Minor hockey tryouts (was: How to motivate a novice (or any) player for tryouts?)

[Yukon Joe]

If this is the process in your area, would think that AA coach would have the sense to leave a few spots open for the AAA cuts. I get it, they may not get any to come down, but then you can try to bring someone back.

All I can say is they don't do this. Now part of it is because once you cut a kid they can go try out for another club, so the kids you want may not want to come back. But my kid lived through it last year - he was never in the running for AAA, was quickly assigned to the AA team, but there was a steady drip of players who having been cut from AAA would show up at AA, so then AA had to keep making cuts as their roster would fluctuate up and down.

But It's impossible to design a perfect system - everything is going to have trade-offs. You can do tryouts in the spring - but then you're missing out on any improvement kids can make over spring/summer, plus you're forcing kids to commit extra early. You can separate out AAA, then AA, then other tryouts - but that just extends the process when everyone just wants to start playing hockey.

 

[patnyrnyg]

All I can say is they don't do this. Now part of it is because once you cut a kid they can go try out for another club, so the kids you want may not want to come back. But my kid lived through it last year - he was never in the running for AAA, was quickly assigned to the AA team, but there was a steady drip of players who having been cut from AAA would show up at AA, so then AA had to keep making cuts as their roster would fluctuate up and down.

But It's impossible to design a perfect system - everything is going to have trade-offs. You can do tryouts in the spring - but then you're missing out on any improvement kids can make over spring/summer, plus you're forcing kids to commit extra early. You can separate out AAA, then AA, then other tryouts - but that just extends the process when everyone just wants to start playing hockey.

If they are going to wait until the fall, shorten the process. AAA in first 2 weeks of sept, AA in 2nd two weeks,

 

[Yukon Joe]

If they are going to wait until the fall, shorten the process. AAA in first 2 weeks of sept, AA in 2nd two weeks,

I guess the knock there is that you're now trying to evaluate kids based on just a handful of appearances. I mean this is still just minor hockey - nobody is going to be at the ice 7 days per week, any kid can have an off day or two.

 

[patnyrnyg]

I guess the knock there is that you're now trying to evaluate kids based on just a handful of appearances. I mean this is still just minor hockey - nobody is going to be at the ice 7 days per week, any kid can have an off day or two.

Just seems a bit excessive. Here tier 1 is 3 days and tier 2 is 2 weeks later for 3 days. Plus, can make changes to your roster until 12/31 each year, at least tier 2 you can. In most cases, the coaches already know many of the players trying out. They are really there to look at any new kids.

 

[Yukon Joe]

Just seems a bit excessive. Here tier 1 is 3 days and tier 2 is 2 weeks later for 3 days. Plus, can make changes to your roster until 12/31 each year, at least tier 2 you can. In most cases, the coaches already know many of the players trying out. They are really there to look at any new kids.

But see that kind of attitude (which certainly exists here too) kind of bugs me. You can get kids slotted into certain expectations early on and then they can kind of coast for years - it can be hard to see the kid who might be a late bloomer. It also means you can be judging kids based on what parents or siblings have done, not on the kid's own merit.

But I hear ya - I don't know that the AAA evaluations needed to necessarily go on for an entire month from first skate to last cut.