number of players on a travel team?

What are some opinions on a good number of kids to have on a 12U travel team?

Thanks.

I would say a good number is 11....

Thirteen or fourteen.

Once you have only eight kids with a tournament coming up in 2 days, you'll never have "just enough" again.

Injuries happen. Kids get sick. Grandparents pass away. Parents lose jobs. Families move. Schedule more friendly games during the week. It is more work, but you won't lose as much sleep.

Eleven is a little thin....I like 12 kids on a roster. Enough to be fairly sure you won't come up short, but once you get to 13-14, it gets challenging to get everone enough playing time.

last year we rostered 11 had one injured and out 90% of the season so played every weekend with 10. Great from playing time stand point, but when kids would get minor injuries we had no subs and had to pick up kids to go to nationals when another kid got hurt near the end of the season.

This year we're rostering 13 so we're guaranteed that no one will get hurt or miss a single game which will make it more work to get kids playing time, but worth the security of knowing that we won't be scrambling for a pick up player to be able to field a team if that does happen.

Our team has decided to carry 11 this year. We have 3 pitchers, and 3 catchers, so those spots are pretty well covered. The other reasoning, was that it sure seems to be a plethora of hired guns in this area, so picking up a girl here or there isn't much of a problem.

I like 12 at younger ages. When you get to the state tournaments and above, it allows you flexibility with subs, DP, EP and all that fun stuff. Also, as others have said, when injuries occur, grandma's 90th birthday, etc., you're glad you have enough kids on your roster so you're not left short. Right now, I'm at 11 because one dropped and I'm getting a bit nervous with that number.

When they get older, you're better off in the 13-14 range for rosters. There's always one or two with something going on other than softball.

Just my 2¢ worth.

I think if you find girls who are committed and understand going in whats asked of them, sticking with 10 and playing 9 works out. Thats what our team does.

On a hot sunday where you might be fighting back through 5-7 games 10 players isn't going to get the job done. If you travel out of state to a big tournament and someone gets hurt your now in jeopardy of not being able to field a full team if one more kid goes down. Pick up players are available, but I'd rather play with kids that have worked together the entire season.

Turning an ankle on a slide, or breaking a finger swinging at an inside pitch aren't signs of a lack of commitment. They happen. obviously if you have commitment problems you will need to add to your roster to deal with that as well, but that isn't why teams roster 12+ players. They do it because 120-150 games in a year is a long season and, for the sake of stability, you have to accept that it's likely someone will have a long term problem in that time frame. it will probably happen at the worst possible time and are you going to compromise the work you've done over an entire season because you refuse to roster an extra player because your concerned about playing time. If you concerned about playing time you can always play more games. With a larger roster the likehood is that anytime you choose you will be able to get a team together on short notice to play.

Since there is no 'magic' number, I will throw mine in the hat.

Like some have posted, it depends greatly on what you are doing and where you are going as a team. We have always carried 11. But we recruit hard and only "try" to get the best within a couple hundred miles. So our girls and parents EXPECT their share of play time. That's our big selling point.

If you are a good established team you won't have trouble getting a pick up when needed. If your not, you may want to go higher with 12-14 just incase. My personal opinion, you run into too many problems making sure all get equal time on the field over a weekend with more than 11.

Also depends on how many players you have that can play multiple positions. We have 2 ace, and 2 second choice pitchers. But they also can play anywhere on the field. We have one ace catcher and 2 that do a good job. So we are still able with 11 to offer breaks and rest when needed. My point is, I feel EACH TEAM must look at their own unique situation to determine how many girls to take.

This is one of those threads that you will not find an answer........only opinions.