Roster size as teams age to 14U

Had some parents express some dissatisfaction with a 12th player added to the team. In fact so much so they left to become the 12th player on another team.

As team ages up it seems to be just a fact of life to have some pitchers that pitch only and don't play other positions on the team.

For a sanity check I looked at the top 10, 14U A teams (u-trip) and found the following.

Average roster size is 12.3 kids. Highest was 16 and the lowest number was 10. I suspect that teams with 10 probably have kids added week to week so the average is really closer to 13.

How do you tell parents of little Susie she isn't good enough and needs to embrace a pitching "only" role?





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I consider 12 about the minimum standard for 10U-14U teams (the limit of our TB experience, so far). DD's current 14U team has 13, and it works just fine (coaches would take on one more if it was a top-level pitcher). Players miss games due to family, school, illness, etc., so having some depth is a good thing.

In a tournament, if you're using an EH or DP/Flex, that's 10. If you need CRs for P and C, that's 12. If you have an injury, now you're changing your plan. Personally, I think 13-14 is about right for 12U-14U.

My DDs' 14u had 14 on the roster and had to pull in a guest player for the final tournament of fall ball. With two out with injuries, three taking parochial school entrance exams, and one with family obligations, it made for a lousy showing at the tournament.

Eric F said:

I consider 12 about the minimum standard for 10U-14U teams (the limit of our TB experience, so far). DD's current 14U team has 13, and it works just fine (coaches would take on one more if it was a top-level pitcher). Players miss games due to family, school, illness, etc., so having some depth is a good thing.

In a tournament, if you're using an EH or DP/Flex, that's 10. If you need CRs for P and C, that's 12. If you have an injury, now you're changing your plan. Personally, I think 13-14 is about right for 12U-14U.

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I just thought it wad crazy for a parent to pull a kid for this reason only to have become the norm as their daughter ages up. Use facts or some other reason than an uninformed knee jerk reaction on what they feel the right # is. I feel it did his kid a disservice.

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My DD’s 14u team had 17 on the roster. We found that the ones complaining about how big the roster was were the same ones whose kids weren’t good enough to be in the starting 9. DD wasn’t good enough to be in the starting 9 at first but then worked her butt off, learned a new position, and earned a starting role.

16u team had either 16 or 17 depending on the year. She had to work hard, learn a new position, and earn a starting role there as well. But she did it.

18u has 19 on the roster. Looks like she’ll finally be able to play the majority of the time in her primary position, but now she has two other positions to fall back on. The moral of the story is that bigger rosters force the kids (or parents) to either work hard and earn it or cry like a baby and go pout somewhere else. Don’t let it bother you if your kid is a worker and someone else likes to pout because they didn’t get their way.


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Bob516 said:

My DDs' 14u had 14 on the roster and had to pull in a guest player for the final tournament of fall ball. With two out with injuries, three taking parochial school entrance exams, and one with family obligations, it made for a lousy showing at the tournament.

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Exactly. Things get more crazy the older the girls get. Fact in 2018 will we won't have all 12 kids in the first few tournaments of the year. Just keep adding to the list above for the reasons not all the kids can't make it.

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I can't see carrying more than 13 or 14 unless you just know that you have players who are not committed and/or you carry pitchers who only pitch. But, at 14u I would think 12 is the minimum.

Ksphenom said:

Exactly. Things get more crazy the older the girls get. Fact in 2018 will we won't have all 12 kids in the first few tournaments of the year. Just keep adding to the list above for the reasons not all the kids can't make it.

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Recruiting camps, school events, HS went deeper into States than thought, unofficial visits, college wants a player to play in a local showcase, homecomings, prom, graduation, SAT/ACT, AP exams, etc, etc... All legitimate reasons for missing.

Look, a good coach can run 14 players no problem as long as the bottom 3-4 are not totally out of place in terms of level of play - and that is even without sit-and-pitch players. Coaches don't take advantage of softballs substitution/courtesy runners/DP&Flex rules enough, or they hesitate to do it earlier often forgetting how reentry rules work.

