Roster size concensus....

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Injuries are the key component here to me. What if it is an injured cathcer/pitcher. These are tough fill-in positions. Often times a girl could play 3rd, 1st, RF or SS, 2B, CF. To me a girl who can play multiple places is very valuable especially as a 10th or 11th player who could flex. I would always like to have 3 pitchers and 2 catchers to start with who could also play different positions. I know it is tough to be a 10-13 player for both the kids and parents, but to me those players/parents are invaluable b/c often times there are injuries or other circumstances that come up where they are indeed very important to the team. 13,14, 15 deep would be very hard to take or come by unless they were picked up for one reason or another.

 

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I go with 12 as long as they are commited. 13-14 players will cause people to be unhappy- remember every parent thinks their DD is the best so if they sit they can cause big problems.

even with 12 players I think players and parents need to understand their role on the team.

 

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i think it depends on the number of games you plan on playing. if your making it well into sunday at these tournaments and playing alot of games and its 100 degrees outside i could see the benefit of having around 13-14 players on your roster. yes i would like to see people running for pitchers and catchers at that point. even maybe sitting the pitcher who is going to be pitching the next game. my dd is a pitcher and i love to see her play in multiple positions when she isn't pitching but.. realistically i know that when your playing back to back games and its hot and humid out.. it might be best for her to sit the game before she is suppose to pitch to keep her strength. and as for pitchers.. maybe carry two strong pitchers and a third that understands she's a third pitcher. Should be plenty of innings for all three.

 

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.. maybe carry two strong pitchers and a third that understands she's a third pitcher. Should be plenty of innings for all three.


Have you ever met a parent that thinks his kid is the number three pitcher?

 

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no i'm sure there are some out there but most i've know would think thats a bad thing. but like i said there are alot of innings to be played in summer ball. and being third pitcher might mean you don't start pitching the big games. doesn't mean you don't get your fair share of pitching.
my dd was the #2 pitcher for high school. i wasn't kidding myself into thinking she was better then our #1. i could see that she wasn't quite where the senior pitcher was. so she didn't get the big games. she pitched some reserve.. i had no problem with it.
the big teams usually have three pitchers.. can't tell me they are all equal in talent. some might be better junk ball throwers one might rely more on speed .. and it depends on what team your playing who you throw.

 

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I have never been convinced there is a correct roster size. As you look at some of the teams that finished in the top at ASA Gold and 18U with the larger rosters, I think you would also find significant differences in the way the teams are managed. If your goal is to be recruited for college and your Gold team finished in the top 10 last year, you WILL be seen by a large number of coaches. Just being on one of those teams draws interest. Players are more willing to accept the role of a part time player. Maybe they don't get recruited by UCLA, but there are plenty of schools that would go out of their way for a recruit from a top 10 team. Another thing I think you will find is different is what tournaments they play. Getting qualified for Gold is a top priority, getting exposure is a second priority. After that teams will play in places that will make them better, often organizing "friendly tournaments" to get a lot of games against quality opponents without the concern for hardware. Look at the success the Wolfpack had this year by organizing their best of the best tournament. Good teams, lots of games and a good turn out by coaches. That type of event will draw more interest from recruiters then tournaments that match elite team "A" against mediocre team "B" that results in a run rule in 4 innings, and team "A" doesn't play an opponent that challenges them until Sunday morning. When we have been at tournaments with the better West coast teams, they also have a different mind set toward playing time. Players that choose not to hustle find themselves sitting, batters that watch too many strikes are benched. Tough to do with 11 person rosters.
Just one fool's opinion

 

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I really shouldn't even go here after my experience the first part of the year but since the second part was so successful, I will.

Some organizations, names of whom I am evidently not allowed to list, carry 14 to 15 girls, knowing some do not cut it and will sit 90% of the time but they still get that money.

A real coach, will pick girls who are versatile/utility and carry about 12. Then you have girls who can play some of the positions, play them well and everygone gets an equal amount of playing time for their money.

Remember, do we pick these kids to sit the bench or do we pick them to No.1 love the game of softball and have fun at it, No. 2, teach them something EVERY year at each age level, No. 3 Also teach them that it is not all about WINNING. It is about giving your best 100% of the time, win or lose.

When they become adults and no longer play this game, the morals and ethics of life are the same and that is to give 100% of yourself in life and RESPECT EVERYBODY REGARDLESS WHETHER THEY HAVE THE SAME ABILITIES.

 

