Girl makes JV, then demoted to freshman team...HUH?

Question
I have a daughter who is a high school freshman. She made the JV volleyball team. Then after 3 days of practice with the team she was demoted to the freshman team making room for another freshman to move up. (I have been around athletics my whole life and have never seen or heard about a move like this before, except for disciplinary reasons). I 1st spoke to the JV coach, and asked if it was for disciplinary reasons. He said "no. She is a great athlete and by far the most conditioned athlete on the team. Her conditioning blew us away during tryouts and we may have overlooked her lack of volleyball skills because of that." I ask him if he truly believed she was the 12th best player on the team. He said "yes". Although I don't believe he was being truthful, I accepted the yes. I spoke with the athletic director. I asked him if he had ever seen or heard of this before?  He said "no". He also said "My staff really dropped the ball on this one. Promotion are ok, but demotions should never happen." He still stands by his staffs decision. And my daughter will stay on the freshman team. He apologized for the way it was handled. I accepted. (She is a 3 sport athlete, and a special basketball prospect. I fear future negative action on the schools part towards my daughter if I take it any further.)
   All of the cases, that I found, of demotion at the high school level have been for disciplinary reasons.
   Is there any rules or code of conduct against this type of move at the (Arizona) high school level?
   I think ethically everyone would agree that this was an unjust decision.

Answer
Good morning Bobs:
It's wonderful to hear from you.  
I don't think I've ever heard of this exact situation.  And, after all these years, I would think I would have by now.  Here are my thoughts.  

a) I have only coached 2 high school teams in the past 13 years.  I'm now strictly a club coach.  I tell you that b/c even as a club coach, about 2 or 3 weeks after tryouts, my assistants and I have been known a few times to go to a private place and say, "Oh, no!  This girl isn't as good as we thought at all.  CRAP!  How did this happen?  We all agreed she was the one.  AHHHH MAN!  She will never get to play.  How did she make our team?  CRAP!!!"  

We say these things not b/c we're disappointed in the girl; but, we're mad at ourselves.  We just assigned a girls to a team where she cannot compete for playing time.  Now.... we either plant her on the bench, or we play her when she's now obviously a significantly weaker player than her teammates, and thus will stick out like a sore thumb.  Either way, she and her family will be embarrassed/humiliated.  *sigh*  Now, moving a girl to a lower team (I avoid using "demotion") during a club season is rare b/c jerseys have been ordered, rosters have been submitted to the region, team T's have been created (with the girls' names on them), hotel reservations have started, etc.  

b)  You say disciplinary reasons:  After 27 years, I don't remember hearing of one single girl being sent to a lower team b/c of discipline.  Playing time, yes.  To create a more competitive team, yes.  I'm assuming "Bobs" is a guy's name, so maybe you played more boy's sports, and maybe what you've described is a little more common.  But I was a head high school varsity vball coach for 16 years, and word of such an occurrence never got to me in any sport...boys or girls.   

c)  Do I think your daughter's long term future in the program has been affected?  No, not unless she or her family convince the coaches that:
* they are more trouble than they're worth;
* that they can't let this go;
* they will talk for weeks about the incident to anyone who will listen;
* They will say for months that the coaches "dropped the ball".  
If the coaches learn in the next few months that your family is more concerned about one person than they are for the team, then yes you can expect long term consequences.  There would be such consequences if I were the head varsity coach.  

d)  Skill is not to be overlooked in vball.  Yes, the coach may have been inaccurate in saying, "She's the 12th best," I don't know.  But conditioning and athleticism doesn't take an athlete very far in sports that require years of practiced skill:  tennis, volleyball, baseball, golf, etc.  If the player doesn't possess certain vball skills (serve receiving, setting, serving), then she isn't much use to the team.  Sure, sometimes a coach will take a gamble on an incredible athlete, hoping that she will rise to the requirements of the sport during the season. It appears in this instance, the JV coach either didn't want to do that, or thought your daughter was too far behind to catch up.  

e)  I disagree with the phrase that the AD used.  "Dropped the ball"?  No.  The more accurate words are: "The coaches made a mistake."  The AD gets an F for explaining what happened in a professional, supportive manner.  If I were the vball coach, I'd be pretty upset with my AD throwing me under the bus like that.  I'd be the next person in the AD's office.  

More on "dropping the ball":  You're convinced that a certain rug would look great in your living room; but, when you see it for a few days, you think, "Yikes.  This was a bad purchase."  Is that dropping the ball?  Embarrassing?  Stupid?  No. It's called a mistake.  Some people get married, then after one year they say, "Yikes, this isn't what we thought!"  It's a mistake.  In both the carpet and marriage example, the people were 100% convinced that they were right at the moment; but, they weren't right.  This appears to be what happened to your daughter's coaches.  And, as I explained in (a), it's happened to me as well.

f) Also, "Demotions should never happen?"  First, "demotion" is a rough word.  If the rug my wife brings home is ugly, should I use the "ugly" word?  If my daughter buys an ugly car, should I say, "That's ugly"?  Moving your daughter to the freshman team could be called "demoting," ..... but so could the rug be called ugly.  As humans, we choose our words to create the desired impact on the listener.  And the word "demotion" that you've chosen to use has a HUGE impact. I recommend finding a replacement.  

The fact appears to be:  The coaches believe they made a mistake.  (We can argue that your daughter belongs on JV; but, let's assume that the coaches 100% believe what they're saying.)   In their opinion, your daughter is better off on the freshman team where she can compete and contribute, rather than be miserable on a JV team where they believe that she cannot compete at practice, will play 1 minute a week in matches, will feel like a misfit, etc.  I tell coaches, put girls where you think they belong.  Put them on the freshman team, middle school team, or cut them.  I say, "Better off a girl cry and a parent be irate for a few days, than placing the girl on an inappropriate team, and thus the girl is miserable all season and the parents are in the principal's office once a week all season.  Coaches:  Do what needs to be done from the start, and it's finished."  

g) Now, should the situation have even happened?  In club ball, it will   happen occasionally.  In school ball, it should happen very VERY seldom.  Why?  B/c, as I posted on this site a few days ago, school tryouts should be a formality.  That's it. Just a formality. The 45 girls trying out have spent the past 12 months:  Playing school ball, then club ball, conditioning, then coming to summer open gyms, then attending camps....all the while the girls' school coaches have been making mental notes.  Then, by the time tryouts roll around in August, the teams should be pretty much picked, ESPECIALLY varsity and JV.   

Finally:
* Do I wish all the girls' assignments had all been done correctly the first time?  Sure.
* Do I think your daughter is emotionally hurt?  Sure.
* Do I think coaches & parents can spin this to minimize the daughter's hurt?  SURE!  (Or is it too late?  Have the coaches and parents already publicly fussed/criticized so much that the daughter really feels like she's been mistreated? If so, then that's a decision that the adults made w/o thinking of the consequences to the child....and that's a bad move!)

I don't have a problem with your daughter being moved to the freshman team.  Unethical?  No.  Illegal?  No.  Unfortunate?  Yes.   Will you find any support from the organization that directs Arizona high school sports?  Doubtful.  They will probably say just what I've said:  "Unfortunate, but not illegal or unethical.  Are there any other facts you have to share with us?  If not, have a nice season!"

Thank you for the question, and your complete explanation.  It allowed me to answer you with a lot of detail.  

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