Club team playing time. Win every game?

[fastpitch]

"A" level 12U club team. How do you manage playing time?

12 girls on a team. 6 girls are stronger offensively and defensively than the other 6. The other six are decent players; just not as strong as the 1st six.

Do you divide playing time more equally on Saturday, risk losing a game so a girl can get a shot to play other positions and just go with your best on Sunday? Or do you play to win every game regardless if its Saturday or Sunday.

In the more competitive tournaments do you start the 1st six all the time and just sub in the other six as needed unless there is a blow out?

I'm trying to understand how other coaches would handle this.

Again, this is club level ball and they are playing in more competitive tournaments where every team is pretty good.

 

[sluggers]

You have to play all the kids on Saturday. If you start shorting the kids on playing time, the parents will revolt. You won't be able to find kids next year for your team.

This is a tough problem.

 

[mudbug]

The only games that matter are at state level (maybe), qualifiers, and nationals. I wouldnt sacrifice learning and improvement to win meaningless games and local tourneys. Its not how you start the season, its how you finish it thats important.

The goal is to constantly improve the team, to be best possible by end of season. A team is only as strong as its weakest players. They need as much focus as any. If there is anyone that cannot play at same level, they shouldnt be there.

Rotate players, both in pool and elimination play. Find how to maintain a strong defense while giving everyone playing time. Everyone should start sometimes too. This does not just mean that weak players should be put in OF. You might want your starting SS in CF sometimes to maintain a strong defense.

 

[playball13]

I agree with Bug. What are your primary goals for the season are they to win games/tourneys or prepare your players for playing at the next level. Pool play you play all as equal as possible. Elimination games you play them all but you might plan it to have your best defense on the field late in the game. Giving some girls early playing time may result in some surprises later in the year and your team will benefit from a deeper bench because injuries/vacations happen.
Make sure your team is on board with this because you could lose some of your better players whose parents HAVE to win every game even if that means some else's little Suzy is spending a lot of time on the bench.

 

[Ken Krause]

Whether it's club ball, rec ball or pickup games, kids join teams to play ball, not to watch other kids play ball. It's not easy, but it's important to make sure all the kids get plenty of playing time. I've had that philosophy all the way through 18U.

The key to making that happen is to train your players so you're comfortable putting them on the field on Sundays. They may not all have equivalent athleticism, but that's only one part of the formula. Kids who aren't as athletic can still be successful with rock-solid fundamentals. They may not make the spectacular plays, but you can't expect anyone to make those -- you just enjoy them when they happen. But you can train them to make the plays they're supposed to make. When you do that, you can both give your players playing time and play to win.

 

[fastpitch]

Thanks guys. great feedback. I agree with all of you. I'm still relatively new to it but I just wanted to make sure I wasn't crazy for thinking how things should be run on a club team.

 

[SnocatzDad]

There was a team in our area that I knew well (top 1 or 2 12A in the state) that played every game to win, rotated 2 pitchers and 2 catchers, but basically played the same 6 kids in the infield, at league, pool, elimination whatever and rotated the other 6 kids through the outfield. I think they had the right 6 identified as "better" so this wasn't favoritism, but a philosophy (i.e. win every game, win at all costs). They ended up cancelling their plans for nationals because 3 of the 6 non infielders parents basically said they weren't willing to travel out of state to watch their kid sit the bench. So the coaches made the decisions they felt they had to to win games, but they failed to create a team. The reality is that every year 3 to 6 kids going to nationals on every team know that they are probably going to see limited playing time, but if the coaches make a good faith effort to develop everyone on the team throughout the year, the players become invested in their roles and willing to make that sacrifice for the team.

 

[redhotcoach]

Everyone on my club team sits out equal time....I keep good track of it. The few adjustments I make in an effort to win is trying not to sit best pitchers against especially good teams. Though I don't put a lot of effort into it, so it is pretty much a rotating schedule.

 

[Mike]

mudbug
The only games that matter are at state level (maybe), qualifiers, and nationals. I wouldnt sacrifice learning and improvement to win meaningless games and local tourneys.

Why bother spending time and money and wasting a weekend on meaningless games, all games mean something to the kids. Do you tell weaker players this game means nothing thats why your playing 1st? IMO the word meaningless has no place in sports. Kids don't hear what you mean they hear what you tell them, they're very literal. IMO Ken's post is the most useful so far, including mine.

Mike

 

[mudbug]

Sorry, but I disagree.

The girls should know the focus of most games in most tournaments played is NOT just "to win", although its nice as an immediate goal. The real goal is to expose your teams weaknesses so that you can improve them. The only way you can do this is by playing teams that are better than you. Thats why very good 12U teams dont waste time playing other 12U teams, they play good 14U teams, or even 16U, and dont expect to win every game. Same for very good 14U, they will play 16 and even 18U teams. Your pitching and fielding isnt tested if the other teams cant hit your pitching. Your hitting isnt tested if its easy to hit the other teams pitching either.

Then when Nationals come, they go out and kick 98% of the other teams in their own age groups butts. In many programs, the girls are focused from the first day of practice on winning their ASA national championship. Nothing else matters to them. They are focused on a long term goal, not winning a meaningless tournament. They will win plenty, but that is not the main goal, they will seek to improve week by week. Even when they win they will be brought back to earth, and reminded that theres a bunch of other teams out there working hard to accomplish their goal too, and the only reason they won was because better teams were not there.

Most good teams would rather lose to a better team, than beat a weaker team anyday. Winning against much weaker teams does nothing for you, it actually hurts you.

But maybe its different if a team is just a mediocre local team playing local tournaments while pretending to be a real travel team, and puts winning first, enters tournaments they think they can win because no strong teams are there, so that they can just feel better about themselves. Theres a lot of that around.