Preferred roster size?

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

It may work with the right 12, playing 12 when 4 of them only play first base is not enjoyable for anyone. Putting kids in the field at any position just to get them in is not good for a true travel team. Its not fair to the kids who earned a certain position to sit while you get your oversize roster some playing time anywhere on the field.

 

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took 12 to 16U nationals this year....ended last game with 8 in the field (2 OFs), and 1 of them was already a wounded bird..........athletes going full speed and busting it means injuries WILL happen.....I'm of the belief that you're either Prepared or you're Wishing you were Prepared.

 

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Fairman ... having 14-15 rostered players in Ohio insures one thing for sure ... that several will quit due to playing time. And you can be sure that of your 5 pitchers and catchers, they are going to want to do more than just pitch and catch, and will be position players for you as well.

 

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I think it really depends on what age level the team is at and what the main goal of the team is.

My boilerplate is 12 for 14u and below; 13 for 16u; 14+ for 18u. The older girls tend to play a little harder and don't ever believe that softball is not a contact sport. There are also various advantages to carrying more girls, but it does add burden on the coach to ensure enough playing time. JMHO

 

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DD's team (14U) has 12 rostered players and 3 "practice players." Practice players are not guaranteed any playing time and pay a reduced fee. This concept has worked very well for the organization, but obviously it isn't for everyone. Practice includes a significant amount of one on one instruction so that's one of the reasons why the parents agree to the concept. And of course there is always a chance to earn a full fledged roster spot.

 

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14 or 15

 

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The GCH younger teams are not very strong. The only real "teams" they have are their 18u teams. But having large rosters is the norm for them. That being said they move players around from team to team depending on the event they are playing.

Last year I had 12 and it was VERY difficult to keep everyone happy with PT. I changed to team a bit for the fall and we will only carry 11 - as an 18u team. I just can't see sitting kids or having one-dimentional players. Now if the team is a for profit situation you can figure out why they carry so many players.

It isn't rough if you have the right 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.

Now if there are a few STUDS in Ohio that want to come down and play I am sure we could work something out.....................

 

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Tim - you are so right. We played Rising Stars last fall with 8 players for two days!! Every team we played let us borrow a field player that they had on their bench. It was kind of fun!!! We also played - and won - two games in the Carolina Dynamite 2 years ago with 8 players because of injuries. The kids still talk about it - they wear it as a badge of honor...

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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The GCH younger teams are not very strong. The only real "teams" they have are their 18u teams. But having large rosters is the norm for them. That being said they move players around from team to team depending on the event they are playing.

Doesn't matter whether the younger teams are any good or not - parents think they're the ticket to the 18G team.

Last year I had 12 and it was VERY difficult to keep everyone happy with PT. I changed to team a bit for the fall and we will only carry 11 - as an 18u team.

Some people weren't happy with their playing time, yet you only had 8 healthy players at some events? What percentage of the time did you have all 12 and healthy? Something is not right with this picture... Best wishes for the Fall 'cuz you're going to need it with an even smaller 18u roster.

I just can't see sitting kids or having one-dimentional players. ...

Did you mean dimensional or demential? LOL

 

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This year I have increased our roster size to 12 - I wanted to go to 13 but parents & assistant coaches were not keen on that idea. So I listened & we are at 12. Now that we are 15U I wanted to increase roster size to keep girls fresh so when they are in front of college coaches they are at full strength. It hard to get the parent to see that sometimes less equals more such that giving up a few innings here & there could mean more via going deeper into tournaments & as such means more innings overall. Our road is tough this Fall this Fall (Tanel 360 - Indy, Diamond Gold Exposure-Chattanooga & Mid West Fall Signautre Exposure - Cbus) so I hope these 12 warriors are ready.

 

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This year I have increased our roster size to 12 - I wanted to go to 13 but parents & assistant coaches were not keen on that idea. So I listened & we are at 12. Now that we are 15U I wanted to increase roster size to keep girls fresh so when they are in front of college coaches they are at full strength. It hard to get the parent to see that sometimes less equals more such that giving up a few innings here & there could mean more via going deeper into tournaments & as such means more innings overall. Our road is tough this Fall this Fall (Tanel 360 - Indy, Diamond Gold Exposure-Chattanooga & Mid West Fall Signautre Exposure - Cbus) so I hope these 12 warriors are ready.

I'm surprised parents get to assist on determining your roster size? If kids want to go to college and since summer is only 10 weeks long in Ohio before Nationals, then you might want to go with at least 14 at the 16u level, kids have ACT and SAT and better be attending college camps, pitchers get tired, catchers get tired, and somebody always gets hurt if not at least 2 or 3. Playing 8 weeks out of 10 before nationals, girls get wore out and injured, surprised you've not learned that over the last couple of years, or your not playing enough. Just saying, and could we stop with the 15U, 13U, 11U, 9U? All Qualifers and Nationals that College Coaches attend are 14U, 16U, 18U. Get rid of this **** of 15U team, that's just an excuse to say we are a first year team.... JMO

 

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At 10U I am going with 12. Using flex/dp and courtsey runners its not hard to get everyone playing time. Also, helps when dealing with injuries and vacations and it never hurts to have a little added competition for playing time.

 

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The question should be not how many players on one team but how many teams with the same age in one organization? Feel like the monopolization is killing the game. JMHO!

