This one is really easy - for 2 reasons -Chitown wrote: ↑Fri Jun 05, 2020 12:43 pm Size of Lacrosse Squad?
Out of curiosity, I counted the number of players on my JHU Team my senior year:--- 34 Players and we were National Champions. Approx. the same numbers on my Sophomore and Junior year Teams. Of course there was a Freshmen Team, but only 8-10 of those players would be expected to make the Varsity the next year. That was plenty of players to practice and improve.
Why have squads become so huge? How can they effectively practice everyday? Why would you want to stand around at practice if you are in the 40-60 range group? That can't be fun. That can't be a learning process.
What is the answer?
1. Injuries
2. Scout teams
I will let point 1 speak for itself. But for point 2, think about it this way - if you have say 4-5 attackmen (starters and immediate backups who play) and 2 lines of offensive middies (lets say 6), that is 10-12 players (and likely more if you have a third line and some man up personnel, etc). So probably 12-15 players on offense that play on a regular basis. Now take the defense: you have the starting goalie, frequently the immediate backup (so 2), plus 3 starting defensemen (and usually an additional 2-3 who rotate in, sometimes for man-down d), plus 2-3 SSDMs, and then 2 LSMs, you have about 12-14 defensive guys who play on a regular basis. In total, that is probably 25, but closer to 30 players that are preparing to play on a regular basis.
Now, when preparing for games, coaches now use scout teams (frequently the backups who aren't getting PT) instead of other starters. When I see practices at d1 and high end d3 schools, you have the starters on D getting ready against an O scout team and vice versa. So now you need enough scout team players - 3 attackmen, 3 middies, 1 pole, a few SSDMs (frequently freshman middies), a LSM, and then the third/fourth string goalies. That alone is 14-15 players. Add those to the game time team, and already you are at 45 guys. Now add a few FOGOs and all of the sudden we are at 50 guys.
So that is why rosters are frequently 50 guys minimum. The math adds up.
Edit: and you also have to consider the development side. Even taking my 50 players above, there are only 14-15 developmental guys (lets say for argument freshmen and some sophomores). This is frequently not enough if there is an injury bug and I have seen it firsthand. For example - you have a roster with 7 attackmen (3 starters, 4 backups/development guys). 2 starters get injured, but a few of the backups are injured as well. All of a sudden, you only have 3 attackmen that are healthy, but it may be 1 starter and the bottom 2 guys on the depth chart. I see this reason as THE reason rosters have expanded past 50. In my opinion, a roster of 50-52 guys covers all positions well enough to have clearly defined starters, backups who will be starters (or otherwise integral guys), and then development players and be safe from injuries. But even at a 60 person roster, rarely are you going to have all 60 healthy. From my discussions with coaches, they always use a rule of thumb that 5-10 players may be out on any given day due to injuries.
