Team Size

I have a quick question regarding team size.

How many is ideal for a 5th/6th grade competitive team?

We are arguing between 8 and 10.

Thank you,
Sean

From a game standpoint, I think 9 is perfect. It's manageable to get everyone lots of playing time. Yet if someone gets hurt and is sick on same day, you still have 7 which is enough.

From a practice stand point, I like 10. Nice even number and allows you to play 5v5 when everyone is there. Another benefit to having 10, is when I'm unhappy with effort during a game (maybe on defense or they don't listen during a timeout), I just yank all 5 of them and put them on the bench for a while. Letting them know why. So they learn in a hurry what is important and what they can't get away with. That is a nice option to have.

Another consideration is how many kids you want to put into your program and help out.

So whether we have 8 or 10 on a roster, I'm not worried about the exact number so much but instead let other dynamics dictate what is best for the group. I may not for example pick up a 10th if I don't feel they ready for this level. Or I might go with 8 if I have 16 kids and want to create two teams.

Good luck!

I've run with 8 and that can get rough if you get injuries or kids out sick. I'm with Jeff for practices, 10 is a lot better. Whatever # you end up with, I found it helpful to have drills for 8,9 and 10 players so you're ready to go in practice when kids no show.

That is helpful. Thank you!