Somewhat OT - rec league tryouts

[Mark Padgett]

Grunewar (and anyone else involved with a kids rec league) - just curious how you handle the situation regarding kids who register but don't show up for their tryouts. Our policy is that they cannot be drafted, but are put on teams as "hat picks" after all the kids who showed up are drafted. We put this policy in about 15 years ago (we're almost 35 years old) when we found out there were some coaches who knew some players were really good and told them not to show up for tryouts. Then, these coaches drafted them onto their teams without the other coaches knowing how good these kids really were!

BTW - we restrict the number of kids per team to ten, so everyone gets good playing time. We have a rule that if a kid shows up for both practices during the week, he or she must play at least 50% of the game on the weekend (HS play on Friday nights, 3-8 play on Saturdays). Fortunately, the refs are not responsible for monitoring that - parents have to file a complaint with the Board if it happens.

We also have a "scholarship" program to fund the registration fees of kids from low-income families. I administer that program. It's funded by late registration penalty fees and donations.

I'd be curious to hear any other policies other kids rec leagues have from any of you out there. Thanks.