Preferred roster size?

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Coaches/Parents what is your preferred roster size? My preferred number is 11, I've mostly carried 12 but when I was short a player I found 11 more manageable, anybody have succes with 10 or prefer 10? Just curious on others thoughts.

 

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I think it depends on how good a team you are. If you exit tournaments fairly quickly 10-11 could work but if you go deep then I think 12-13 is better. The more games you play in a weekend raises the risk for injuries and a deeper bench gives you some freshness.

 

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I like 11 but have taken 12 this year since I lose a couple to high school ball in the spring.

 

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I have had 10's the last 2 years and making the jump to 12U this year. I want 11. I always bat everyone with free defensive substitution, every chance I get. Has it cost me? maybe. I will always gamble taking an out for a player due to an in-game injury, than keeping someone on the bench. These kids don't develop their skills sitting on their cans next to me in the dugout, they need to be on the field. I also have a friend that has a 2nd year 14U team and he has always "ended-up" with 10. Tries for 11 but for whatever reason, the established team and the 11th never seem to fit. He is considering 10 due to that and he playes a serious schedule, so maybe it's not all about the manager, but about the team too.

 

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Wow, I started with 14 and due to injury ws down to 13 real quick. By end of season could have used another player or two. As they get older they tend to have more injuries, especially coming out of high school. I like to have players on the bench for several reasons,for one as they get older pitchers usually just pitch and it is nice having courtesy runners or pinch runners. The biggest thing is that it breeds competition, they better keep working on their game so that they get their playing time. Those week ends when we play 10 games no one really should have a problem with playing time. May not make 10 games if we only had 10 or 11 players. I cannot imagine the west coast rosters that we face with 18 players but I can see the benefits of having 13 or 14. I think you are cutting it close if you have less than 12. I am currently at 13 and may need to get a sub or two for some fall showcases.

 

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I have had 10's the last 2 years and making the jump to 12U this year. I want 11. I always bat everyone with free defensive substitution, every chance I get. Has it cost me? maybe. I will always gamble taking an out for a player due to an in-game injury, than keeping someone on the bench. These kids don't develop their skills sitting on their cans next to me in the dugout, they need to be on the field. I also have a friend that has a 2nd year 14U team and he has always "ended-up" with 10. Tries for 11 but for whatever reason, the established team and the 11th never seem to fit. He is considering 10 due to that and he playes a serious schedule, so maybe it's not all about the manager, but about the team too.

Nice points.

 

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Wow, I started with 14 and due to injury ws down to 13 real quick. By end of season could have used another player or two. As they get older they tend to have more injuries, especially coming out of high school. I like to have players on the bench for several reasons,for one as they get older pitchers usually just pitch and it is nice having courtesy runners or pinch runners. The biggest thing is that it breeds competition, they better keep working on their game so that they get their playing time. Those week ends when we play 10 games no one really should have a problem with playing time. May not make 10 games if we only had 10 or 11 players. I cannot imagine the west coast rosters that we face with 18 players but I can see the benefits of having 13 or 14. I think you are cutting it close if you have less than 12. I am currently at 13 and may need to get a sub or two for some fall showcases.

Good points. DD's team is at 12 and looking. We have one injured until spring. I like 13 but would be happy with 14. High school ball is rough on players. You can count on some injuries. The scary part is waiting to see how many. Other sports always seems to cost one or two players in fall ball.

 

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I always thought 12 was about right ... definitely no more unless you're talking about an 18-U team with a lot of graduating seniors, etc. You have to figure that there's almost always going to be 1 girl who can't make it, is injured, sick or something. Agree that just managing 11 is easier. By the way, 12 spreads the cost out a little more too. One other thought ... the more you have, the more likely you will lose one due to playing time issues ...

 

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Wow, I started with 14 and due to injury ws down to 13 real quick. By end of season could have used another player or two. As they get older they tend to have more injuries, especially coming out of high school. I like to have players on the bench for several reasons,for one as they get older pitchers usually just pitch and it is nice having courtesy runners or pinch runners. The biggest thing is that it breeds competition, they better keep working on their game so that they get their playing time. Those week ends when we play 10 games no one really should have a problem with playing time. May not make 10 games if we only had 10 or 11 players. I cannot imagine the west coast rosters that we face with 18 players but I can see the benefits of having 13 or 14. I think you are cutting it close if you have less than 12. I am currently at 13 and may need to get a sub or two for some fall showcases.

