Originally Posted by Anonymous
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At our HS we could barely field two teams, the travel crazies have driven out any athletic fringe kids. We now have a really skilled 8 or so travel girls and the bottom 8 are pretty dreadful. Since everyone has quit they are looking to call up 7th and 8th graders which feeds into the crazy travel parents. Its a problem. 7th and 8th graders shouldn't be playing varsity just because of a body need. And you can't be competitive unless you are running subs in and out.


The model you are complaining about actually works quite well. Stack team with high skill travel girls, bring up the 8th 9th graders who can play. Get your skill girls in great condition endurance wise and you are set, barely any subs needed. Keep your best players on the field at all times. [/quote] [/quote]

That's nonsense. You need a deep bench if you want to be successful against the better teams And 99% of 7th and 8th graders aren't ready or worthy of varsity. Just because they show up to school tryouts with a TG or YJ hoodie on doesn't mean they should automatically make varsity. YJ cut almost no one these days so everyone who wants the hoodies can have one. Need to keep the good non travel girls around to keep these rosters full. Its a problem with our team and its getting worse by the year. [/quote]



So you want to be competitive against the top teams? Did you happen to go to any of the county or LI championship games? Did you happen to notice anything? The best schools use the bench extremely lightly. They put and keep the best players on the field for as much and as long as possible. Bench is used for injury. Watch the college games, near zero subbing there too. Yes it is frustrating to get to varsity and not see playing time, but teams always have a top half and a bottom half. Good coaches will get all the girls involved in the easier games during the season, but many do not. You know, some of these coaches are looking to pad the stats. Come critical game time, you gotta keep the best players on the field. A tired top tier midfielder is still a [lacrosse] of a lot more effective than a second string bench player. Quality teams take good care of the ball, they may try to take advantage in the transition game which sometimes translates to a quick turnover and run back down the field. The midfielders control the tempo of the game, once they have ball control they can play a settled offense allowing plenty of time to catch their breath, and you see all good teams do this, it is what allows the kids to play every minute of every game.