Here is the situation:
We are a 14u A level and play in against the best competition we can (within our travel budget). We carry 13 girls on the roster and they all can play multiple positions. We have 7-8 girls that hit well, and 5-6 that can hit well, but are prone to a few bad games or weekends. Luckily we have options. When we play pool games, we bat everyone and mix the lineup a fair bit. Since we have free defensive subs, we rotate girls around in various spots and no girl sites on defense more than 2 innings in a game. Lots of playing time for all. On bracket Sunday, we play either straight 9, 9+ EH/EP, or DP/Flex. My goal is to get every girl in the game (courtesy runner, sub, etc). It is rare for a girl to sit an entire game on Sunday (although it sometimes happens).
This weekend we played with a rule set that only allowed the following lineup options (pool and bracket): Straight 9, 9+ EH, DP/Flex, or 9+EH+DP/Flex. I chose to use the last option which got 11 girls in the game and 2 subs (courtesy runners). Again, no girl sat an entire game, but we since this was a seeded tourney, we did try to play a little tighter with our rotations. This ended up causing issues on the team. Two girls were clearly no happy, and a third girl ended up leaving the team immediately following the last game. The girl who left did not like that she played less time in her primary position. She plays the most innings in this position typically, and played a lot on the weekend. However, she did not play her best and did not earn more playing time at primary position. The 2 other girls that also play that position have been playing better lately, and played way better this weekend. This was no big loss to our team. I hate to see a girl leave (especially mid-season), but our team will not skip a beat with this departure. The other 2 disgruntled girls will hopefully pull through.
So here is the dilemma concerning roster size and playing time.
This is the first year we have had 13, and it has been a little difficult to manage (especially on Sunday), but I think we have done ok. Someone is always a little unhappy, but sitting one game does not mean they sit again in the next game or the next weekend.
Immediately after tourney, the player that left started posting online looking for a new team. This prompted a few parents to contact me about potential openings. One girl specifically is a huge upgrade at this position (she would be our top girl there), and is a great hitter, great kid, great teammate, great parents, etc. She would be a huge asset. She is not the type of girl that you want to pass on (her current team is disbanding after the fall)........however, part of me says that we play on with 12 and make it easier to rotate girls.
So.....do you:
1. Add strong player that makes your team better (and the other girls like)? Even if it makes it hard to rotate girls and get playing time for everyone each week?
2. Do you stick with 12 and make coaching a little easier, but our team stays the same?
3. Other options.
I should also mention that we really need to add another pitcher, but this girl does not solve that (girl who left was not a pitcher either).
I would love to hear from Coaches that have 13+ players on 14u+ roster and how they handle playing time, parent complaints, team issues etc. I imagined that we would always be short a girl for some reason, but that really hasn't happened.
Sorry for the novel.
We are a 14u A level and play in against the best competition we can (within our travel budget). We carry 13 girls on the roster and they all can play multiple positions. We have 7-8 girls that hit well, and 5-6 that can hit well, but are prone to a few bad games or weekends. Luckily we have options. When we play pool games, we bat everyone and mix the lineup a fair bit. Since we have free defensive subs, we rotate girls around in various spots and no girl sites on defense more than 2 innings in a game. Lots of playing time for all. On bracket Sunday, we play either straight 9, 9+ EH/EP, or DP/Flex. My goal is to get every girl in the game (courtesy runner, sub, etc). It is rare for a girl to sit an entire game on Sunday (although it sometimes happens).
This weekend we played with a rule set that only allowed the following lineup options (pool and bracket): Straight 9, 9+ EH, DP/Flex, or 9+EH+DP/Flex. I chose to use the last option which got 11 girls in the game and 2 subs (courtesy runners). Again, no girl sat an entire game, but we since this was a seeded tourney, we did try to play a little tighter with our rotations. This ended up causing issues on the team. Two girls were clearly no happy, and a third girl ended up leaving the team immediately following the last game. The girl who left did not like that she played less time in her primary position. She plays the most innings in this position typically, and played a lot on the weekend. However, she did not play her best and did not earn more playing time at primary position. The 2 other girls that also play that position have been playing better lately, and played way better this weekend. This was no big loss to our team. I hate to see a girl leave (especially mid-season), but our team will not skip a beat with this departure. The other 2 disgruntled girls will hopefully pull through.
So here is the dilemma concerning roster size and playing time.
This is the first year we have had 13, and it has been a little difficult to manage (especially on Sunday), but I think we have done ok. Someone is always a little unhappy, but sitting one game does not mean they sit again in the next game or the next weekend.
Immediately after tourney, the player that left started posting online looking for a new team. This prompted a few parents to contact me about potential openings. One girl specifically is a huge upgrade at this position (she would be our top girl there), and is a great hitter, great kid, great teammate, great parents, etc. She would be a huge asset. She is not the type of girl that you want to pass on (her current team is disbanding after the fall)........however, part of me says that we play on with 12 and make it easier to rotate girls.
So.....do you:
1. Add strong player that makes your team better (and the other girls like)? Even if it makes it hard to rotate girls and get playing time for everyone each week?
2. Do you stick with 12 and make coaching a little easier, but our team stays the same?
3. Other options.
I should also mention that we really need to add another pitcher, but this girl does not solve that (girl who left was not a pitcher either).
I would love to hear from Coaches that have 13+ players on 14u+ roster and how they handle playing time, parent complaints, team issues etc. I imagined that we would always be short a girl for some reason, but that really hasn't happened.
Sorry for the novel.