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Let's face it. ?You really only truly need 11 players to safely make it through a competitive season, but 12 is okay as long as you can play everyone an equal amount of time. ?My philosophy is this... ?I come to your tryouts expecting a fair tryout. ?If you don't want me as one of your top 11 picks, then please tell me this and be honest about why you are picking me up as a 12, 13, 14, 15TH player and exactly what my duties will be on your team. ? IF COACHES WOULD BE HONEST ABOUT THIS, THEN THERE WOULDN'T BE A PROBLEM, but they know if they say, hey, I would like to put you on the roster to be a safety net for my team of 14 players and you will hit once in a while, or pitch a few games if someone is injured, or catch to give the catcher a rest once in a while, and I won't even bother trying to develop you somewhere else because you are going to sit most of the time, and my daughter will play just because she is my daughter and I need to get her developed, but that's what I need you for because I need to be prepared for injuries or anything else. ?Look at all those "I"s. ?There is no "I" in the word "TEAM". ?Not too many REAL players would want this role, but if they were aware of this and wanted to do this, then fine, all will be happy. ?But if you think you can put me on the bench to keep score and stats that it's okay, you are dead WRONG. ?That is not okay. ?Coaches have a tough job and all players are grateful and lucky if they find a good true coach, but they cannot lay all the blame on the players/parents. ?Most experienced players and parents understand the issues that come with travel ball and expect their daughter to sit every once in a while. ?Anybody paying thousands of dollars for their child has a right to expect them to play and be developed. ?Are you nuts! ?If you want to carry a big roster then you need to be HONEST and then no one can fault you. ?I am a pitcher of 8 years in travel ball and I have been on both ends of the stick. ?I have played NSA and ASA nationals. ?I have played for lower level teams and never got a break from pitching (which was fun but tiring and I felt bad for the other pitchers that sat and didn't like me too much) and I have played with the higher level teams and sat more than I would have liked, (which was BORING and not for me). ?I have been mislead in both situations, both of which were not good. ?honesty. ?If you want to have this team playing 100% for you and paying all the money, you at least owe them honesty and if you do pick me up and I completely understand my role, I expect you to coach me and make me my best, not sit me on the bench all weekend except for one or two games, ?and I expect to be treated fairly and get my share of time on the bench and my share of time playing, and I already know that I have to work hard and always give my best, and I understand I am not always going to be the best player, and my parents already know to not interfere, but if you put me on your roster, you have already lead me to believe I am good enough to be on your team and play unless you tell me otherwise that I am a 12, 13, or 14th safety net player. ?If ?you are not honest with me, then I will be unhappy and so will my parents. ?I COME TO PLAY SOFTBALL AND GET DIRTY, I want to play, I want to get better, I want to learn, I want to have fun, and I want to go to college, so please, if you can't really use me, be honest, or please let me go so that I can find a team that can, where I can play the game and get better and have fun and where my parents can be making an honest investment in me. ?I believe that too many coaches are getting too greedy and it's all about winning. ?I like to win, I try to win, but I can only do that if I play. ?If I can't play, do not invite me to be on your team. ?If I give you problems or slack off, I expect to be benched. ?
What is a fair amount of playing time? ?If we play 7 games in a weekend, at least half of those games should be played by everyone on the team, hopefully more, that's just common sense. ?Anything less than half is not good and not worth the time and expense of traveling and training.
I COME TO PLAY - PLEASE GIVE ME RESPECT, CONSIDERATION, AND HONESTY AND I WILL GIVE YOU THE SAME AND I WILL BE FOREVER GRATEFUL FOR YOUR HELP.

 

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You are right, you have to accept the obvious and keep working hard, and I think that most travel ball players and parents realize this and only complain and get upset when they have been mislead for one reason or the other. I would rather not say my high school, but luckily, I have never had a problem with this on my high school team...I am the pitcher for all the big ones, and they use the other pitcher when they can get her in once in a while for experience since it will be all hers when I leave, and we are friends. We both know that I am more experienced on the mound and older than her, and she knew it coming onto varsity field which works out well for everyone involved. It's all about HONESTY! sorry for the long post above, but I was bored and wanted to give a players side of the story!

 

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yeah, I see your point. I guess that was my point too in that some of these coaches, NOT ALL, are in it for themselves and or their daughters and can be very arrogant, and some truly good players get shafted because of dishonesty from coaches like this. It is a shame but a reality and there is really nothing a player can do about it if they are lied to or mislead and walking away after investing thousands is not usually a good option! And then you have those people who will just complain over anything, but from my experience, not as many of those as there are greedy coaches. Don't get me wrong, there are still some really great coaches out there, it's just a matter of finding them. A REAL coach already knows how to act and treat their players with fairness and respect and win games while earning the respect of their players. It's a two-way street! Good luck to you!

 

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Answer depends on several factors - one is if you're talking about travel ball or high school ball, as well as the commitment of the players. 11 is nice (12 max) for travel ball as long as they are committed and stay relatively healthy ... but you can't afford the risk of having any less than 10 healthy players at a game so be prepared to pick up another girl here or there if someone goes down or quits. You also have to consider here the cost of travel ball ... not just the team fees but the travel expenses and time commitment. Finally, you need to realize that if you don't select a borderline player, there's a good chance they can go out and find another team where they can contribute more, so in effect you may be doing them a favor.

But high school is different. Some of the girls are there to be with their friends, because they want to earn a letter, to have something to put on their college resume or because their parents push them to do other activities. But also consider that if a girl doesn't make the high school team, she doesn't have any options. Another factor that can't be ignored is that there can be pressure from the school administration, especially at private schools where parents are paying a big tuition, to avoid cutting girls. And as a coach, its always nice to have another person you can bring in off the bench to pinch run or to substitute ... i.e., one girl is a better fielder while the other is a better hitter or runner. So in this instance, carrying 13-14 is more common ... but you just have to understand that some girls and especially their parents are not going to be happy with playing time especially when you can only bat 9.

 

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Good luck with the answer to this one.

NO matter what a coach does, they are wrong.
Just 11 - 12 players and some one gets hurt, or some one is sick, your wrong, then how about when you feel a player is not giving all they got,may be some bench time would help, and you remember, I don't have the bench players to make the sub.
The 13 - 14 some parent is stabbing you with those eyes, beacuse their DD is on the bench, they talk to SO And SO, next thing you know half the team is unhappy and ready to leave.
Your wrong again!

 

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We carried 13 girls on our roster and there were many games that we had only 9 players because of vacations and weddings, etc. But, this was 10u and also the committment was not there. 9 players on a 95 degree day is rough on the girls. Playing time was not an issue a lot of the time.