Player Leaving Mid Season!

[L84DNR]

I have found a lot of good softball advice here, first post.

This has happened too many times to count I'm sure? What do you think about a player leaving a team mid season (second season) with no warning out of the blue to pursue a better opportunity. Never had a complaint, plays all the time, great kid, great teammate, seemingly great parents then find out player and parents didnt like coaching, teammates, etc...more than likely BS to justify leaving.

Would you owe them anything? Refund of team fundraising, reimbursement for tournaments already commited to and payed for, etc...

Feeling no obligation to them, should I.....?

[artomatic]

actually, if you did things the right way, they owe you...

[hotwheels]

I agree with Art on this one....That is what the players agreement is for....Also doesn't hurt to have Parent and Player rules signed by everyone.......Consisting of returning uniforms, equipment, etc......Other than that, what else is there to do....They didn't want to play there anymore...SO WHAT! Don't try and talk them back on the team...BAD IDEA...

[sportzjunky]

Issue them an obligitory "good luck" as a family. Not worth dwelling or dredging. Thats about all you can say, and make the field shift or roster addition ASAP. Someone/everyone on the roster needs to step up. Focus on what you have. Best of luck coach. Its just one of those things but you owe them nothing but what you feel based on thier contribution as a family to this point, unless something is stated out in the player/family agreement..

[Lefty's Dad]

They don't get jack! Turn in the uniforms and hit the road. DD left a couple of teams mid season, never a good thing for the team that's losing a player, but I never asked for anything in return. Just handed in the uniforms and moved on.

[GIMNEPIWO]

They don't get jack! Turn in the uniforms and hit the road. DD left a couple of teams mid season, never a good thing for the team that's losing a player, but I never asked for anything in return. Just handed in the uniforms and moved on.

Absolutely ... and same here ... DD's left a team mid season, returned the uni's, said their thank you's and good byes, no hard feelings ... they expected nothing & were owed nothing ...

[Coach11]

Absolutely ... and same here ... DD's left a team mid season, returned the uni's, said their thank you's and good byes, no hard feelings ... they expected nothing & were owed nothing ...

<<In the most non-judgemental tone I can muster>>

How is it that you feel "they were owed nothing"?

Did you not owe them the honoring of your commitment?

Honestly not trying to stir the pot here....just hoping to understand your reasoning.

[GIMNEPIWO]

Absolutely ... and same here ... DD's left a team mid season, returned the uni's, said their thank you's and good byes, no hard feelings ... they expected nothing & were owed nothing ...

<<In the most non-judgemental tone I can muster>>

How is it that you feel "they were owed nothing"?

Did you not owe them the honoring of your commitment?

Honestly not trying to stir the pot here....just hoping to understand your reasoning.

I'm sorry ... perhaps I need to clarify ... My DD's expected nothing and my DD's were owed nothing ... If the team felt that they were owed anything other that what had already been pledged they did not make a request ... but to that point all required fund raising and financial contributions for the 'entire' year had already been met ...

[GIMNEPIWO]

Absolutely ... and same here ... DD's left a team mid season, returned the uni's, said their thank you's and good byes, no hard feelings ... they expected nothing & were owed nothing ...

<<In the most non-judgemental tone I can muster>>

How is it that you feel "they were owed nothing"?

Did you not owe them the honoring of your commitment?

Honestly not trying to stir the pot here....just hoping to understand your reasoning.

I'm sorry ... perhaps I need to clarify ... My DD's expected nothing and my DD's were owed nothing ... If the team felt that they were owed anything other that what had already been pledged they did not make a request ... but to that point all required fund raising and financial contributions for the 'entire' year had already been met ...

Again, I'm sorry ... I just re-read your post Coach and think what you are after is whether the team was owed more respect than they were shown ... that is certainly a valid point ... There were some extenuating circumstances and this was a very difficult decision for them ... they explained their reasons to the Coach and he accepted them ... ALL of the players supported their decision except for 2 ... ironically those 2 were the ones who stood the most to gain from my DD's leaving ... the team had what they considered a full roster ( 14 ) and had let it be known they were looking at a player or players to bump the roster up to 15 or 16 ... If you want me to go into the FULL set of reasons that influenced their decision I will ... but there were no hard feelings by the Coach when they left, other than possibly a bruised ego ...

[coolstuff]

How is it that you feel "they were owed nothing"?

Did you not owe them the honoring of your commitment?

Honestly not trying to stir the pot here....just hoping to understand your reasoning.

There is a shared commitment between a player and the team. The team has committed a spot on their roster that could have been given to another player, and the player has committed time, talent and money that could have been given to another team. What we are really talking about here are unmet expectations, or perceived to be unmet, and that is when the commitment is usually dissolved by either party. A coach can sit a player; a player can move on. Both for myriad reasons.

Personally, it would take a lot for us to leave a team, and we have yet to leave a team in mid-season. Almost happened but the team folded as we were looking (the writing was on the wall). Another time, it was very late in the season so we stuck it out. It really depends on the situation, I think.