State Games Selections - How would you do it?

Is there a better way to select the team? I don't have the answer, but thought it might be a thought provoking discussion that might shed some light on other ways that might be better.

 

I experienced 2 years (as a Dad) of State Games. The system is not perfect, but I cannot imagine any other way to make the selections.

1--High School coaches must be involved, so they cannot possibly ignore their personal bias. If it is close, the tie goes to their kid or their coaching pal's player. That may be "politics" in some people's mind, but to me it is to be expected.

2--Tryouts must happen during the Spring season, which means 2 sessions is about the max. Around 100 kids tried out each year for our Region, which means around 10+ kids per position. Almost everyone at the tryouts did some pitching for their HS team. So it is impossible to give each kid more than a glance in a 4 hour session.

3--Reputations will always precede the tryouts. Coaches know who the "stars" are....They know who can throw & who can bang it. That means before the first tryout begins, about 2/3 of the team is pre-selected. There is zero chance of eliminating this bias....And frankly, I don't think it should be eliminated. After all, the purpose of the State Games is to Show Case the best talent in each Region. So resumes should be considered. (In fact, the tryout nomination form asks for a kid's stats, past accomplishments, etc.)

I guess I am saying that I cannot imagine a better way to select the teams than the one in place. There will always be kids who are hurt, but that is the nature of higher level competition.

Last editorial comment: The accusation of politics is a bit unfair. There is no organization putting pressure on the coaches to pick a particular kid. A better word is "bias", which is natural & unavoidable. Unless coaches are not permitted to have a kid from their own school in the Games, bias will always play a role.

 

I have never seen or heard how it was done UK... but thats about the best it can be done unless the teams coach's use a ballot to get the players selected similar to how college coach's or sports writers choose weekly polls..

I guess the organization could bring in outside coach's to evaluate players and help choose . I'm sure that would eventually get political or costly.

 

Intimidator, the tryouts just don't allow for an outsider to judge the talent. The kids run the 60, demonstrate arm strength with a few throws, take about 20 balls of fielding, & get 10 pitches to hit.

The pitchers are given time to warm up, then they throw about 20 pitches. Remember this is during the high school season, so many have thrown the night before. The coaches use a radar gun.

Here is the problem: The only way to judge a kid is during games. I mean, we all know players who are batting practice All Americans. We all know pitchers who can sling it but during a game can't get anyone out. So the tryout session (by necessity) is just window dressing.

The 4 coaches (rotated each year) must rely on their prior knowledge to choose the real stars. Kids who have not developed a reputation by participating in AAU or ShowCase can easily be overlooked. That's just the reality of an All Star situation. It will always be flawed, but I can't think of another way to do it.

 

Well, my son is past this stage and apparently yours is also UK.
I'm sure the newcomers to the state games in the future will deal with whatever scenario they are delt .

 

Maybe Coach May is on to something from the other thread...why not tie the selection process in with the All Conference selections. To qualify for the State Games you must recieve All Conference honors. This should be a true reprensentation of the top players in the area. You could have additional nominations (max of 2) from schools that did not have All Conference players selected.

I was fortunate to see most of the other Regions play this past week. The current system is not perfect and yes, there were some deserving players left off the roster...with that said, each Region still had some pretty quality players representing their teams.

I agree,there will always be some bias involved...I don't think we could ever come up with a perfect system where some deserving player is not left behind.

 

Coach May's idea - VERY INTERESTING!!!

From other Thread

Gosh - I like this idea, though the expense may force you to look at single elimination vs. double. You'd see some great baseball throughout the Tournament.

The negative is that you'd also have some great players that may not be around for the final games. Hence they'll miss a chance at additional exposure to College Coaches. The potential Pro candidates don't need the exposure - there is no secret as to who they are.

 

UK7Dook3

The try out format I saw was exactly as you described, except for the fact that no radar guns were used - that surprised me. There were two lines on mounds side by side and a coach behind each catcher, the pitchers were throwing simultaneously - so 1 coach evaluated half the pitchers and another evaluated the other half. Not in my opinion the best way to subjectively measure performance.

Both coaches should have guns and the line should alternate so that both coaches confere and assign a (ranking, grade, whatever) after each pair of pitchers has thrown.

Just my opinion, worth what you paid for it. , most people paid less.

 

No system is perfect, but don't get me started about all-conference selections, unless you wanna talk about REAL POLITICS!!!

Listen guys, there will always be boys left off the state games team that are deserving, but these players need to remember that its an honor just to tryout. Remember these players must be recommended by their coach JUST TO TRYOUT. Anytime 75-100 players tryout for one team, surely there will be great players not make it. The current state games selection process is about the fairest system that I know of because at least THEY HAVE TRYOUTS!!!

Yes there will still be politics involved, and yes folks will still question the final decisions, but at least with the tryouts the 4 coaches making the final decision need to be able to justify their choices. And lastly the pressure to win is also in the back of those 4 coaches' heads also.

I've simply seen too many well-deserving boys screwed out of making all-conference because another coach did a better job of looking out for his own players at the coaches' meeting...

 

My son played 2 years for region 5 and I can honestly say that those coaches showed no partisanship whatsoever, not even to their own players.They also went out of their way to make sure every player got plenty of swings and plenty of reps.
If playing favorites is such a big problem then what is wrong with asking an independent party to pick the team. You could ask a local college coach or maybe a coach from some of these wood bat teams like the Coastal Plains League to pick the team. They could observe tryouts, hand in their recomendations and walk away from it. I got a feeling making cuts is the least favorite part of the job for the high school coaches, they would welcome the help and they would be free to just coach the team that was handed to them. By not having a dog in the fight these outside coaches could just call it like they see it. The first high school star that showed up with a big reputation and no hustle just might find himself watching the State Games instead playing in them.