Unless they are truly terrible fielders and hitters, pitchers really start pitch/sit as the competition starts to become tougher and tougher in HS age groups. The amount of energy you need to put into pitching when you have to fight every batter and pitch & spin that much is exponentially more once you are no longer facing incomplete teams. Some HS games and teams get a bad rep (and some deserve it), but if you are lucky enough to be in a full-on 7 inning loaded HS team versus another loaded HS team game it is way more intense than anything travel can offer - players put absolutely EVERYTHING into one game.

My DD still fields and she bats 3rd or 5th so coach isn't losing that in any game - but on most pool days she just hits and never sees the field in one game and on elimination days she fields mostly in a particular rotation. And she needs to field - her HS needs her to field as our DP is a great hitter but can't field a lick so our pitcher bats and fields when she isn't pitching, and also pitching/hitting/fielding is very attractive to some colleges she is looking at. Maybe she gives up fielding in travel if she commits to a college who just wants her to P & Hit or just P, but I doubt it.

As for parents... well that is a transition they need to make as their player becomes who they will be.

But don't make someone a 'sit and pitch' player unless that is who they need to be. Why would you take away a good bat or a good fielder unless you have to? Especially not when you only have 12. 12 is really one injury away from being short for tournament play.

Ksphenom said:

How do you tell parents of little Susie she isn't good enough and needs to embrace a pitching "only" role?

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Changes week to week but if they know DD is going to pitch a bunch she sits when not pitching, if she bats she will bat last.

If she is not going to pitch a bunch she will bat 1st or 2nd.

She is happy with the whole thing even if was never discussed with her.

Be honest with Suzie about plan, if she leaves she leaves. Not sure if DD would accept a pitching only role but better letting her know to avoid the complaing.

(Depending on rules if she gets on base they will put in a pitch runner for her as soon as possible too)

marriard said:

Recruiting camps, school events, HS went deeper into States than thought, unofficial visits, college wants a player to play in a local showcase, homecomings, prom, graduation, SAT/ACT, AP exams, etc, etc... All legitimate reasons for missing.

Look, a good coach can run 14 players no problem as long as the bottom 3-4 are not totally out of place in terms of level of play - and that is even without sit-and-pitch players. Coaches don't take advantage of softballs substitution/courtesy runners/DP&Flex rules enough, or they hesitate to do it earlier often forgetting how reentry rules work.

Unless they are truly terrible fielders and hitters, pitchers really start pitch/sit as the competition starts to become tougher and tougher in HS age groups. The amount of energy you need to put into pitching when you have to fight every batter and pitch & spin that much is exponentially more once you are no longer facing incomplete teams. Some HS games and teams get a bad rep (and some deserve it), but if you are lucky enough to be in a full-on 7 inning loaded HS team versus another loaded HS team game it is way more intense than anything travel can offer - players put absolutely EVERYTHING into one game.

My DD still fields and she bats 3rd or 5th so coach isn't losing that in any game - but on most pool days she just hits and never sees the field in one game and on elimination days she fields mostly in a particular rotation. And she needs to field - her HS needs her to field as our DP is a great hitter but can't field a lick so our pitcher bats, and also pitching/hitting/fielding is very attractive to some colleges she is looking at. Maybe she gives up fielding in travel if she commits to a college who just wants her to P & Hit or just P, but I doubt it.

As for parents... well that is a transition they need to make as their player becomes who they will be.

But don't make someone a 'sit and pitch' player unless that is who they need to be. Why would you take away a good bat or a good fielder unless you have to? Especially not when you only have 12. 12 is really one injury away from being short for tournament play.

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Sad part about this particular case is his DD is (was) the best 3rd base player on the team when she wasn't pitching.
The fact was another girl on the team who is the number 1 pitcher is the weakest fielding player on the entire team and most likely is the one to sit except for the cases discussed here and bracket play.

#1 pitcher, her parents have received the hint on the DD only getting circle time and aren't happy about this reality. By the end her 14U phase they will either embrace this pitching only role and or need to get cracking on other aspects of the game.

Funny the people that should be concerned about the increase in roster size can be so oblivious and the girls with parents that shouldn't be worried drawing lines in sand and melt down, pull kids only to face rosters of 12 or more from here on out.

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