With the start of the new school year upon us, lots of kids are trying out for teams. Some are travel squads, some are school teams, and some are rec teams. With the exception of the rec programs, more and more kids are finding themselves having to try out and compete to make a competitive team.

As a sports parent, understand that these tryouyts can be extremely challenging for your youngster. As such, you want to do your homework before you sign your child up to try out. For starters, find out as much as you can about the team, just how competitive it is, and most importantly, who the coach is.

If it's a travel team, understand that you can't assume that the try outs are going to be fair. That is, since most travel teams are set up and organized by one or two parents in town, they are going to choose their kids first to be on the team, and then most likely, their kids' friends. While you would hope that the try outs are conducted fairly, the sad truth is that there's no guarantee of that.

Long before the try outs begin, ask around town. Talk to the parents of the kids who played on that travel team last year or the year before. Ask about the try outs and how they're conducted. Ask about the coach, i.e. does he give all the kids equal playing time? Does he scream and yell? Does he play favorites with his own kid? Is winning his top priority?

Trust me, the more homework you do, the better equippped you'll be about your kid and his or her chances of making the time. And even more importantly, whether this is a travel team you want your child to be on. If worse comes to worse, there's no magic to putting out your own shingle and starting your own travel team. Think about that as a distinct possibility as well. 

Remember this, there really aren't any comforting words to say to an 8 or 9-year-old who just tried out for a travel team and got cut. Most kids who don't make the squad are so embarrassed by the experience that they rarely try out the following year. I just don't see how a 9-year-old can be "washed up" at that tender age, but travel teams tend to send that very message. Be careful.