How many players on a team?

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Just wondering what most think is the right number of players to have on a team. I saw one 16u roster with 15+ girls listed on it. In my opinion that would be too many girls. I guess it would depend on the expectations of the girls and their parents on playing time, if that could work well or not. I guess in a perfect world any coach would love to have 15 players and parents that would be content, no matter how the coach utilized the team.

 

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11 is the magic number for me. I like knowing if someone gets injured or for whatever reason they can't make it, I have back-ups. Plus, it's much easier to manage 11 players rotating in and out. Just my opinion

 

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I think 11 is the perfect number as well but that is for 14u and younger. As you get older I think 12 to 13 is a good number, especially at the 18u level.

 

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I think 11 is the perfect number as well but that is for 14u and younger. As you get older I think 12 to 13 is a good number, especially at the 18u level.

I always would go with 11. If you have 11 you usually can avoid playing time issues

 

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I say 11. However, in Moline at the USA/ASA World Series, probably all of the CA teams there had at least 16 players on there rosters. When asked if that was just for Nationals, they said they carry that many all year long.

 

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After coaching travel ball for quite a while, I changed my mind in the last year or two of my team's run. I always carried 11 or 12 like everyone else in Ohio. I realized by the end that even though it made things easier on me as a coach, it didn't do our girls any favors.

If I had to do it again, I would carry 14-16, assuming I have a college exposure type of team at 14-U and older. Of course, to do that you have to convince all of those girls that they want to be on a team with that many players. There probably aren't that many teams or coaches in Ohio who hold that kind of sway, but that's at least what I would attempt.

The larger roster is better for a few reasons: 1. If the team is trying to win ASA Nationals or maybe a big tournament like Colorado Fireworks or Boulder, you are going to play a ton of games on Saturday and Sunday and need the larger roster to get through the bracket. 2. More important, our Ohio girls are shielded from competition for playing time and position, which hurts them as they move into college. This is the biggest reason I would have a larger roster. 3. Finally, having the larger roster allows teams to do more exposure tournaments as you can now more freely let a player take a weekend off. This is the norm for teams out west in the fall showcases, some players go and some stay home. Having 16 girls to choose from makes that possible, in addition to combining teams from the same organization.

 

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I always would go with 11. If you have 11 you usually can avoid playing time issues

I here this alot with numbers. I have to ask if playing time to avoid parent issues is the main reason to come up with 11 players. If winning is a issue would it not be better to have more players. With 11 players and if using a dp flex you have only 1 girl on the bench to use for a runner for the catcher or the pitcher. If this 1 player goes into the game for anyone else now you have no one to goto to incase of injury to fill in that spot in the batting order.

I see many southern and western teams having 16 players on a team. High schools, and Colleges also carry more than just 11 more like 14 to 16.

I guess the biggest reason for how many players on a team would depend more on how many games the team will be playing and in what kind of heat most of the games will be played in..

 

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Parma and Joe:

11 is indeed driven by playing time issues. Do you have any ideas on how to sell Ohio parents that 12 or even more (though the "more" I can't imagine in our current Ohio culture) is the better number? Because in Ohio if you go to 12, you run the risk of losing someone during the summer whose parents think she isn't getting enough playing time. That's actually a "risk" that we have seen materialize into a reality in the past four years. Is it just a matter of taking the increased number to the parents and hoping they will agree? And if they don't agree, do we simply make it a part of our tryout profile the following year?

We are lucky in that we have a current roster of players who ALL deserve a LOT of playing time, so we wouldn't be talking about a couple of players sitting for 50% of the time. But I still have trouble thinking about managing PT for 12 players.

Thanks.

 

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good comments esp by Joe about forcing players NOT to get content after they make a roster. You get 14-15 girls that can play and have a strong desire to excel then all players are pushed to stay sharp . Kids can change alot between Aug tryouts and next july , for both the good and bad.

biggest thing on number is what level you wish to compete. you wish to compete deep on the weekend at ASA nationals you need 13-14 at a minimum. you go with 11 or 12 physical and mental fatigue becomes a factor. thats my opinion. MD

 

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cgs:

Ideally it would be sold as the team is initially formed. You could still do it at the beginning of a particular year of tryouts, but the easiest way is when the team is first formed.

It has to be the right type of team. It would need to be 14-U or older and a team that intends to be a college exposure team. Only a coach or an organization with a history or forming such teams would have the credibility to pull it off in Ohio. If we turned the clock back to late July/early August and I were giving it a go, I would advertise the team as a team that intends to attend not only Stingrays, Orland Park, Lasers, etc., but also New Jersey, Colorado Fireworks or Boulder and ASA Nationals and Premier if the team can qualify, and maybe four fall showcases in California, Houston and possibly Florida, with the thought the girls need to attend at least two of the fall showcases.

A lot of money, yes. Do Ohio girls want to sign with the SEC, Pac-10, Big 12, Big 10, etc? Then this is the track you pretty much need to be on (there is always the exception, I realize). Even if they don't go to a BCS school, at least they have played top-notch competition, had to battle for playing time and aren't going to be intimidated by any college opponent after facing the Batbusters, Corona Angels, etc. over the years.

 

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We are carrying 11 girls this upcoming year. Just need to find that 11th girl .

