My son has played travel baseball for the last two years. The team was originally started so a group of kids could learn fundamental baseball the right way. However, now the focus seems to be on winning.

For this reason, after discussing it with my son, we chose to switch teams about two weeks ago.

Middle school baseball tryouts (grades 6-8, my son is in 6th) were this past week. My son did not make it past the first cut. There were approx. 60 kids and the cut was down to 25 with another cut to be in a few days.

Now, I know a lot of people can say that we all think their kids are better than they really are. But, a little background on me first. I was one of the original coaches for the travel team. I believe in getting the kids fundamentally prepared first. Winning is a by-product of good fundamentals.

I played in college and have been around the game my whole life. I like to think I am a good judge of one's playing ability. I can honestly say my son has talent.

Now, back to the problem. There were four other players from that travel team to try out. All four made the team. There were two other players from 7th grade to make the team that are not that good. The connection here is that the current coach of the travel team is good friends with the middle school coach and the two 7th graders to make the team have parents associated with the school.

I became really miffed when I saw the soccer tryout results. My son did not try out for that team but he does play Rec soccer for fun. I have seen all of these kids play for the last five years. One player who is talented did not make it while two players who are very weak did make the team. The connection here was those two players also have mothers who are teachers at the school.

I have talked to people who have told me its all politics. What ever happened to making something based on your own achievements?

So, my question is... Do I talk to the coach myself? If so, might I run the risk of blackballing my son. I would rather my son talk to the coach on his own but he is timid about going to an authoratative figure. I had told him to go talk to him and ask the coach what he thought his weaknesses were. But, to stand his ground if the coach made up some BS explanations.

Chalk it up as a lesson learned? I just don't want the same thing to happen next year. Its tough when your son knows he did well and doesn't ask "why didn't I make the team" but rather "Dad, what did I do wrong"?

But, there is also a bigger issue. It's a school wide sports problem where the politics prevail. Do I go to the school board and stand up for what I have seen in all the sports at the school and really run the risk of blackballing my son. Someone needs to step forward. Apparently this has been going on for a while.

First of all I've never agreed with the mentality of going through the process of teaching a kid a game, going through all the drills, all the practice etc and then telling them it's not about winning. If it weren't about winning then what would be the point of keeping score. I'm not saying a kid should go out and bean some other kid in the head but there is nothing wrong with having that winning attitude. That is just my opinion about it.

Now as far as your son not making the team, are you 100% certain that your view of the situation is not clouded by the fact that it is your kid?

I think you need to go back and reread what I wrote. Sure, I could rephrase the sentence to say "all about winning". If you played sports in the past you would see there is a direct correlation between fundamental skills and winning. The only way I have seen that circumvented is when you import players for the sole purpose of winning. But, those players still learned the fundamentals from somewhere. Unfortunately, for the other players on your team it was not your coach. But, I'm sure you were well aware of that. Of course, you play to win but that cannot be your main focus. The main focus should be on preparing that child to play at the next level.

"Focus on winning" can have various meanings. Maybe for people like you, I should have been a little clearer. Inporting players from outside the area to enhance your chances of winning. Leaving all your starters in even when winning by a lopsided margin. Burning out your star pitcher by having him throw too many innings just so you can win a local tournament. These are some examples of what I mean by "focus on winning".

Back to your question of "are you sure the situation is not clouded by the fact its your kid". I thought I addressed that clearly. I did so because being a coach myself I have heard parents discuss their child's ability many times. It seems every son is a Mickey Mantle. If anything I have been more critical towards my son's abilities for that sole reason. I have the background and experience to make an objective evaluation.

But, I'm not just talking about my son. I've observed these questionable selections in basketball as well as soccer. My son did not try out for these sports. So, I can surely say "the situation is not clouded by the fact its my son".

I had the same problem with a High school Poms team. I was debating on talking to the coach, and maybe fixing things, but I also knew it might create conflict. I think the best thing for you to do is to contact the head coach.