Help with roster!!!!

I recently took the helm of a 14u town / B level travel team. Due to an awful season, the previous manager stepped down.

Unfortunately, a local town team decided that they were going to start a 1st year 14u team in addition to the 2 other 14u teams they already have. The kicker is that the manager of this team decided to move up his 12u daughter and build a team around her. Needless to say, he must be a good salesman as most of the girls I had depended on returning this year have jumped ship to go to greener pastures. This include e-mails from parents that were sent at 1 AM at the last minute when they had already said they were coming back.

I now have only 9 players after tirelessly recruiting players (I was able to get 4 girls that moved up from the 12u program and retain only 2 players from the 14u team I assisted on last year.) That is in addition to 3 girls I was able to get from out of town.

However, I still have 0 pitchers (I have one pitcher that can only pitch in the fall and does not have the endurance to go a full game yet). The pitcher that was slated as our #1 left to join the neighboring town's new team and others followed. It seems every time we bring in a pitcher to look at, they decide to go elsewhere. We have 3 more pitchers that we are going to look at within the next week.

Any suggestions? I am losing sleep, but I need to get the season started.

Sounds like your going to take your lumps here. Just tough it out and go at it. Start developing the pitchers now. Girls with stronger arms are some of the girls I would look at.

Post in HeyBucket and get salesy.

Any suggestions? I am losing sleep, but I need to get the season started.

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Have you considered disbanding the team or throwing in the with the other 14U team?

If you don't have any pitching, this season will not be much fun for anyone.

Conduct an open tryout ASAP and advertise it as much as possible (team website, local message boards, hand out flyers at the field, etc). Let everyone know that you need need pitchers. If nobody shows up to the tryout, release the girls imediately so that they still have time to find another team. If you have 0 pitchers, you don't have a team.

I don't know much but I do know that pitching is the key to the game.
I agree, disband and combine with another club.

First of all, start off finding out who the pitching coaches are in your area. Next, find out if they have any promising pitchers, even younger ones that might like to move up and that aren't committed to a team yet. Next, apprise the parents of your team that this year is a total loss and that the goal of the season is to "gel" the team and that all that is important in your eyes is to steadily improve throughout the season. Also tell them that the long range goal is to attend some big tournament next year, such as regionals or nationals after the team gels and you better be able to deliver or be on the cusp of delivering. Otherwise, disband now and end the misery. I know it sounds harsh but you are much better off in the long run so you don't have to endure a miserable season of parent complaints and the possibility of the team folding next year due to a mass migration. Pitching is "almost" everything in this game. If you have a pitcher that can hit her spots and throw in such a way that the batter misses the ball, or at best, makes a bad hit for a routine play for an out I would definitely take her. Yes, you need speed, defense and good bats to outscore your opponents, but you still need decent pitchers to keep them from outscoring you.

I understand all of your comments, and I am not against disbanding the team if I have no pitching. We have had preliminary contact with an area town organization about combining with them. They usually have 2 teams, but could only field one this season. We do have some patchwork pitching to get us through the fall (one girl will be playing another sport in the spring). We have several pitchers still interested, but it has become a waiting game at this point.

I have already posted, talked to local pitching coaches and networked with coaches of teams that my dd had played for in the past (I never burned a single bridge!). So I have been working tirelessly looking. I even drove an hour last night to meet with a parent who's daughter is looking for a team.