As the end of summer youth sports nears, many families are nervously awaiting to learn whether their young athlete has been selected to be a member of his or her leagues all-star team. At the same time, coaches across the country are faced with the dubious task of making critical, often subjective, appraisals about which kids should make the all-star team (AHPS). As with any selection process, errors, oversights, and omissions will occur – sometimes resulting in hard feelings between families and coaches. The strife some families feel during the all-star selection process is often blamed on the “politics” of sports (Sport Success 360).
The “science” behind all-star selections
While the field of sport psychology has allowed us to learn many powerful skills to enhance athletic abilities, it has yet to yield a cook-book recipe for coaches when it comes to all-star decisions. In other words, there is no science – only each coach’s own ability to evaluate talent while maintaining a level of integrity in the process. What this means is that while there are always some statistics to examine, individual comparisons are never “apple-to-apple.” The “X” factors that include mental toughness are rarely captured in a box score, yet coaches often use these factors when evaluating talent.
Many parents become upset and disenfranchised by the all-star selection process because they subjectively see their child as better than he or she really is — and/or they don’t see the talents of another athlete who was chosen over their son or daughter. Additionally, while its not the norm for coaches to purposely pick only the kids they personally like (politics), this does occasionally occur (though not nearly to the level upset parents think).
The reality
Selecting all-stars can be a brutal task for coaches and league operators involved in youth sports, as it is inevitable that some deserving kids will be left off teams while other seemingly less talented kids will end up making all-star teams. Similarly, many parents struggle accepting the news that their child has been left off a sports all-star team, and in some situations feel as though their child was “done wrong” in the process. Since this disconnect happens so regularly, I have provided a few quick tips for both coaches and parents so that the all-star selection process goes smoothly and with fewer problems around how the kids were selected:
What coaches can do
- Try to use as much objective data as possible. Statistics like goals scored, batting average, fielding percentage, and stolen bases are examples of data you can use to not only help in the selection process, but also to offer up when people question your decisions.
- Take time to critically evaluate the kids. Of course, some all-star selections will be quite easy, but after the first couple of kids it usually gets a lot tougher to discern the small differences between kids. When you consider the heartfelt responses that usually follow all-star team selections, it certainly warrants that you take the process serious and do your homework when making decisions.
- Vote on players. Leaving the decisions up to just one coach is never a good thing, so be sure to have multiple sources available to offer opinions.
- Be respectful when announcing the team. Keep in mind that as soon as the team is announced there will be some families who feel as though their child was treated unfairly, and may even let you know about it. Be sure to prepare for this and try to be understanding if you get approached by a distraught parent, keeping in mind their level of hurt seeing their child left off the team.
What parents can do
- Understand just how difficult all-star selections are for coaches! At every level of sport competition we see criticism around what players make the team and what players don’t. Keep in mind all the unseen variables coaches often take into account (i.e. hustle, team needs, particular position needs, etc.), and try not to immediately use the excuse that “politics” were to blame.
- Talk to your child (if he or she didn’t make the team) about stress, failure, and adversity – and how they can be used for motivation and future success. Many kids come back the following year and make the all-star team because of the motivation they developed after missing the team a year earlier.
- If you feel it’s important to learn more about why your child didn’t make the team, be sure to remain respectful and considerate toward the coach. It’s always better to ask about what areas your child can improve in for the future rather than argue why your child should have made the team over another kid who was selected.
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