 

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At 10U I am going with 12. Using flex/dp and courtsey runners its not hard to get everyone playing time. Also, helps when dealing with injuries and vacations and it never hurts to have a little added competition for playing time.

Just came from 10's, 10 year olds aren't big fans of DP/Flex lol, I don't think they view it the same way we do. Good thing is most tourneys let you bat everybody. Unless the kid is playing the field and hitting do they view it as playing. My 1st year with a straight 9u team 12 was great, they didn't deal with the heat well... The next year kids that couldn't make it a full game because of the heat were catching 3 straight games at Stingray's in 105 degree heat. Last year even with the DP Flex it was difficult getting everybody enough playing time. It was 10u and above all else they want to play. At 18's kids had jobs and as stated much more on their plate so I thought 12 was a solid number, we played on some very hot weekends in some tough tourneys Asa/USA qualifiers, Laser nation and Stingrays and it was difficult balancing competing with the top teams and getting everybody a proper amount of playing time. Many of the real good teams from Ohio and Michigan had 10-11 kids, that's what has changed my line of thinking.

 

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12 is my number as it has been for 4 years and I still end up using a sub or two before end of season. I know a number of coaches that prefer 11, but they better have subs on speed dial.

 

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The question should be not how many players on one team but how many teams with the same age in one organization? Feel like the monopolization is killing the game. JMHO!

How is it killing the game?

 

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Thanks for your concern regarding my team. As far as "maybe we have not played enough" I can certainly tell you that over the last three years we have probably played more games than any other team especially at our same age (270 thru 12-14U). With this said, I don't think playing 8 of 10 weeks or even 10 of 10 wears girls out - at least it does not on our team as we condiition for that.

Further, about parents & assistant coaches help determining the roster size. Maybe I am a little different but the opinions & thoughts of both of those groups matter to me especially my coaches. In order to try to continue to be a strong team & program all three groups (coaches / players / parents) have to be onboard. If one of the three are not - then you'll sink like the Titanic. If you know me or my team, you know it doesn't matter to me what age a team is, we'll play anyone anytime so not sure what you are tyring to read into by me claiming we are 15U which BTW is designated in our Team name - Cincy Static '97. Further, if this is so wrong, then why do so many teams in different org use a birth yr in thier name - I am sure it is not for an excuse when you are at the first yr in your new age group.

For the record, your statement is totally inaccurate that all nationals that coaches attend are either 14U / 16U / 18U as USSSA has aged specific events & nationals (if USSSA is where you want to play). Thought you would have known this fact by now - just sayn. A work colleague daughter's was noticed at one of these events & eventually signed at that school.

I'm surprised parents get to assist on determining your roster size? If kids want to go to college and since summer is only 10 weeks long in Ohio before Nationals, then you might want to go with at least 14 at the 16u level, kids have ACT and SAT and better be attending college camps, pitchers get tired, catchers get tired, and somebody always gets hurt if not at least 2 or 3. Playing 8 weeks out of 10 before nationals, girls get wore out and injured, surprised you've not learned that over the last couple of years, or your not playing enough. Just saying, and could we stop with the 15U, 13U, 11U, 9U? All Qualifers and Nationals that College Coaches attend are 14U, 16U, 18U. Get rid of this **** of 15U team, that's just an excuse to say we are a first year team.... JMO

 

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SoCal_Dad

I had a full team in everything except what I mentioned. I didn't say people weren't happy about playing time. I said it is tough keeping everyone happy - but I was able to do it. The picture actually looked pretty good. We played the same schedule as 16s as we will as 18s. The situation is very odd though. We have three pitchers that are very skilled at other positions - and they hit as well. So our roster isn't filled with specialy players. I will take the problems with a smaller roster anytime vs the issues with trying to juggle a fall filled with 6 showcases and trying to get 15 players reps in front of the coaches. Every player on our roster gets quality reps when interested coaches come calling. I don't think that can be said for player #12-15+ on larger rosters. But to each his/her own.

The big down side is the financial implications of a smaller roster. Events now costing $950 and up make the team costs excessive. Splitting those 11 ways instead of 15+ makes a difference. But if your team is a not for profit group it does make it easier.

 

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Just came from 10's, 10 year olds aren't big fans of DP/Flex lol, I don't think they view it the same way we do. Good thing is most tourneys let you bat everybody. Unless the kid is playing the field and hitting do they view it as playing. My 1st year with a straight 9u team 12 was great, they didn't deal with the heat well... The next year kids that couldn't make it a full game because of the heat were catching 3 straight games at Stingray's in 105 degree heat. Last year even with the DP Flex it was difficult getting everybody enough playing time. It was 10u and above all else they want to play. At 18's kids had jobs and as stated much more on their plate so I thought 12 was a solid number, we played on some very hot weekends in some tough tourneys Asa/USA qualifiers, Laser nation and Stingrays and it was difficult balancing competing with the top teams and getting everybody a proper amount of playing time. Many of the real good teams from Ohio and Michigan had 10-11 kids, that's what has changed my line of thinking.

Right now I'm only at 9 on the roster so I might not have to worry about playing time

 

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Doesn't it make sense to rest a player in pool play especially your pitchers and catchers but even your stud SS can use some time in the shade and your #2 can use some reps at that position.

I suspect that those players that are playing 10 tournaments in 10 weeks with a roster of 10 do NOT improve their skills because of exhaustion. I also supsect that those teams suffer more injuries than a team that has designed in some recovery time.