Roster Composition

[CycloneSoftball22]

Need your opinions: Relatively small area. Organization has two teams in the same age group. Is it best to keep birth years separated or both teams be mixtures?

 

[Cobb_of_Fury]

I like teams to stay together - So birth years together if you can - As long as you have pitchers and catchers for both teams.

Although if your making a 16 or 18 u team - go with tallent

 

[CycloneSoftball22]

I like teams to stay together - So birth years together if you can - As long as you have pitchers and catchers for both teams.

Although if your making a 16 or 18 u team - go with tallent

This is two 14u teams. Here is the situation. We have a 14u team with 6 returning players (the other half has to move to 16 because the ages were split this year) and will have to complete team through tryouts , etc. The other team is a 12u moving to 14u. The 12u coach wants to not coach anymore and take his daughter and maybe a couple of other players from the team to the 14u team.

 

[Little Angels Softball]

At 8U, 10U and 12U, go by birth years.

At 14U, go by grade. Have all your non-high schoolers on one team, all the incoming freshman on the other. If you don't do this and you get too many high school girls on either (or both) team, the younger kids will have to sit and wait for them to finish HS ball before they can play in tourneys.

That sucks for the younger girls.

 

[MsDinosaur]

This is two 14u teams. Here is the situation. We have a 14u team with 6 returning players (the other half has to move to 16 because the ages were split this year) and will have to complete team through tryouts , etc. The other team is a 12u moving to 14u. The 12u coach wants to not coach anymore and take his daughter and maybe a couple of other players from the team to the 14u team.

By birth year is good, although at the 14U age, you can end up with a team that's half high school freshmen and half 8th grade or younger girls, leaving the young ones without enough girls to play during the high school season. You might consider grouping the freshmen into one team and the others into the second--or---temporarily merge the remnants of the two teams during the HS season. If you're thinking of a merger, you could keep that option open by ensuring that the uniforms are similar and that no two girls on either team have the same number?

14U is a difficult time.

JMHO.

 

[MsDinosaur]

At 8U, 10U and 12U, go by birth years.

At 14U, go by grade. Have all your non-high schoolers on one team, all the incoming freshman on the other. If you don't do this and you get too many high school girls on either (or both) team, the younger kids will have to sit and wait for them to finish HS ball before they can play in tourneys.

That sucks for the younger girls.

That's what's happening on DD's team right now. They are going to go ahead and keep the younger girls practicing and try to play the early fall tourneys with guest players while they wait for the high school freshman to come back from HS ball. As a freshman, DD's not allowed to go anywhere near their practices.