Poll: Should high school sports have no-cut policies?

Here are the results of our poll, along with some comments from readers.

• 92.7%: No
• 7.3%: Yes

Reader comments

“I coach freshmen and have had 40-plus players for a tryout. Some have never played on a school or AAU team. I feel that if we have too many players, we would end up taking away from the top players of the team and not develop them as much. Most of our top players go on to play at some level of college, and if we kept 40 kids on a team, the top guys would not be as skilled by the end of the year. We currently keep around 15-18 freshmen and have an A and B team.”

“Some states only allow a certain amount of players on the roster. If more kids tryout than is allowed on the roster, then you have to make cuts. I also believe it is a privilege to be selected for a team, and not a right.”

“I think that it’s wrong to keep a player, have them go through practice knowing that they might never play, then have them be discouraged and ruin team chemistry at the end of the season. I think that it’s important for students to realize the value of preparation and competition.”

“It depends on the numbers each year. I coach at a school with a ‘no-cut’ policy, this season we could have 11 seniors, only 4-5 of them will be strong enough players to play varsity minutes but I also can’t play any of the other 6-7 on JV because they are seniors. The best thing for the team and these 6-7 boys would be to cut them.”

“High school is a place where sports are competitive, and you can learn how hard work can pay off. If you’re not good enough, then you need to work to get better. You don’t just get handed a spot on the team for showing up.”

“Every student has the right to try out for an athletic team, but not the ‘right’ to gain a spot on the team. Too many players participating in a practice means less reps for the rotational players, creates ‘chemistry’ issues, and raises the possibility of injuries. Too many times those extra players are not skilled enough to play with better players and it can create an environment where injuries are bound to occur.”

“Do not have facilities or budget for coaches to support the size of squads that would result from a no cut policy. Also, lose the option to cut those kids/parents that are a poison to the program who ultimately diminish the experience for everyone else.”

“The only way I would support a no-cut policy at the high school level is if the support and funding exists for adding extra teams. Otherwise, the cut policy allows us to reward the effort of younger players, keep older players working hard instead of waiting for their turn, and it allows us to eliminate players who are going to present chemistry or behavior issues.”

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