Coach Not Responsive

[Unregistered]

Wrong. Coaches are paid to coach. No need to respond to respond to squeaky wheels. Let them fester.

And coaches are asked by owner and DOC to respond to potential new customers. If all you want to do is coach, and not passively evaluate new players, you may not have enough kids to coach some day. I don't know if any business that would ignore potential customers.

[Unregistered]

Wrong. Coaches are paid to coach. No need to respond to respond to squeaky wheels. Let them fester.

How do you know the parent is a squeaky wheel? If the DOC tells a parent to talk with the coach and the coach ignores the parent, then he is not doing his job. Another part of his job is continually evaluating new talent.

[Unregistered]

Looking at new clubs for next year. I have emailed a coach at a club, we are intetested in, to inquire. The coach has been non responsive. I've emailed the DOC, who has put me in touch with said coach via email. The coach has been non responsive. I have emailed the coach, in the past, regarding a camp. The coach has been non responsive.

This is supposedly a good coach that my child will have if we go to said club.

I get that this is a busy time of year. However, if a coach can't respond to a prospect; what are the odds he'll be commucative should we go there?

Common? Or take this club off our tryout list?

All other clubs have been responsive. And to be fair, this clubs DOC was responsive. Just not the coach he put me in touch with. We were hoping to attend a practice session.

You are probably talking about the club that my kids have played for. Really good coach and trainer but stinks at communication (especially email). That's the good news. The bad news is /will be his unresponsiveness when a college coach emails him about your kid. Something that you need to be worried about in the future.

[Unregistered]

You are probably talking about the club that my kids have played for. Really good coach and trainer but stinks at communication (especially email). That's the good news. The bad news is /will be his unresponsiveness when a college coach emails him about your kid. Something that you need to be worried about in the future.

I know lots of coaches whose goal is to be as unresponsive as possible at tournaments.
Especially if the pain in the ass parents are buying the drinks.

[Unregistered]

No. He's not aware of my kid.

And to the others, I wouln't ask if he was aware of my kid.

Another parent I know also reached out, and he was not responsive.

I guess it could just be him. Just seems like bad business and gives me pause, should we actually go there.

Thanks for the responses.

Had the same experience. The lack of a response gives you more information to go on. Sounds like an issue you uncovered that should give you pause. For us, the tryout that we later attended was even more of a train wreck in terms of its disorganization and lack of focus.

[Unregistered]

Wrong. Coaches are paid to coach. No need to respond to respond to squeaky wheels. Let them fester.

No they are most certainly not. That's just what lazy coaches want families to believe. Club soccer is a youth sport and coaching at that level in today's day and age carries a lot more than just showing up to run some drills. Especially considering the cost.

[Unregistered]

I know at one large club, coaches are expected to recruit players into the club and onto teams. Some coaches are given B/C teams with half rosters and expected to fill them out with new players. Their performance evaluations include recruitment performance.

Sorry, but this is a business and it requires more than just knkwledge of how to run some soccer drills to be successful. This is also the reason why so many town teams fail... no concept of how to recruit to build up rosters to support 11v11.

[Unregistered]

Taking out the part about a previous experience with a camp question... How long has the no response been? Are you talking 2 days or 2 weeks?

It's been a couple of weeks. Sorry for not clarifying earlier.

I'm asking here to AVOID being that crazy parent. If I email the DOC again, I risk throwing the coach under the bus.

It's possible that he doesn't need additional players. I suspect my kid would need to bump another kid. Does that not happen, even if your kid is better? Especially if a kid/kids have been with the club a long time?

[Unregistered]

Good Coaches are like sponges, they absorb pertinent and useful info.

Successful teams are like magnets, they attract pertinent and useful players.

Coaches know who's who but if you are jumping up a league in a birth year reorganization you have to consider that the coach has to look to players within the club first spanning two years and maybe even 4 teams (two 1st two 2nd). Then they look for potential catalysts to add a dynamic and with credentials. If your player can be that they are on the coaches radars. If not get em to tryouts and hope they have an explosive day or two.

Be a realistic parent, patient and above all supportive of the player as it's the player who'll make it happen and the annoying parent that will ruin it.

Thank you for the solid advice.

The biggest issue is, we're trying out for 2 clubs with tryouts that overlap. So we miss 1 of 3 tryouts for each club.

I don't want to put all of our eggs in 1 basket. But I don't want to attend a tryout if my kid is not even going to get a look because the team is full.

I was hoping that by attending a practice he/they/I would have a better idea.