 

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Parma and Joe:

11 is indeed driven by playing time issues. Do you have any ideas on how to sell Ohio parents that 12 or even more (though the "more" I can't imagine in our current Ohio culture) is the better number? Because in Ohio if you go to 12, you run the risk of losing someone during the summer whose parents think she isn't getting enough playing time. That's actually a "risk" that we have seen materialize into a reality in the past four years. Is it just a matter of taking the increased number to the parents and hoping they will agree? And if they don't agree, do we simply make it a part of our tryout profile the following year?

We are lucky in that we have a current roster of players who ALL deserve a LOT of playing time, so we wouldn't be talking about a couple of players sitting for 50% of the time. But I still have trouble thinking about managing PT for 12 players.

Thanks.

Were you watching our 10u team last year? Had two girls break their arm in a two week span so we picked up a player. Went from 11 to 12 and when they were all healthy, it was a nightmare to manage. Ended up one kid left us due to playing time.

 

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Joe:

Gulp . . . those airfares would mean I would have to keep my day job and I was really looking forward to semi-retirement as a way of handling my softball responsibilities. But wouldn't it be wonderful if somehow we could put together a team like that. Given my proclivities, I would love it if we could finance such a team so that family income would not dictate who would be on the roster. Come winter I just might put on a different hat and research how to market such an endeavor.

 

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Airfares ???... charter a bus !!!!! Much, much cheaper and parents are along and grandparents and share the costs, etc...

 

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Just wanted to jump in on a real softball related issue to validate my addicted status. The problem with carrying a large roster is most teams wont play those big tournaments. No parent wants to shell out the money for lessons and team fees to watch their kid ride the pine. It's not natural. I do have a question for some of you really in the know. If you go to a tournament to watch one of the big teams play are you watching the kid on the bench? I dont think you are.

 

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Obviously, if you are a team looking for ASA/USA Nationals.. you should have more than 11 players on your team based on you better have pitchers or you have no chance. Absolutely none. Heat, amount of games played.. you better have back up and pitchers that can rest and not play another position.

Global Sports Authority.. which is new to Ohio this coming season.. is coach friendly actually. You can bat up to 11 players and have a base burner.. that gives a coach an option to play 12 players.. thus keeping parents off his/her back. If someone gets hurt.. it's not an out or anything silly like that. The line-up is just squeezed.

Wow, 11 player rosters... what do you coaches do when someone can't play that weekend or is injured?

 

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Quake, we spend hours sketching out who is available at what times and then arranging for pick-up players. We don't have a problem with pitchers (we have three great ones) or catchers (two regular ones with some really talented back-ups), we just have a problem in the fall making sure we have enough players not to take an out in any given game. Problem gets harder as the girls get older. But given that we aren't starting until after graduations this year, we don't anticipate a big problem with requiring pickup players in the summer. Playing with 12 in the summer would be a challenge. One that we may still present to our families and one that we will probably incorporate into our try-out advertisement next year . . . but that is still to be decided by the big guy (that is, the Buckeye Heat 95's big guy, not the REAL Big Guy who has a garage dedicated to fastpitch).

 

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I just think pitchers need rest and not playing the field.. so they can be fresh for their next assignment. Especially your number #1 pitcher. If she is a good hitter... then DP/Flex or additional hitter is an option.

But, 11 players has to be rough. Maybe Ohio needs to look at the California level / National level Joe A. always talk about.. as it seems they have success with their roster amount of players. But, I guess it is in the mindset of the parents not to carry more than 11 in Ohio.

I think if I was an "A" team coach... I'd carry two extra "B" players on my roster..especially if I found out in tryouts they are coachable and have potential and their parents know this from the get go.

Then I don't worry about searching for fill-ins when needed. I got them already and here's their chance to shine.

I guess I'm a different kind of breed from a diffferent era.

 

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I just think pitchers need rest and not playing the field.. so they can be fresh for their next assignment. Especially your number #1 pitcher. If she is a good hitter... then DP/Flex or additional hitter is an option.

But, 11 players has to be rough. Maybe Ohio needs to look at the California level / National level Joe A. always talk about.. as it seems they have success with their roster amount of players. But, I guess it is in the mindset of the parents not to carry more than 11 in Ohio.

I think if I was an "A" team coach... I'd carry two extra "B" players on my roster..especially if I found out in tryouts they are coachable and have potential and their parents know this from the get go.

Then I don't worry about searching for fill-ins when needed. I got them already and here's their chance to shine.

I guess I'm a different kind of breed from a diffferent era.

And for the "honor" of sitting on your bench do these young ladies pay full price?

 

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Sure do. I play them when we play pool play. They work hard, they take the extra time at home to get better... never know.. they might be starting by Summer... 10 months away ( for 14u, 16u and 18u ). A lot can happen in 10 months AFTER tryouts if you start up in June with tournament play.

They know their role. If I can make one into a bunter.. and a very good one.. she'll be pinch hitting a lot in games for girls that can't bunt when I need a bunt.

Everybody has their role. That is why they call it a "team".

See, I'm different. If I'm the manager, parents wouldn't be telling me C R A P. I'd almost bet I could produce a winner.. and wouldn't be looking for tryouts each August as my girls stayed on.