player rotation

Welcome to Discuss Fastpitch

Your FREE Account is waiting to the Best Softball Community on the Web.

May 21, 2008
2
0
i coach a pee wee girls team with 14 on the team, what is the best way to get everybody in the game fairly and kept happy,in our league all 14 must hit and girls are complaining about lack of field time and batting time.i was thinking of doing a rotation where 2 girls do not dress for a game so a player would sit every 7 games and leave us with 12 on the bench to get girls up more and in field more. any suggestions
 
May 9, 2008
443
16
Hartford, CT
rotation

Wow .. 14 little girls with very little attention span.
Kudo's to you!

Last season our daughters Travel soccer team had 18 ... every weekend some girls sat out and he only scheduled 12 for each game.
It would have worked great if it wasn't Travel and the goal was actually to win.

Our softball league opted for more teams at the younger level...each of the T-ball anf Farm level teams have about 8 girls/kids (don't need much for outfielders as nothing really goes past the infield.
that only works if you get enough volunteer coaches

Since the teams are established you could go with the game rotation....
or they each play 4 innings and sit out two....if you go to six innings (we don't).
Maybe there ar a few parents that prefer certain weekends off for other activities or family time....

LOL...girls of every age complain abbout position and playing time!

good luck...they are so cute at that age.
 
May 13, 2008
8
0
Benton City, WA
I coached a rec team last year with 14 girls ranging in age from 11-12. This year I only have 11. What I did to insure that each girl got into the infield, out field and cheer from the bench is I wrote out for 5 innings, as we did not pass that many except once, their positions and then I posted it along with the lineup so the girls knew where they would be when. I did not have any complaints as they all came through the infield , outfield, and sat.

I felt it was more important to develop them. Remember another important role on the team is the bench role. You can cheer for your teammates and you never know when you may have to fill in for an injured player.:D
 
WOW.

I would suggest what fivepotsogold said in their post to help you out right now.

I would also go to your league's board of directors and petition to set a new by-law limiting the amount of participants on each team to a max of 11 or 12. Once you exceed 12, it's not fair for anyone. In our league, we look at our total number of registrants and proactively set the amount of teams, knowing we're going to have late registrants. If each team fills up, you put a prospective registrant on a waiting list in the event someone gets ill or injured or quits on a team. We also allow younger players to play up a division, providing they have the knowledge and skillset to do so.

Good Luck and I hope you have a successful season.
 
May 9, 2008
443
16
Hartford, CT
rotation

I didn't realize they were that old...just assumed young when you said PeeWee.

Our Majors teams ... 9-12 years limit 12 kids...6 innings..if all 12 show up each kid sits out one field inning.....they all bat. We can play with as few as 8 kids.
We play 10 on a field. Outfield is pretty boring most of the time.

Next year, I would certainly push for no more than 11-12 and add a team ....girls play more and the added number of teams in the League just adds to a nicer dynamic.

We only have 4 teams in our League...we added games with two other towns (3 teams) .. because playing the same three teams is boring and everyone pretty much knows who can do what.....

I would ask the parents if there any dates (ahead of time) they know they can't come ...fill that in...then rotate the rest who have no conflicts as they fit into your needs.
Probably want 11 kids at a game.
They are always welcome to come and cheer on their team if it is their game off!

Good Luck!
 
May 7, 2008
235
0
My husband had to coach 14 girls on a roster one year (13U team)...it was tough. There were some complaints, but for the most part, he did a very fair job.

That team he coached with the HS Head Football Coach as his assistant. What a combo! They worked really great together (my 6 foot former Marine and the burly HS Football coach), however, I did have to step in and say to the two of them...these are GIRLS who are emotional and hormonal :) I laughed to myself as I watched it come out in some games. In one game against a very strong team, there catcher jumped out and faked a throw down to third base...well, IT WAS ON! Each catcher throughout the game tormenter the runner on third. As a woman, I clearly saw the dynamics and giggled, but the coaches shrugged me off. Coaching girls, particlarly in pre and early puberty requires a gift in itself. The dynamics must be kept in perspective.

Fondly, Ang
 
May 13, 2008
8
0
Benton City, WA
I disagree with the idea of having girls stay home because it would be easier on the coach to rotate them. I too play a league where all the girls bat and each girl has to be "scheduled" to play three innings. That is why I plan way ahead for a game by determing who plays what position which inning. It really isn't as difficult as some are making it seem. At least it was not for me. The three positions I did not mess with a whole lot in a game were 1st, pitcher, and catcher. When I did as everyone sat it was for the last inning with a good replacement. Obviously a couple girls have to sit more then one inning but I just would not sit them back to back innings.

We did well as a team and the girls played ball and developed skills.
 

Forum statistics

Threads
42,830
Messages
679,477
Members
21,445
Latest member
Bmac81802
Top