as much as she loved them, followed, apologizing profusely. The one that talked her into coming, knowing how sick she was, knowing what it would literally cost her (her car for another month)? He poured on excuses about needing to try these players out, then moves to he felt bad to have her playing so sick... just excuse after excuse. I simply let him know that he knew the cost to her personally when he begged her to help his team out so they could play (yet again). She never played pick up for that team again, although she got calls and the one coach apologized everytime he saw her for more than a year.

Like I said, I can see the positives for all, and I can see the negatives for all when it comes to guest playing.

 

another one

I understand too. A team short of a couple of players and scheduled that weekend, you may need to pickup a few players, to fill the gaps. No problem there. I even-understand if you have sister teams. A showcase team playing X tourney and other team not playing and x girl on team not playing needs to be seen by a coach that's recruiting her. She goes w sister team to tourney to get the contacts in by the coach and player. But, like stated above. When x team pickup 2,3 or 4 girls to play and other regular girls sit. That's when I have the problem, too. I have even seen girls picked up to play from one showcase team/org and playing on another team/org. to let that girl be seen by coaches. In those type things as long as the pickup and the others girls and parents know ahead of time, no problem. We have 14 on our team now and we don't really need to pickup players, we play w what we got. So if we show up to play one weekend and there is an extra girl there, without being warned ahead of time. I can for sure know that the coaches will hear about. I would encourage parents out there to ask their coaches about pickups when seeking to join a team or if currently playing on a team.

 

Just does not work

I have seen no positives at all for "guest" playing. The term itself is anoying. ASA needs to step up and put an end to it. Or do away with official rosters all together. A rule is not a rule until is is enforced. Simply not good for the game. Increase your roster size, coach'em up and play with the deck you chose.

 

I dont have a good answer, but its out of control now, I am back to coaching again, just finished up with 12s and we are moving to 14 this weekend, but every tourney the last 2 months I have seen multipe girls playing for different team each weekend, I think some parents are taking advantage of this, because the kid basically plays for free, coaches get in jam because they dont want to roster enough kids, why, because most of them are dads, nothing wrong with dads coaching but get enough players to play early. I am carrying 13 now, might go to 15, or course my number 1 complaint is playing time, but thats my job to handle, there should be some way to regulate this but I dont know what, I think it would take the tourney directors doing a little more, maybe put limits on how many players a team can use as guest players in a season, maybe also put a little on how many times a player can guest play, idk it would take more people working at it get under control, I seriously doubt anything will get better with this. For the directors its mostly about the money,and for the dad coaches, a large portion of that is mostly just for their daughters, its unfortunate but true. Its a big business now, there are good bit of coaches out there who are really working hard to teach the game and I applaud you, but there are far more just daddy coaches who want the best for their child, nothing wrong with it but it will always be a problem.

 

FULLY AGREE!

 

Good & Bad

Guest players will always be around for various reasons, some good & some bad.
Let's take my Summer season for example. Thirteen on the roster, all asked end of fall last season and again at first of year, all committed to Summer season with some exceptions. Five of the twelve will graduate in the spring and four will miss at least two if not three tournaments scheduled. Two non-Seniors change their mind and decide not to play, three weeks prior to season opener, and one Senior decides to take the entire month of June off.
So now what do we do, it is too freaking late to recruit roster players, so guest players and college players who are age eligible are our only choice.
I spent the entire season looking for guest players, because some folks do not honor their commitments.
I now understand why some teams have huge rosters. In the past that was my goal to have a large roster, however my parents complained, worried about playing time I'm sure.
In 2014 I will not be looking for guest players, I will have a large roster as the TEAM must survive it's players, for the TEAM to continue to exist for the benefit of the players.
Guest players that helped our team out this summer were doing so in a good way.
I have seen those who jump around all season to avoid team fees, bad guest player and coaches should not pick them up knowing this.
Bottom line, commitment, for the most part does not exist today, neither does integrity. Too many entitled folks looking for what they can get for "ME"
without a care or even knowing the meaning of TEAM.