Coaches might insist that they love to see a lot of players at tryouts, but they know more players means more cuts. And more cuts means more heartache, sorrow resentment and anger directed at the coach, other players or the sport.

The solution? Nasty little ways to encourage players to cut themselves. I call them the five Roster Reducers:

1. The five-mile kickoff run » For a lot of field sports, such as lacrosse, soccer and field hockey, tryouts begin with a long, timed run. The dreaded run becomes legendary in the off-season, a reminder of the pain inflicted on the first day, before anyone has a chance to demonstrate flashy stickwork or sprint speed.

But a long run is a poor gauge of athletic talent and a terrible training technique. College soccer and lacrosse coaches avoid - sometimes even ban - long runs. These sports rely more on sprint speed, which can be hindered by distance training. The top coaches know long runs have no impact on how an attacker breaks to the goal or how a defender contains an opponent on the wing

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But that’s not the role of the run in high school. It is designed to scare away players who are not committed to offseason training.

2. The varsity call-up » This is a post-season strategy that convinced plenty of players to hang up their cleats. After two years on junior varsity, sophomores are often invited to dress for varsity during the post-season, an unspoken promise of a roster sport the following year. Those not afforded the courtesy call-up have nine months to analyze that decision before the next season gets underway. Was the coach rewarding players for working hard on junior varsity? Or was he or she warning the non-callups that their high school career is over? At most schools it’s a little of both. Freshmen who are called up are earning the coach’s appreciation. Sophomores who aren’t called up are getting a subtle warning. Some of them won’t return.

3. Juniors on JV » Beware the benevolent coach who wants to keep players involved by announcing that junior varsity will be open to high school juniors. There are teams whose policies are designed to let more students participate in sports. But the varsity coaches are rarely interested in those players down the road. So the junior varsity coaches must decide what to do with players who are not being prepared for varsity roles. In most cases, this puts the oldest players at the bottom of the developmental pools. The older players are out of place on and off the field and in the mostly younger social network.

4. Off-season teams » Coaches have enormous — though often stealth — roles in selecting off-season training teams. It’s a good guess that players not selected for the school’s limited spot training team won’t have much shot at a spot on the official roster.

5. Playing time » Long-time coaches have predictable track records for playing time. Those with reputations for keeping starters on the field are also sending a message: It’s a long season to ride the bench. It’s a message some players heed before they fill out the paperwork for tryouts.

In the end there are few kind ways to cut players from high school teams. The social status alone of being the member of a varsity roster means many student athletes and their parents ignore the clear message being sent by the Roster Reducers.

Instead of Roster Reducers, schools and recreation leagues should work together to find alternative opportunities for students who lack the skills for high school teams but still have a passion for the sport and can still learn the many great lessons from sports outside of high school.

Effie Dawson writes about high school and youth sports. She can be reached at edawson@baltimoreexaminer.com