Dublin Youth Athletics 

Q: How are league sizes determined?  
Q: When does a wait list form and why?

Sign-ups occur a few weeks before administrative activity necessary to run the league begins.  Generally, sign-ups for basketball are 5 weeks prior to league meetings and baseball/softball sign-ups are six to seven weeks prior to league meetings.  Volleyball sign-ups occur at the end of the previous school year so contracts, which begin the first day of the new school year, can be made before schools take summer break.

At the conclusion of scheduled sign-ups and shortly after the sign-ups at schools, a tally of applicants is for each respective league is made and a meeting of league commissioners is held.  The commissioners are told how many teams they are likely to have based on registration at the time so they can begin recruiting coaches.  Enough teams are established to accommodate all those players signed-up by the time of the commissioners' meeting.  For example, if there are to be 14 players on a baseball team and there are 130 players signed-up, 10 teams will be formed.  To form 9 would not accommodate all players (9 x 12 = 126), but 10 does and leaves 10 more spots for late enrollees or move-ins.

Once those spots are gone a decision must be made whether to start another team or form a wait list.  When it occurs, this process is usually very close to the final stages of scheduling.  The decision is based on a couple of factors 1) is there another coach available to take an additional team?  2) now that the season is about to begin, what does an additional team do to the average roster of existing teams?  Take the example above.  Should 11 players subsequently sign-up, what should the decision be?  If another team is added, then there are 13 openings in the league.  Spread across 11 teams, all teams have an opening and some have two.  Roster sizes are set based on average attendance at games as reported by coaches.  Generally, teams have 4 more players on the roster than are required in the field during the games.  This provides each team enough players to field a team when vacations and other absenteeism occur.  When teams have openings and absenteeism, they are sometimes unable to field enough to play and everyone, the players on the team who want to play and their opponents, suffers.  Tough as the call might seem, but it is sometimes better to form a wait list and hope for a move-out, change of mind, or other reason for dropping out, than to create too many openings so that play is affected.

Timing is everything and it would be much better if enrollment occurred on time, with just a few late sign-ups.  Unfortunately, there are too many circumstances where late registration occurs and it makes putting the leagues together all that more difficult.  Each year a significant effort is made by the volunteer commissioners to try to find a way to accommodate over 500 late enrollees in baseball and softball, 250 in basketball, and 70 in volleyball.  Most of the time the players get in.  Sometimes they don't.

Once league schedules are finalized any applicants who sign-up in a league that is full are placed on a wait list and worked in as spots open up.  All wait listed applications must include a check for payment to be placed on the wait list.  The check will not be cashed unless and until the player is placed on a team.  If not placed, the check is returned.