[Unregistered]

Thank you for the solid advice.

The biggest issue is, we're trying out for 2 clubs with tryouts that overlap. So we miss 1 of 3 tryouts for each club.

I don't want to put all of our eggs in 1 basket. But I don't want to attend a tryout if my kid is not even going to get a look because the team is full.

I was hoping that by attending a practice he/they/I would have a better idea.

By the sounds of it, you are being reasonable. 😃

How about a second email sent to the coach (not sure how it would fly to copy DOC as well... Since that may be seen as overstepping the coach). Very reasonably re-state what you said above. "I know it's a busy time of year and emails get overlooked but we're considering options for another club and we had heard good things about your club and I was looking to ... Blah, blah, blah...". if you don't hear back a second time, then something is up there... But I would chalk it up to a buried email situation or similar as opposed to anything else (with the first email...).

[Unregistered]

By the sounds of it, you are being reasonable. ��

How about a second email sent to the coach (not sure how it would fly to copy DOC as well... Since that may be seen as overstepping the coach). Very reasonably re-state what you said above. "I know it's a busy time of year and emails get overlooked but we're considering options for another club and we had heard good things about your club and I was looking to ... Blah, blah, blah...". if you don't hear back a second time, then something is up there... But I would chalk it up to a buried email situation or similar as opposed to anything else (with the first email...).

AGree. No harm in reaching out one more time. Even if you can't get your kid to a practice (which would have been preferred) you can still hopefully get him on the coach's radar for the tryout. Some people just register and expect their kid to stand out, but it doesn't always work that way. Reality is a lot of adults miss emails, get buried, etc. I wouldn't give up yet if you really think it's a good place for your kid. And you're right not to put your eggs in one basket

As for displacing another kid, virtually every team has openings this year because of the age change. If there's a best time to try and move this is it. Other years it can be much harder to crack a roster if it's a quality team that many aspire to.

[Unregistered]

Thank you for the solid advice.

The biggest issue is, we're trying out for 2 clubs with tryouts that overlap. So we miss 1 of 3 tryouts for each club.

I don't want to put all of our eggs in 1 basket. But I don't want to attend a tryout if my kid is not even going to get a look because the team is full.

I was hoping that by attending a practice he/they/I would have a better idea.

Honestly, maybe the team you are shooting g for is a stretch goal for your player, maybe the coach knows it, maybe you go in assuming that and try and get a practice session in with another team within the club and let that data flow back internally to the coach /team you are reaching for. I wouldn't keep email I g the same coach. By getting a practice session with another team it's near as good. Problem is it's Memorial Day weekend tourney time and the. It's state cup stuff - bad timing to upset the apple cart. I wouldn't take a non response personal at this point.

[Unregistered]

Thank you for the solid advice.

The biggest issue is, we're trying out for 2 clubs with tryouts that overlap. So we miss 1 of 3 tryouts for each club.

I don't want to put all of our eggs in 1 basket. But I don't want to attend a tryout if my kid is not even going to get a look because the team is full.

I was hoping that by attending a practice he/they/I would have a better idea.

Also, attending a game for the target team is worthwhile for the player to get a reality check as well as parents and making two of three tryouts is plenty - most clubs have only two nights to begin with.

[Unregistered]

It's been a couple of weeks. Sorry for not clarifying earlier.

I'm asking here to AVOID being that crazy parent. If I email the DOC again, I risk throwing the coach under the bus.

It's possible that he doesn't need additional players. I suspect my kid would need to bump another kid. Does that not happen, even if your kid is better? Especially if a kid/kids have been with the club a long time?

As a club coach I already know what is out there for my teams age groups. There has been cases were kids have moved into the area that I don't know about , very rare case .

I don't waste my time contacting parents whose kid I don't want. You are not going to throw any coach under the bus. It doesn't work like that .

[Unregistered]

As a club coach I already know what is out there for my teams age groups. There has been cases were kids have moved into the area that I don't know about , very rare case .

I don't waste my time contacting parents whose kid I don't want. You are not going to throw any coach under the bus. It doesn't work like that .

How can you possibly know all the talent out there? How about kids that don't even live in your area? Or kids jumping into club soccer for the first time. Some families are willing to drive a distance these days. And by not responding to a potential customer, you probably just eliminated every future family member from giving your club money. I can fathom that responding to an email by saying "unfortunately we don't have any roster spots available for your kid at this time, feel free to check back next season" is such a waste of 1 minute of your time. No wonder why so many clubs fail these days. Bad businessman out there.