The Green Bay Packers have been rotating more players in on offense/defense last season and this season for many of the same reasons you state. It means more players are 'ready' rather than switching off. It also give the stars a chance to recover.
In relying on all 12 players, do you tend toward full line changes, or are you constantly swapping one or two as you go? Do you keep units together in your practices, or are you always mixing up who plays with whom?
Curious if you would do the same if you had clearly 6 players that were better than the next 6. In my situation I have 8 players that are solid and the next 8 are clearly less ready and less skilled.
Would you change the type of press or style if you had only 8 players?
Three years ago, I had six guys make the NT, one other get invited to the NT camp, and then seven other players. Nobody played more than 25 minutes in a game all year, and everyone played in every game (only roster 12 per game).
I coached a JV girls team where my "best player" should have played varsity but coach didn't like her attitude and my "worst player" had never played on a team before. Everyone played in every half.
Typically, a team with a strong six plays the strong six, maybe seven, and those players improve, and then the gap between 6 and 7 and 8 and 7 and everyone else grows bigger. I prefer to play everyone and see if the gap stays the same (ideally, as everyone improves) or declines (as the players with most room for improvement improve quicker). The youngest player on my team was barely playable in August; he had our best +/- last weekend. The stat is not reliable in a single game, but shows the positive trend. By the end of the season, I expect he'll be pivotal. That would not have happened if we did not give him minutes he hadn't earned in August/September.
Last season (HS varsity), I changed my style because we rarely had a gym for practice and never had a full-court to practice and three starters missed all or most of the season. We just never got a chance to implement anything, but I still played every player in every game. Almost every other team played a 2-3 zone and played 5-6 players...
So, I am adaptable based on the environment, but generally, this is how I play.
Which country are you in now?
The Green Bay Packers have been rotating more players in on offense/defense last season and this season for many of the same reasons you state. It means more players are 'ready' rather than switching off. It also give the stars a chance to recover.
In relying on all 12 players, do you tend toward full line changes, or are you constantly swapping one or two as you go? Do you keep units together in your practices, or are you always mixing up who plays with whom?
I do not do full line changes. Usually 2-3 at a time. I switch starters every game. I mix players constantly in practice.
Curious if you would do the same if you had clearly 6 players that were better than the next 6. In my situation I have 8 players that are solid and the next 8 are clearly less ready and less skilled.
Would you change the type of press or style if you had only 8 players?
How do you know I don't? Or haven't in the past?
Three years ago, I had six guys make the NT, one other get invited to the NT camp, and then seven other players. Nobody played more than 25 minutes in a game all year, and everyone played in every game (only roster 12 per game).
I coached a JV girls team where my "best player" should have played varsity but coach didn't like her attitude and my "worst player" had never played on a team before. Everyone played in every half.
Typically, a team with a strong six plays the strong six, maybe seven, and those players improve, and then the gap between 6 and 7 and 8 and 7 and everyone else grows bigger. I prefer to play everyone and see if the gap stays the same (ideally, as everyone improves) or declines (as the players with most room for improvement improve quicker). The youngest player on my team was barely playable in August; he had our best +/- last weekend. The stat is not reliable in a single game, but shows the positive trend. By the end of the season, I expect he'll be pivotal. That would not have happened if we did not give him minutes he hadn't earned in August/September.
Last season (HS varsity), I changed my style because we rarely had a gym for practice and never had a full-court to practice and three starters missed all or most of the season. We just never got a chance to implement anything, but I still played every player in every game. Almost every other team played a 2-3 zone and played 5-6 players...
So, I am adaptable based on the environment, but generally, this is how I play.