Feb 14, 2012, 1:21 pmIt always comes up, as to what I am looking for in a roster, and the number of players that make up that roster. First and foremost, there is not a set roster size. It is based on need, talent levels, schedules, a little bit on the number of coaches, and my philosophy.
The needs: One goalie, three midfielders, three attackmen, and three defenseman are the bare minimum, and that alone won’t cut it. There is a need for a back up attackman, an extra line of midfielders (three total), and two longpoles. You can argue for the back up goalie, but in my system, we don’t cut goalies, so don’t bother arguing. That’s a bare-minimum of 16 players. Western Reserve Academy won back-to-back Division II titles with 15, and they trained every player to play every position as back up roles. They are now one of the premier programs out of the Cleveland area, and in the country, sending kids to top coleges, and even national teams. All with 28 kids in their entire program (JV and Varsity). I can’t do 16 kids or less; I would be afraid to practice.
Talent levels: We don’t have quite the drop-off from top, to middle, to bottom as most teams do. We also are a rare program that will pump in 20-25 freshman each year. The competition is there, and is encouraged. The more well-rounded you are, and the better the athlete, will give you an edge. But the bottom line here is, you have to be able to play. You have to be able to compete at a high level. You have to be able to be consistant. If there are 20-25 guys that can all compete at a Varsity or JV level, then we will make the room.
Schedules: We play two pre-season scrimmages, up to 18 regular season games, and then playoffs, that go up to three games. You make the top three in WPIAL, you make the state playoffs, which go up to an additional four to five games. It can be a long schedule at the Varsity level. JV will typically get 14-16 games, and the Freshman team will get 12. The more games, typically the more bodies you need to sustain injuries, grades, or general fatigue. In this set up, a Freshman team would typically have the lowest roster size; somewhere around that 16 to 20 range. JV would be in the low-20s, and Varsity would be in the mid-20s. The wildcard here is that Varsity and JV can be inter-rostered. Meaning, if you dress JV, I can still dress you Varsity. And if you make Varsity, I could theoretically dress you down to JV. Freshman are different. Once you are on the Freshman roster, you are considered a middle-school team, and cannot make any roster moves. And I do dress JV players to the Varsity sideline. That being said, I will tend to carry a larger JV roster, and smaller Varsity roster, to try and get playing time to those players who are on the border of both skill levels, to see if they define themselves during the season. But now I’m hitting a little much on my philosophy.
Number of Coaches: We are alotted a Head Coach, and three assistants for three total teams, by the school. We had added an extra paid assistant from the board, last year, bringing us to five total coaches. I would like to see a player/coach ratio around 12-15/1, which would be a 60-75 player team; 20-25 per roster. You go higher than that, and you don’t maximize the effectiveness of the coaching. In a perfect world, a 10/1 ratio (give or take), is probably the most effective. I don’t know if we could do 50 kids.
Philosophy: Already touched on some of the roster size stuff in the Schedule portion; review as needed. I am a big believer in specialization in the game. That means I like the long stick midfielders, the defensive-midfielders, the face-off guys, etc. I will get a core of guys that can do most everything, and support them with specialists, as needed. It’s a good way for a guy who may not be the biggest, fastest, strongest, to find a way onto the field. If you have quick hands and low center of gravity (wrestlers/boxers), you could differentiate yourself as a face off guy. If you are defensive-minded, either positioning (football backs) or team concepts (basketball players), you could make your way on as a defensive midfielder. If your hand-eye coordination is very good, and are well conditioned (hockey/tennis), you could be a long stick midfielder. This all being said, these are typically reserved for the Varsity level. As a coaching staff, we look to differentiate, through-out the season, as to who could make their way to a Varsity roster, at a specialization. Very rarely would we look to add a specialist at the JV level, and it has not even been considered at the Freshman level. The lower levels, we are looking to develop the kids as all-around lacrosse players. We will run them through the drills together, teach them all team concepts, etc. But by adding those few extra Varsity spots, it potentially opens up roster space below. The other major philosophy (the one briefly mentioned above), is that it is easier to teach to the smaller group. If I am telling 18 kids what to do, opposed to 25, there will be a better retention rate of the information. And there is almost no shot of telling 30 kids what to do effectively. The kids have less distractions, they receive more repetitions, and better individual instruction, which all strengthen the team.
In conclusion, the short answer is:
MODEL ROSTERS (subject to change, use only as a guideline)
Varsity (22ish)
4 Attackmen
6 Midfielders
6 Defensemen
1 Goalie
5 Specialists (LSM, FOGO, 2 dMids, Riding Attack)
JV(25ish)
6 Attackmen
9 Midfielders
8 Defensemen
2 Goalies
Freshman (20ish)
5 Attackmen
8 Midfielders
6 Defensmen
1 Goalie
TBD - Uniform Collection/ Ultimate Frisbee/ Team Meeting