It would seem that I am going to be coaching a middle school club team (much to my dismay). It pretty much came down to me coaching or there would be no team because there is nobody willing to coach. I have coached rec league for several years and the way it goes is you get assigned your players and everyone plays. Last year I had 14 on my team which was way too many. From what I understand this year is that I am looking at 14 to 16 girls in grades 6, 7, and 8 being signed up. I am told by the club president that I can make cuts. My question is, do I make cuts at this age or just bear having a large roster and trying to get everyone playing time. I'm not even sure at this point if I'm going to be able to find an assistant coach. Any advise would be greatly appreciated!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Not real clear on what a "middle school club team" is, but I gather that it's at least a notch above rec league.
IMO, 14 players is at the top end of manageable, but it really depends on the team's skill level and the level of individual commitment. If you're going to have absences every week for whatever reason, then you may NEED that many. If everyone on the team is already reasonably skilled, then practices are easy (and fun), and distributing the playing time isn't as problematic.
If you have mix of experienced and new players, then steering those less skilled towards the local rec league might be best for everyone. It's really tough to run an effective practice for the more experienced when you have some players who can't even throw and catch. It's even TOUGHER when you're running that kind of practice by yourself.
Tryouts for competitive or school ball are typical regardless of age. That's the way I'd characterize it. Run a "tryout" for the first couple of practices, and let everyone know up front what you're looking for. If a some need to go play rec ball to get experience, let them know that.
Best of luck!