Cut Day Is Coming
How to Handle Cuts, From Youth Leagues to Varsity
By Morgan J. Sullivan, CAA, CIC
Winter tryouts are almost here. Gyms will fill up with nervous kids in brand-new shoes, parents will circle the parking lot, and somewhere a coach is staring at a roster sheet with fifteen spots and thirty-two names.
Cut day is one of the hardest days in school sports. For the coach, it's a few hours of tough decisions and conversations. For the kid, it can feel like the whole world just said, "You're not good enough." How we handle that day tells kids and families exactly what we believe about education-based athletics.
So let's talk about it honestly, level by level.
Before Middle School: Don't Cut Kids. Period.
I'll say this as plainly as I can. Kids should never be cut before middle school. Not at eight. Not at ten. Not at eleven because "the travel team only takes twelve."
At that age, we have no idea who a kid is going to become. Bodies haven't grown. Coordination hasn't arrived. Researchers who study the relative age effect have found again and again that kids born early in the selection year are picked more often, simply because they're a few months older and bigger. That isn't talent scouting. That's birthday scouting.
And the cost is real. The National Alliance for Youth Sports has reported that roughly 70 percent of kids quit organized sports by age 13. Every early cut speeds that up. A ten-year-old who gets cut doesn't hear "work on your footwork." He hears "this isn't for you," and he walks away from a sport he might have loved at sixteen.
If your youth program can't serve everyone who signs up, the answer is more teams, more coaches, and more fields. Not a cut list. Come on, man.
Middle School: The Pros and Cons of Cuts
Middle school is where the conversation gets honest, because both sides have a point.
The case against cuts: Middle school athletics is instructional, developmental, and preparatory. It is not an audition for varsity. Seventh and eighth graders are all over the map physically. Some look like juniors, and some won't hit their growth spurt for two more years. The late bloomer you cut in seventh grade might be your best senior. Cut him now, and you may never find out.
The case for cuts: Sometimes the numbers just don't work. One gym. One bus. One coach. Forty kids who want to play volleyball. Safety matters too. Packing too many athletes into a practice space puts kids at risk, and a coach can't teach forty kids at once. A roster limit can be the responsible call.
Why We Try So Hard to Avoid Middle School Cuts
Here's the part people miss: "sometimes necessary" is not the same as "the default."
Before a middle school program cuts a single kid, the adults should exhaust every option. Can we add a B team? Split practice times? Find a volunteer assistant? Use a second gym on alternating days? Ask the high school program to share equipment or space? Every one of those is a hassle. Every one of them is worth it if it keeps a kid in the game.
When cuts truly can't be avoided because of facilities, safety, or numbers, say so openly. Families should accept a limit that's real. What they can't accept, and shouldn't, is a middle school program that cuts kids so a coach can chase a league title with thirteen-year-olds.
High School: How to Handle Cuts the Right Way
At the high school level, cuts are part of the deal in many sports. Varsity is the top of the pathway, and not everyone will make every team. That's fine. But how we do it still matters enormously.
In research on deselection in youth sport, Dr. Kacey Neely and her colleagues at the University of Alberta found that athletes experienced being cut as a real loss, and that coaches found the process among the most stressful parts of the job. The researchers pointed to the same things good programs already do: talk to athletes directly, explain the decision, and give them somewhere to go next.
Here's what that looks like:
Publish the criteria ahead of time. Before tryouts start, athletes and parents should know what's being evaluated: skills, effort, coachability, attitude, and positional needs. No surprises.
Meet one-on-one. Every athlete who's cut gets a private conversation with the coach. It doesn't have to be long. It has to be honest, kind, and specific.
Give every player a next step. Tell them what to work on, which other team or sport might fit, or whether there's a role like manager or practice player. A cut should be a door closing, not the building burning down.
Involve the AD. Coaches, loop your athletic director in before cut day, not after the first angry email. ADs, know the plan and stand behind a fair process.
Never just post a list. A sheet of paper taped to the gym door is the coward's way out. It saves the adults ten minutes and costs a kid his dignity in front of his friends. Don't do it.
A cut should be a door closing, not the building burning down.
A Word to Parents
If your child gets cut, it will hurt, and that's okay. Let them be upset. Then help them ask the coach, "What do I need to work on?" Resist the urge to fire off an email that night. The way your child handles a setback, and the way you model it, will teach more than any season could.
The Bottom Line
Every decision in sports should be made in the best interest of the team and the athletes. Cuts included. Don't cut little kids. Fight hard to avoid cuts in middle school. And when high school cuts come, handle them like the kid in front of you matters, because he does.
Talkin' with the AD is the podcast for coaches, athletic directors, and parents who want to make education-based athletics better. Every week we dig into leadership, coaching, and the real issues facing school sports. Listen wherever you get your podcasts, and subscribe on YouTube at Talkin' with the AD.
Coming soon: I'm writing three books for coaches, ADs, and parents:
Coach on Leadership, Middle School Education-Based Athletics, and Before the First Snap.
If this post hit home, the middle school book goes much deeper on building programs that keep kids playing. Stay tuned at betteryouthcoaching.com.
Follow along on Facebook (talkinwiththead), X (@talkinwiththead), Instagram (talkin_with_the_ad), TikTok (Talkin' with the AD), and YouTube (Talkin' with the AD).
Lead. Teach. Grow.
Morgan J. Sullivan is a retired Soldier, athletic director, coach, and author of the upcoming books Coach on Leadership, Middle School Education-Based Athletics, and Before the First Snap.
Talkin' with the AD · betteryouthcoaching.com
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