Ask for feedback from the selectors, and use it as motivation for next trials.

Know someone, it's cruel but In most junior sports it’s a big advantage. Tell your kid to keep his head up and just enjoy it, eventually if he’s good enough he should get ago.

I agree it seems to be who you know. All I can say is that is really super disappointing. Perhaps I am naive...I guess so...I just thought smart coaches would be looking outside the box on this stuff.
We did ask one of the coaches and kid got strip's torn off him for "wanting more game.minutes". That was the last time kid followed my advice...sigh...any other suggestions for day of trials where you are effectively a wild card unknown??

If the club doesn't treat your kid on merit tell the DoC you aren't happy and why, if you don't think the response is reasonable then go elsewhere.

IMO - if 1st team or Championship / Div 1 is your only goal - move somewhere that works for you. But my experience is it's better to be in a good second / third team with good people that be in a poor "Div 1" team. Yes you get that badge but IMO there's more to it - being part of a club, interacting with good people etc.

It could be the case that your kid deserves a spot. It happens ALL the time, at all levels. It was happening in the 90s when I played.

Just keep training and look at multiple clubs next year (if in metro area where there are options). Keeping in mind that changing rep clubs can be difficult because of transfer limits. Did your kid get a lower team spot? Did you watch the trials? did you ask for feedback?

Stats in local club games can be a bit of a disaster. Not a good idea to have your kid thinking too much about his or other kids stats. Same goes for other kids social media highlights. Every coach knows a kid whose points stats look good but they lose the game for the team. Or the kid who looks like a superstar on instagram but can't buy a bucket and doesn't play D - instagram highlights a source of entertainment(ridicule) for some coaches.

Focus on the important stuff you can control. Individual skills, team skills, opportunities to play, good coaching. Stubborn selectors will often see what they want to see.

Sports parenting in 2022 is difficult - glad I'm past that. Good Luck.

As a rep coach and parent, allow me to add two cents.

You mentioned "He came top of his district association and in the top 5 of the age group", I assume you mean scoring?

Now obviously I don't know your kid, but here's what I look for in selecting athletes from trials. Attitude, talk, listening, effort, passing, rebounding, defending and decision making. I'll also add, we quite often pick by position, not just pick 10 best players. So perhaps he's being compared with others in the same position?

I've seen kids who score big numbers in domestic comp and I always ask, how many assist did they get, or how many shots they took. Kids happy to score 16 points and take 20+ shots.

Kids also happy to shoot over two defenders fading away from the basket rather than pass to the open team mate alone under the basket. Shot might go in and count to their "stats" but in my opinion as a coach, was not the best decision for that situation. I want athletes who make the best decisions for the team, not for themselves.

If you're thinking trialing for state, you obviously believe he's potentially one of the top 20 players for his age group in the state, so go to trials and prove that, kick arse in the 2nd team, or go to another club.

Phizzer congrats to you with your selection process, if only there were more like you, and/or followed your advice in games too. I hope you are still coaching.

Just one thing to think about. Sometimes best to be one of the stronger players / team leaders in a 2s team than a bench player in 1s.

Some clubs are just hopeless at trials and selection. Seen kids in lower teams move clubs and thrive in 1s. But it is hard to pick talent and it's really subjective, as no-one bothers to be particularly scientific / analytical. Nice lay-up gets you in, good at steals and disruptive defence tends to be overlooked.

Phizzer, as previously said, I wish there were more like you.

I have a close friend some years ago who was a good coach at juniors, was invited to help in rep trials, at the end of the trials the four coaches sat down to pick the team, he was last to pick and explained why his team was slightly different to the others, ( top of the pile players still pick themselves), he was clearly told that such and such had to be picked because of the old mates act. He never returned to it.

It's the same with the coach, not always the best get the job because they don’t have the right connections. It’s the same in all sports, at times even at the pro level.

Just because you can score the basketball at a domestic level, that doesn't mean they’ll be able to have success at the higher level. It’s a whole different ball game at the top level.

Secondly, sometimes teams are just stacked at certain positions, so if they have 4-5 players in the same position ahead of them, of course it’s unlikely they’ll make it.

Thirdly, whenever a parent bangs on about scoring stats from domestic, that tends to ring alarm bells and red flags.

If you were top scoring in div 2 or div 3 you might have an argument to be playing higher

Bragging about top scoring in domestic is like passing a general maths test: youre supposed to

And fourthly, if you're new to the club then you need to be very special to bump out someone who’s established and part of the club culture. A lot of coaches find it difficult to explain to club parents why their kid isn’t going to be in the firsts this time, eg if they’re being bumped by someone new to the club (who may not even stick around next year). Club loyalty and politics are pretty strong influences on decisions at the top levels of play.

As said above, better to start in the seconds, prove yourself over the season, and then next season it will be much easier to show it if you deserve to be in the firsts.

Here's a tip ... get paid coaching from the DoC or one of their mates. Ridiculous, but true.

I've coached about a decade of rep and been involved in selection a handful more times.

I would echo those above saying that scoring at a domestic level doesn't count for much. I'd guess there are 3-4 kids every year who are in the top 10 scorers in their domestic competition who wouldn't be serious considerations for the first team.

Attitude can also be a deal breaker. It's less common, but I can think of two instances in which I've left a player out of the first team who, on raw ability, is one of the five best players available. For kids competing for the last few spots on the team, attitude is significantly more important than ability.

It would worry me a bit that you're citing your kid's scoring as evidence that they should have made the side. The response you've described from the club is poor, but a lot of the time kids who score a lot at domestic level struggle to make useful non-scoring contributions behind better offensive players in a rep side. On the bench I'd usually have one kid who provides a bit of X-factor at the offensive end, and four kids who rebound, defend, value possession, value team success, and have longer-term potential.

Finally, associations can have different attitudes in terms of what they're trying to select. Are they trying to pick the best players today? Are they trying to pick the players they think will turn into the best team by finals? Or are they trying to pick the players with the greatest potential to eventually play elite seniors? Good associations will have policies or guidelines about this, but it's very common that people don't read them. Poor associations won't have those guidelines, and I'll admit that even where they exist, they're not always followed.

It's easy to say "it's who you know" and write off the non-selection as uncontrollable. But even if that's true, what good does it do the kid in the medium- and long-term? If the kid loves the sport and is good at it, put the work in and they'll get there eventually. There are almost always a couple of kids in u18 and u20 rep sides who have never previously been part of the program.

So much good advice given by posters, well done all - pity i am going to lower the standard. In many clubs there can be a huge difference in a players development when exposed to a full Div1 campaign vs lower division campaigns - so i think it is okay to seek better quality teams and better quality opponents - it reveals deficiencies in players who otherwise thrive in lower divisions. Regarding individual scoring stats - IMO their importance is way over- hyped. Bball is a team sport, what matters is the function performed by the team and whether players show intelligence and whether they can execute a game plan. To assist you develop a dispassionate approac - ii strongly recommendv you eview film of matches against better opposition and breakdown key elements of offense and defense efficiency. Then ask - how did your kid contribute? Not necessarily scoring but actions that make others look good. It might be setting a good screen, making the right decisions when in possession. Not just the selfish heroball stuff. This is the virtue of film, it helps you overcome confirmation bias which is rife when you see play unfold real time.

I never managed to come back and say a huge thank you to everyone who responded and for all the above advice(somehow locked myself out of this forum for a good while!)

You folks clearly know what you're talking about and have provided some great grounding advice and perspective to this non-baller parent.

I will take it all that onboard and try and help kiddo with the correct focus on his team game and discipline myself to that same end!

Just wanna say thanks! :) (better late than never!)