If you are going to play at a high level from 14U and up you need AT LEAST 13-14 players. Injuries happen quite frequently at this level. We are at 13 and will not fall below 12......once we hit 12 we will start looking for players.

 

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I always thought 12 was about right ... definitely no more unless you're talking about an 18-U team with a lot of graduating seniors, etc. You have to figure that there's almost always going to be 1 girl who can't make it, is injured, sick or something. Agree that just managing 11 is easier. By the way, 12 spreads the cost out a little more too. One other thought ... the more you have, the more likely you will lose one due to playing time issues ...

Even 12 is rough managing 3 on the bench. We played the Gold Coast Hurricanes in Myrtle Beach and they had 16 on the roster as a 12u team. Some were pitchers who only pitched, didn't bat or play any other positions. A couple were just there to run the bases. This team travels out of state a lot. I have to wonder how they sell this to the parents or keep it from becoming a parent nightmare. I can understand this at 15/16u, but 12?

 

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10u I like 11

 

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At the younger ages (10u-12u) you can get away with 10-11. The commitment level is high, they are all young and don't have much to do other than school and ball so it is rare that they miss very much. As they hit the older ages (14u-18u), you have to carry more players if you want to field a team every weekend. The girls have more to do, school and softball suddenly aren't the only things on their plates....even your most committed players have other commitments as well.

 

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11 so nobody has to sit on the bench alone

 

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Even 12 is rough managing 3 on the bench.

It isn't rough if you have the right 12...

We played the Gold Coast Hurricanes in Myrtle Beach and they had 16 on the roster as a 12u team. Some were pitchers who only pitched, didn't bat or play any other positions. A couple were just there to run the bases. This team travels out of state a lot. I have to wonder how they sell this to the parents or keep it from becoming a parent nightmare. I can understand this at 15/16u, but 12?

I could understand 16 if 2-3 were pick-ups for ASA/USA Nationals. GCH is a high-profile name and those parents are thinking their daughters will move up through the org to the 18G team, but they are sadly mistaken.

 

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I think it depends on the team and type of travel. If I were to do a true Gold type team and play in top premier tournaments, I'd carry at least 15.

 

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We played the Gold Coast Hurricanes in Myrtle Beach and they had 16 on the roster as a 12u team. Some were pitchers who only pitched, didn't bat or play any other positions. A couple were just there to run the bases. This team travels out of state a lot. I have to wonder how they sell this to the parents or keep it from becoming a parent nightmare.

I would imagine that's it's easier to have the parents buy into the philosophy if you're very succesful. Watching your kid ride the pines is never enjoyable, but it's easier to swallow if you occassionally bring home the hardware.

 

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At 18 I took 13. Reason being in the fall there is always home coming ACT college visits and work. For the last 3 seasons I have had to scrounge subs in the fall. It gets old real quick.

Tim

 

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I like 13-14, my assistants like 11 so we are carrying 12 at 16U. I am thinking long and hard about making an executive decision and going to 13 because of all of the conflicts with other sports, homecoming, injuries, etc.

 

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Theres a huge diff between managing 11 and managing 12, imo. 12 is way too many, eleven is perfect because u can have one on vaca and still have an extra. Could not imagine carrying 13 or 14...but i dont play deep into sunday either, lol.

 

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When you are playing 5GG and are at risk of playing 4 games on a Saturday 10 healthy players is way to few to have anything left for the elimination games.

I would put the absolute minimum at 12 and would prefer 13 healthy players in order to go deep on Sunday. Of that 12; 3 would be primarily pitchers and two would be catchers all of which will need some downtime in order to recover and maintain their performance. This gives you only 7 position players to move around freely. So add to these 12 healthy players a single injured player and a single schedule conflict player. I think that you should have no fewer than 14 on your roster. This takes on added impetuous in the older age groups (18U and 16U) adding college visits, graduation, jobs and boys.

14 to 15 rostered players insures that your players will be able to get stronger and better over the travel season, not suffer exhaustion, burnout and over-use injuries. You will be able to go deeper in your last tournament. Bat 11, move people in and out, and win a few tournaments and this roster doesn't look so unmanageable when you are playing 8 -10 games a weekend.