Batting 9 vs roster batting

[Rick M]

It’s fine to play your best 9 on Sunday, as long as there really is a blank slate on Saturday. Everyone plays in the pool, the best 9 on that weekend get to start on Sunday.

That sets up a healthy competition for playing time and encourages players to do their best. But it has to be fair, or players and parents will balk. Your best player has a oh-fer and makes an error on Saturday? She sits Sunday. Your worst player has a timely hit or makes a nice play? She’s in.


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[uncdrew]

How well do you know other teams you play?

If you have a bracket game you're pretty sure you'll win easy, bat them all. If you have a bracket game where you know you'll get thumped, bat them all.

Many times the outcome of the game won't change based on how many you bat.

 

[YOCOACH]

At 10 U, I batted everyone, everytime allowed. AT 12U, I batted everyone during pool play and batted everyone during bracket play in the tournaments it was allowed in. The ones which were qualifiers and we could only bat 9 on bracket day, I made it known at the beginning of the year that the starting 9 would be based on BA, OBP next and if it were a tie on those 2, the better fielder with the exception of pitchers and catchers and everyone else would be subbed in to get the maximum number of innings. The BA, and OBP resets every weekend. At 14U, I am doing the same thing. Everyone sees the plate to bat and gets field time. At 16U and 18U, unless it's a showcase, I'll continue this trend just like I did the first time through although I won't be subbing as much.

 

[Eric F]

How about if you only bat 9 then only carry 9 on your team, problem solved.

This is unrealistic at pretty much every level. Kids get sick, get injured, have to attend their grandma's b-day, etc., etc. IMO, the "right" number is usually somewhere around the same number as their age level - 12U=12 players.

 

[MikeP]

Well you picked them for your team at some point I assume. Did you communicate that if they didn't attend practice and progress they could be cut from the team?

If you didn't it just sounds like buyers remorse.

Hey Suzy we are putting on you a 12u travel team. You are the 11th best player and if you don't work hard they are going to cut you from the team.

If you work hard enough you will be rewarded; if you don't softball will teach you an important life lesson at twelve years old.

Good grief.

Not sure what I’m supposed to take away from that. We’re talking about some sitting during bracket play, possibly. Never said they were being cut.

 

[MikeP]

Really depends on the composition of your roster and the goals of your team.

At 12u we carried 12 players. 6 of them were clearly better than the other 6. 3 others were fair. The last 3 definitely needed work. We knew that our goal leaned more towards development than winning, so everyone had roughly equal playing time. We tried to play the bottom three more on Saturday, while focusing on the top 6 more on Sunday. Yes, it hurt our seeding sometimes, but we were okay with that.

At 14u we made a distinct effort to make sure we had like minded players, as much as possible. Our goal was still 12. After tryouts, we ended up with 11. We had several other options that we could have added at 12, but we made the decision to hold where we were. In the spring, another player contacted us and joined the team. Our goal switched to one of winning, but we had a roster of players that was relatively interchangeable. Yes, we still had 3 or 4 that were head and shoulders above the rest, but we never hesitated to put anyone on the field. It worked to our benefit as well, as when the inevitable family trip, funeral, or other event popped up, our team didn't miss a beat.

Sounds like you may have some tough decisions to make after this season is over. If you do not intend to play certain players regularly, they really shouldn't be on your team. So when it is time to fill your team for next year, I would take that into consideration. Don't fill the team just to fill the team. Fill the team with specific plans in mind so that everyone has a role and can contribute to the team's success.

We are in a very similar situation as yours. I shoukd have included that 2 of them consistently miss practice goof around a lot when present. Maybe your approach was the best way to go. We will definitely discuss it. Thanks for the input.

 

[MikeP]

Have you thought about just cutting girls and picking up ones who are of a higher skill level? But yeah bat 9 in bracket play.

Not my call, I’m an assistant. I did bring it up after the fall season but it didn’t happen obviously.

 

[MikeP]

How well do you know other teams you play?

If you have a bracket game you're pretty sure you'll win easy, bat them all. If you have a bracket game where you know you'll get thumped, bat them all.

Many times the outcome of the game won't change based on how many you bat.

Locally we do know them well. We are doing a bit more traveling and wont know many.

 

[nikkilugi]

It sounds like the expectations were made very clear at the beginning of the season. Like it or not there are life lessons in sports as well as in school. Screw around and don't do the work in either then you will pay the price by failing or sitting the bench. 2nd year 12U is middle school age and are plenty old enough to know the drill. Every team DD has been on since 2nd year 12U the best 9 hit on bracket day. In fact at 18U the best 10 pretty much bat - out of a roster of 19.....

 

[GunnerShotgun]

Not sure what I’m supposed to take away from that. We’re talking about some sitting during bracket play, possibly. Never said they were being cut.

I am making the distinction from playing the best 9 to playing the same 9.

The original post it sounded like you had a group of 2 or 3 players that weren't committed and had poor performance repeatedly.

Either the coach or the parent failed (or both) in this situation. Either way no need to punish the player.

Either they are a part of your team or they aren't.

Taking the cowards way out and benching the same players is repeatedly is not the answer.

Apologies if I misunderstood your original post.