Draft night

[Mark Padgett]

Tonight and tomorrow night are draft nights for our local kids rec league. The coaches will be picking their teams after watching the kids run through drills last week. There are no cuts. Every player plays. Those that missed the drills are hat picks. I'm running the 7th grade boys draft tonight and the HS Frosh-Soph draft tomorrow night - that's the league that's co-ed. Each team must pick at least two girls (not too many girls sign up).

If any of the coaches give me a hard time, I'll just toss 'em.

Oh yeah - we also have a rules clinic each night. What fun!

[Indianaref]

It's Draft night for me too. Bud Light.

[grunewar]

It's tryout/skills night for us tonight (like Mark, everyone makes a team), then I may go home to draft (beer) night.

7/8 yr olds are up first at 6:00...... where's my aspirin?

[mbyron]

Originally Posted by Indianaref

It's Draft night for me too. Bud Light.

Ew. Drink an American brew, dude, not that Belgian-owned stuff.

[dsqrddgd909]

Originally Posted by grunewar

It's tryout/skills night for us tonight (like Mark, everyone makes a team), then I may go home to draft (beer) night.

7/8 yr olds are up first at 6:00...... where's my aspirin?

I love basketball -always have, but I do NOT get the idea of 7/8 year olds playing "organized basketball". I think the game is simply too hard for most of them which leads to frustration and makes them more likely to quit the game, or there are one or 2 good players that control the action. I'd rather have them wait until 5/6 grade.

[Mark Padgett]

Originally Posted by dsqrddgd909

I love basketball -always have, but I do NOT get the idea of 7/8 year olds playing "organized basketball". I think the game is simply too hard for most of them which leads to frustration and makes them more likely to quit the game, or there are one or 2 good players that control the action. I'd rather have them wait until 5/6 grade.

Our league starts at 3rd grade and has for over 30 years. The kids love it. They shoot at 9 foot hoops and the free throw line is four feet shorter than standard. They play running clock and we have HS kids work the games, with an experienced ref on the sideline to mentor. We've never had problems with kids quitting the program. In fact, the program just keeps increasing in numbers up to HS, when it drops off.

Because of the number of kids that sign up, boys play in separate leagues for each grade while girls leagues are combined: 3rd & 4th, 5th & 6th, 7th & 8th. Starting at 5th grade, we "interlock" some games with two organizations from neighboring communities. The kids love going on "road trips".

[Adam]

Originally Posted by mbyron

Ew. Drink an American brew, dude, not that Belgian-owned stuff.

I'm waiting for the gov't to bail out the beer companies.

[Welpe]

I have try outs tonight, too (high school scrimmages). I had my draft a couple of weeks ago (received assignments).

[grunewar]

Originally Posted by dsqrddgd909

I love basketball -always have, but I do NOT get the idea of 7/8 year olds playing "organized basketball". I think the game is simply too hard for most of them which leads to frustration and makes them more likely to quit the game, or there are one or 2 good players that control the action. I'd rather have them wait until 5/6 grade.

I'm not a fan of this level either and choose not to referee it.

At this age, our league also shoots at lower baskets, shorter foul lines and is more fun, participatory, instructional, and doesn't keep score or tally wins and losses.

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by grunewar

Doesn't keep score or tally wins and losses.

That may be the official league policy, but the kids, parents, and probably a few coaches, know who wins, who loses, who's undefeated, and who's winless.

That was the policy twenty years ago when my three kids played recreation soccer. By official league rules, no scorekeeping. No wins. No losses. No standings. At the end of the season one of the parents, who secretly kept score of each game, bought all the players on his son's team trophies for being undefeated, and winning the league championship. Even if that parent didn't do that, the kids know. They're not stupid. They know.

[dsqrddgd909]

Originally Posted by Mark Padgett

Our league starts at 3rd grade and has for over 30 years. The kids love it. They shoot at 9 foot hoops and the free throw line is four feet shorter than standard. They play running clock and we have HS kids work the games, with an experienced ref on the sideline to mentor. We've never had problems with kids quitting the program. In fact, the program just keeps increasing in numbers up to HS, when it drops off.

Because of the number of kids that sign up, boys play in separate leagues for each grade while girls leagues are combined: 3rd & 4th, 5th & 6th, 7th & 8th. Starting at 5th grade, we "interlock" some games with two organizations from neighboring communities. The kids love going on "road trips".

Mark,

Sounds like a very good program. Maybe what i've seen just was not as well thought out or as organized.

[Mark Padgett]

Last night, during the 7th grade boys draft, we got down to the last few rounds and one of the coaches said that when he gets to the end of the draft, there's not much difference between the remaining players, so he just drafts the kids with the best looking moms.

Originally Posted by Mark Padgett

Last night, during the 7th grade boys draft, we got down to the last few rounds and one of the coaches said that when he gets to the end of the draft, there's not much difference between the remaining players, so he just drafts the kids with the best looking moms.

A very smart coach!

[Amesman]

Journalist Bill Geist made that approach pretty famous in "Little League Confidential," his tale as a kids' baseball coach. I think his other main criteria was you have to pick a kid whose family has a great pool so you can have a really cool team party.

Mark, I like the hat-pick action for no-shows at tryouts. How does your league handle latecomers -- those who decide they want to play after the draft, eval day, etc.? My kids' league always has some, and I agree they should get a shot since it's house ball.

But it seems you get either very good players or very weak ones who do that, the former often miraculously knowing one of the coaches really well -- a gracious type who will usually offer to absorb the poor stud onto his roster. Or the mom/dad simply says Billy can't make practice a certain night so, voila, wouldn't you know he can make the top team's practice night ...

Also, does our league make coaches 'seed' their own kids so that at draft day those who have all-star sons aren't automatically two steps ahead (their 'assistants' have great sons, too, of course) of good-natured volunteers who might have weaker players for sons? House ball stinks if there's no attempt at parity. I say that as coach (whose been on both sides of the ledger), parent and official.

[Mark Padgett]

Originally Posted by Amesman

Mark, I like the hat-pick action for no-shows at tryouts. How does your league handle latecomers -- those who decide they want to play after the draft, eval day, etc.? My kids' league always has some, and I agree they should get a shot since it's house ball.

But it seems you get either very good players or very weak ones who do that, the former often miraculously knowing one of the coaches really well -- a gracious type who will usually offer to absorb the poor stud onto his roster. Or the mom/dad simply says Billy can't make practice a certain night so, voila, wouldn't you know he can make the top team's practice night ...

First of all, the really "top" kids are probably playing in the area's "competitive" program. Our league is purely recreational. Second, we will take "late" kids up until practices start - not after that. If a kid signs up that late, he goes on whatever team would have had the next "hat pick" in draft order, and so on with any others - so the opportunity to "misappropriate" a kid is almost impossible. Actually, we almost never get "late" kids.

The reason we initially put in the "hat pick" protocol for kids who missed tryouts came about years ago before there was a separate "competitive" program around here and some coaches would tell certain kids (a "top" one, obviously) not to come to tryouts so the other coaches wouldn't see their skills, then that coach would draft them. We only had a very few jerks like that over the years, but we had to do something.

We also do not allow "trading". Once a kid is drafted onto a team, that's it. We tell parents that if they want their kid on a certain coach's team, then volunteer to be that person's assistant coach and your two kids will be on the same team (and each team has one HC and a max of one AC). That's the only way - period - no exceptions. Oh yeah - we do place twins on the same team automatically (they take up two draft choices) unless their parents ask for them to be separated, which sometimes happens.

We've been doing this for over 30 years and we think we got it all covered.