TheSoftballZone
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I know this has been discussed before somewhere, but would like opinions from coaches and players as to how many players they carry on a roster and why?
The Beverly Bandits do not seem to have a problem carrying 13+ players.
It is a joke. And this attitude about sending $$$ should equate to a certain amount of playing time is the big issue. Take that attitude back to the rec leagues. This is supposed to be travel ball. And hence the watering down of teams.
The Beverly Bandits do not seem to have a problem carrying 13+ players.
It is a joke. And this attitude about sending $$$ should equate to a certain amount of playing time is the big issue. Take that attitude back to the rec leagues. This is supposed to be travel ball. And hence the watering down of teams.
10U - 11/12 depending on commitment
12U - 11 committed players
14U - 12/13 time to start getting serious
16U/18U - 13+ college coaches are looking for players who know how to compete not just in games but also for playing time. How can you get a feel for how a player is going to react to sitting for 1-2 years when their whole life they played on teams with 10 players and where they are never truly held accountable for playing performance by lack of field time? Also you need to always have some speed to pinch run on the bench.
This idea of never asking your daughters to compete has gotten out of hand. There is a pretty decent 14U team in Michigan that is at 9 players and has stated they are only willing to ad 1 player to get to 10 because they all want to play.........how about they all compete for time?
When your playing mostley showcases ,you would expect a smaller roster,at least I would .Value for your money is were I'm at.Will not pay a premium price for her to sit.You could play on 3 showcase teams and throw in a couple camps of colleges your interested in for Bandit type of money and get as much concentrated exposure.
You are not getting 10% of what the Bandits girls are getting. I have talked to many college coaches (D1 high and low level) and they all say that one of the things that bothers them about many travel teams are the roster sizes. They complain that the small roster size creates a sense of entitlement between the parents and players. And that when they get to college and are forced to actually compete for playing time they often crumble because they have never been asked to really compete. And competing for batting order location in not competing.
Listen I am going stop replying because I think my thoughts are not really main stream in the community. But they are some of the issues that players have moving into the college game. I guess we can agree to disagree on this topic. My hope and expectation is that my DDs get this figured out before they get to college. My personal experience is one of good and bad. I have a 14U eligibly DD that starts on a 16U exposure team and a old 16U player on the same team that struggles to stay on the field but does hit full time. And the discussion is that if you want to be the go to starter you must take it. Do not let the coach ever see anything but your best. Do not expect the coach to accept errors from you. I am looking at this from a perspective of preparing my DDs to play on a college team. I do not think the older one is D1 material but that is really up to her not me. If she wants it bad enough she can make it happen. The younger one is definitely D1 material but maybe she gets a better deal at a D2 or NAIA school. Again it is up to her at that point.
For the most part; People do not want to spend hard earnd money for their kid to ride the bench. why should they? If there's another team with a need and they can get playing time, It seems far better to me to PLAY on a less talented team then to sit the bench on a better team. They are not going to improve significantly on the bench no matter how hard they compete.
Yes, compatition makes girls better - They should compete to be on the better teams at try outs and when they fail at that they should go to a lesser team and PLAY and get better.