I have a "good" problem for the first time in 4 years. I coach at a small school (about 150 kids 7th-12th). I am the junior high coach, JV and Varsity coach plus 8 of my junior high girls on are on my 14's club team.
We are beginning are junior high season on Monday and for the first time, I have too many girls to have an effective team. We are the only feeder program for the high school. I am in a quandary. Do I cut? Do I set a "playing team" and a "practice team", knowing some of the girls who don't make the playing team will probably burn out and quit. What I don't want to do is have so many girls on the 8th grade team and wash out the effectiveness of being on a team. My 7th grade team is fine numbers wise.
What do you suggest? I know you have coached at small schools where numbers make the difference as you move up the levels.
Hey Coach:
First, I think your idea of having two different teams is ingenious! Can the practice team have a good long practice every time the top team has an away game? And then can you reward 1 or 2 of the practice players each time you have an away (or home!!) game by allowing them to dress out?
I guess the size of the team depends on the "athletic culture " of the girls at the school. Let me be clearer. When I coached at a small private school, athletics were a low priority not only to the kids but to the parents as well. The kids would play one season, then they wouldn't play the next, then they'd come back and play. My starting setter's parents would not allow her to play her senior year. Why? I was going to require the daughter to make up all the hours that she was going to miss because of a family vacation that they were taking after our season had started. This head-butting occurred even after I had told them in January when tryouts would be held. sigh
If this is the culture at your school also, then you can expect a 20% to 40% attrition rate. If you're going to keep only 1 team, then I strongly recommend you keep a bigger team, maybe as many as 16 kids. I wouldn't go over that.
But if you can keep a practice team, then keep about a maximum of 12 on each team. If the kids you coach are like those where I taught, then you have to figure that 100% of the practice players will never make varsity and 40% of the upper team will give up the sport before their first varsity tryout. So, from my figuring, you may only be able to expect only 7 of those 24 girls making the varsity team.
On the other hand, if the girls at your school love sports and they have parents that encourage them -- regardless of the strictness of the coach -- then you can probably get away with a one smaller team of about 13 to 15 players.
Tom Houser
Visit me sometime at www.coachhouser.com!
We are beginning are junior high season on Monday and for the first time, I have too many girls to have an effective team. We are the only feeder program for the high school. I am in a quandary. Do I cut? Do I set a "playing team" and a "practice team", knowing some of the girls who don't make the playing team will probably burn out and quit. What I don't want to do is have so many girls on the 8th grade team and wash out the effectiveness of being on a team. My 7th grade team is fine numbers wise.
What do you suggest? I know you have coached at small schools where numbers make the difference as you move up the levels.
Hey Coach:
First, I think your idea of having two different teams is ingenious! Can the practice team have a good long practice every time the top team has an away game? And then can you reward 1 or 2 of the practice players each time you have an away (or home!!) game by allowing them to dress out?
I guess the size of the team depends on the "athletic culture " of the girls at the school. Let me be clearer. When I coached at a small private school, athletics were a low priority not only to the kids but to the parents as well. The kids would play one season, then they wouldn't play the next, then they'd come back and play. My starting setter's parents would not allow her to play her senior year. Why? I was going to require the daughter to make up all the hours that she was going to miss because of a family vacation that they were taking after our season had started. This head-butting occurred even after I had told them in January when tryouts would be held. sigh
If this is the culture at your school also, then you can expect a 20% to 40% attrition rate. If you're going to keep only 1 team, then I strongly recommend you keep a bigger team, maybe as many as 16 kids. I wouldn't go over that.
But if you can keep a practice team, then keep about a maximum of 12 on each team. If the kids you coach are like those where I taught, then you have to figure that 100% of the practice players will never make varsity and 40% of the upper team will give up the sport before their first varsity tryout. So, from my figuring, you may only be able to expect only 7 of those 24 girls making the varsity team.
On the other hand, if the girls at your school love sports and they have parents that encourage them -- regardless of the strictness of the coach -- then you can probably get away with a one smaller team of about 13 to 15 players.
Tom Houser
Visit me sometime at www.coachhouser.com!
