Tennis and soccer coaches analyze pros and cons of selective teams
Looking across at her opponent, senior Dalma Olvera gets ready to serve at Free State’s dual meet against Mill Valley on September 17. Olvera plays soccer, a cut sport, and tennis, a non cut sport.
When sophomore Ashton Rantilla tried out for soccer this year, he hoped to make a team. When he did not, however, he chose a different sport: ultimate frisbee.
“I do want to practice more and try out next year, but I went and joined ultimate frisbee instead, and am now pursuing different opportunities,” Rantilla said.
If a player is “cut,” they tried out for a sport and did not make a team. This year, varsity tennis coach Keith Pipkin decided to have no cuts for the first time. Because this is his first year coaching here, Pipkin wanted to get a feel for the turnout. Because of this, girls’ tennis now has 6 teams: varsity, junior varsity, and C through F teams.
“A pro of having no cuts is that with larger pools of players, each player will face different playing types every day at practice, which is a huge help in developing your game,” Pipkin said. “Cons are that court space becomes pretty crowded and you don’t get the repetitions in that you would with a smaller team.”
Senior Aric Trent wins the ball in a game against Shawnee Heights High School. Some wold love to have a fourth team for people who do not make C team, JV or varsity. “Theres not enough teams for all the participants and not enough coaches,” head coach Kelly Barah said.
The tennis coaches have decided they will start making cuts again next year so the athletes are pushed to train harder during the off-season and regular season.
“If they know everyone is going to make the team, I feel no one is going to work during the off-season,” Pipkin said. “So having cuts pushes them to work, and that is where true athletes and champions are made.”
Soccer, on the other hand, has cuts every year and only has a varsity, JV, and C team. Boys’ soccer had 88 people try out this year, and about 15 players were cut.
“There are three teams and there would just be too many bodies on teams and not enough playing time or development for players,” Varsity soccer coach Kelly Barah said. “It would just be very inefficient.”
Another reason soccer has cuts is that finding a fourth team coach would be difficult, according to Barah.
“The town is running short of quality coaches that want to coach school soccer,” he said. “The club teams can pay more than high school would.”
Senior Jordan Patrick, a varsity soccer player, understands why cuts need to be made.
“I think sometimes coaches have to make the best decisions for the future of the team,” Patrick said. “As unfortunate as it is, there are times where cuts may need to happen due to too many kids trying out.”
