How should teams be chosen?

Hi everyone. You've all been very helpful in advising me on previous topics.
I really appreciate all of your responses.

I am tasked with selecting a 5 member team for an upcoming tournament.
I started my job in April as the coach of a high school and college team.

I am curious to know if there are certain principles that I should be aware of when deciding.
I wish it were as easy as having an in-house tournament and letting the students battle it out.
However, there are so many dynamics at play like work ethic, attitude, weight, how they might match up with other teams, politics, age, etc.

I'd love to get your perspectives.

I am currently selecting a team from my Dojo and I do it as follows;

The players that come into the frame are whittled out as follows;

1. Is he/she going to be out of depth? ie: Possibility of getting hurt due to being outclassed?
2. Has he/she been a regular to class, showing dedication? Deserving a place?
3. Does he/she WANT to take part in the competition?
4. Will he/she gain by taking part. Meaning, will the player learn by the experience?
5. Will he/she be able to take a loss or win in the right spirit? Or quit if they lose?

I sometimes have parents trying to pressure me into allowing their child to be part of the team. I am very firm with this though and hold no punches in telling why the child did not make it and also what they have to do to make it next time.

It is a privilege being selected to my competition team and I make a little ceremony of announcing it, together with words of encouragement for those that don't make it. The team gets looked up to and inspires the others to do better, work harder etc in order to make it next time.

If the competition is a "lessor" one, I would select accordingly. Not always the best players selected for the lessor competitions. I use them as indicators for future selections to more prestigious competitions as well.

When you go down the path of sports competition judo it is results that matter - nothing else.  Forget politics, forget learning experience - you are there to win - if not do not bother. (Kodokan Judo is much more but sport competition judo is not). What you should do is this:

1. If the team event is weight categories - some are - then put up sheets for all the brackets - tell the class that if they want to be considered for selection to sign up.  If more than one player signs up for a category then arrange selection fight offs.  The winners on the day gets a place in the team.

2. If it is an open event i.e. not in weight categories then fight-offs are the way to go too.  Use a random draw.  That is the beauty of judo - nowhere to hide, no way to manipulate the outcome.  If you are flat on your back or being held down than you have not won - simples.

You have a duty to pick the team that has the most change of success.  Do not be distracted by anything else.  That is what your students deserve and that is what the school/college that hires you deserve. There is nothing worse that having a judo team with an omitted player saying "but I can beat him/her" having had you pick a team based on reasons other than competitive prowess.

All great advice.

Davaro, thanks for your thoughts, and I should have clarified a bit more. I'm in Japan and a good percentage of my students have come from far away in order to do judo here. We are totally outclassed by 2 teams in the prefecture. The top team is so far ahead of us that the matches look like kata really. SO, my students, though fairly skillful, are all well acquainted with losing. We are in the tough place of always being on the bubble of being able to advance out of our prefecture and on to regional tournaments. It will take years to get to a level where we could qualify our team for the all japan championships.

Jonesy, I like the simplicity of your criteria. Fight-offs eliminate a lot of controversy.
I suppose that system would reduce a lot of risk I'd take on in dealing with disgruntled students and parents....

For Jonesy or any others, how do you deal with a situation where you know an athlete won't win in a fight-off within the team, but would stand a better chance to win in a team tournament than anothers?

Surely that is not an issue? Are you suggesting that someone will beat an opponent from outside your team, but not those within your team? Surely the individual who defeats this player inside your team will also be able to defeat opponents outside it if the person he beat inside the team selection can?

It is all about merit. This is how Japan has traditionally selected its teams. Shozo Fujii never went to an Olympics despite being a double World Champion. He never won the trials in Olympic year.

thats what im speculating, though i cant say for certain. i have a 93kg player who has a limited range of waza. he has a nice uchimata and ouchi gari and has one turnover in newaza that he likes. its easy to figure him out. however, he is aggressive and difficult to throw. with the way the team tournaments work and especially the new rules regarding penalties, he could probably get a lot of draws.

i have another player, 68kg with better judo all around. i imagine he'd beat the 93kg player in an intra-squad tournament. however, out of a 5 member team, i would need to put him 3rd in the lineup and he would likely face opponents who are 2-4 weight categories above him. i dont know that he has the stamina to last multiple rounds against larger opponents.