Dr. Darren Shares...My wife and I own timeshares. The high-pressure sales used by timeshare companies would be considered the part I least enjoy in acquiring these properties. Not allowing us the time needed to research the property and see if it is a good fit for our family is unnecessary pressure to an already stressful situation.
You might be asking yourself why the academy's head coach is telling us about timeshare sales in a newsletter for amateur sports? Many young athletes ask me questions about the current increasing trend of signing to age class club teams and the "timeshare sales pressure" placed on the athletes and their parents. The politics of amateur sports is increasing yearly. Any changes that can be made to allow interested participants the time and information necessary to make informed decisions would go a long way in removing unnecessary stress. The time deadline and contract signing are an overinflated view of how clubs see themselves and their offering. If clubs have tryouts, a decision should not be made until all tryouts in that age class in the area have been completed. This is more of an urban issue than a rural one.
Many regions of our sparsely populated area only have one team close to athletes' residences. This makes deciding which club to play an easy decision. However, we are seeing athletes travelling 100 kilometres to play on the team of their choice. We also have clubs known for recruiting athletes from far and wide rather than building a farm system and developing athletes from the start of their volleyball development. There is a growing trend where athletes are selected without tryouts with no opportunity for walk-in athletes. Athletes are being approached by coaches and asked to sign for a team after high school tournaments and high-performance activities such as provincial team training sessions. Many of the above activities continue to raise the stress levels in athletes seeking a spot on a volleyball team. Having an athlete sign early should be an option but not a requirement or a forced deadline. All it does is increase the stress to an already stressful time for amateur athletes. Suppose a club is run correctly and offers a quality experience. In that case, this will make athletes more willing to sign the moment they are selected. Are administrative deadlines applied to stop athletes from seeing what other clubs are offering? A club should compete for players based on the experience that they offer rather than on pressure sales. What happens if a deadline passes and an athlete does not sign? Is the chances of being able to accept after the deadline significantly increased based on my ability. If I am the province's best player, many clubs will move mountains to find a spot for me on their roster.
What happens if I say yes to meet the deadline and then decide not to play with that club after the fact. How am I punished for breaking an agreement or a signed contract? Are they binding, and if so, by who?
In the end, amateur sports are meant to be fun. Tryout procedures, deadlines, contract signing, coach's ethics, fair play, equal playing time, respect, practice attendance, costs, past history should all be considered before an athlete selects a team. Parents and athletes need to do the research to make sure they are trying out for a club that promotes ethics, morals and practices which will teach the athletes the way to approach more than just sports. In the end, tryouts can also just be an excellent chance to play another couple of hours in the sport, even if you are not interested in playing on the team.
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