Dirty players

zebrafish

zebrafish

SILVER ELITE
Another thread and a recent game with my GU9 daughter got me thinking about dealing with dirty players. I think the days are gone for my own kid where games are clean and kids generally follow the rules. Nothing like watching a 9 year old girl lay an opponent out with a forearm across a kid's face, then 5 minutes later run up behind a kid and lay a shoulder in the back to blow up a player without coming anywhere near the ball, then 5 minutes later lay a shoulder into a third player and knock them 4 feet sideways-- to make your jaw hit the floor.

As a coach, what have you done (or seen your coach do) and has it been helpful when you face a player or team that plays outside the boundaries?

Is it different for girls vs boys? Does age matter?

Obviously, without disrupting the game, little can be done as a sideline parent.

Have you taught your child anything you feel is helpful in dealing with this? Or does everyone have to just try and survive and hope for a decent ref who is willing/able/competent to deal with the issue.
 
Fortunately, Bernie, none of the fouls were committed on my kid.

She is bigger and perhaps at this age, kids might be a little more intimidated by her.

Their elbows and forearms hit her shin guards.
 
I'm not sure you can call a 9 year old player "dirty." At that age, some kids don't have full control of their bodies. They by instinct put forth their arms more as way to protect themselves while hurting other kids unintentionally. I'd be much more willing to give them the benefit of the doubt than a 14 year old who does the same.
 
Well, is it dirty to "pinch and twist" and to pull pony tails? If so, then there are dirty players at pretty much every age. Just that the 17 year olds can pull and twist harder than the 9-12 year olds.
 
Laced said:
I'm not sure you can call a 9 year old player "dirty." At that age, some kids don't have full control of their bodies. They by instinct put forth their arms more as way to protect themselves while hurting other kids unintentionally. I'd be much more willing to give them the benefit of the doubt than a 14 year old who does the same.
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I'd say until last weekend I'd agree with you. Wish I could post the video, but it wouldn't be the proper thing to do. I do think that kids at this age are prone to overdoing it with a suggestion or not knowing the proper context or degree with which to apply a concept. They may "try something on for size". You'll have to just take my word that this one kid layed three players out in a matter of 15 minutes and it wasn't a matter of lack of coordination or body control. Fortunately, no one was hurt.
 
Some mean girls start young. Enforce the rules regardless of intent and they will learn early the right way to play. Maybe keep some of them from being total B's when they are old enough to know better.
 
In addition to physical barbs there are verbal jabs...On the old site someone posted that girls can say clever mean things also...the poster said he heard things like:

"oh they had a sale at Supercuts?"

"you know they make those shorts in extra large too"
 
My DD plays U16, some of the things I have seen in games just blow me away...girls tend to pull jerseys, pinch, lock arms, knee the other players and literally pull players down especially towards the end of the game when things get desperate/heated. My DD is short and stocky and rarely gets pushed around. A lot of players think because she is short that they can knock her down. I have literally seen girls try to push my daughter from the back with full extension of their arms and they are the ones who go down while my DD is still standing and dribbling the ball and then cry foul hoping to get a call. I believe the girls are more physical and play more dirty than the boys because they are sneaky as far as throwing hits and some even know the right angle to hide it from the ref's sight lines. But I do believe some of the rough play is coached, too...
 
Our 04/05 team has a few smaller girls. Apparently last weekend some girl said to one of our smaller girls, "stop pushing, you midget".
I didn't see too much pushing either way.
When the girl told me what was said, it was hard not to laugh.
 
I personally prefer a more physical game of soccer. It is a contact sport. Of course I also like rugby, MMA and American football. If you are worried about your dd getting hurt maybe you should put her in a dance class. I say buck up sissypants.
 
I don't think there is much you can do as a parent other than discuss this matter with your dd. It sounds like her relative size to the other players makes it less likely that she will get hit.

My dd is small and has always been one of the smaller players on her teams. She has been bounced around a lot over the years. There have been tears shed (hers, not mine) over the years, but I also think she has learned over the years to play with her head on a swivel.

At your dd's age, I think physical play is more taught by the coach versus the player figuring it out on their own. A way to tell for sure is what does the coach do when one of his players causes an obvious foul? Does the coach encourage that behavior, look the other way, teach the player what is wrong with that type of play, etc.?
 
wildcat66 said:
I personally prefer a more physical game of soccer. It is a contact sport. Of course I also like rugby, MMA and American football. If you are worried about your dd getting hurt maybe you should put her in a dance class. I say buck up sissypants.
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I'd rather see 9 year olds learn to play with their feet and their brain. They can get more physical at the age of 14-15.
 
Players, all players, children, teens, and adults, should approach each game as if their opponents are friends, and end each game as friends.

Unless, or course, they remember the dirty crap those bastards pulled the last time they played.
 
Too much lately I see parents confuse physical aggression with cheating or "dirty" play. Especially when it is their kid that is knocked down or hurt. I don't support cheap shots but physical contact is a fact of life in soccer. I am tired of the "wimping"of our kids. How did I somehow survive no helmet on my bike, blacktop and gravel on the playground, and playing tackle football in park with my friends without helmets? To the using their head idea, how about the fact that the fact the striker got slammed off the ball on his or her first attempt at a break away makes them hesitate to do it again and that reluctance gives you a tactical advantage. That's smart soccer.
 
Not sure "dirty" is the best way to describe most players who get physical.

We played a top flight team one age older and soundling bet them. Plenty of fouls, 7 yellows, kids almost playing in desperate during a "friendly" boys game. Frustrating sets in then challenges come flying in, players that can't keep up skill wise and/or are just too lazy end up "hacking" but that's the way some games go. The boys are more physical more often vs the girls at some point around U13+ IMO.
 
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wildcat66 said:
Too much lately I see parents confuse physical aggression with cheating or "dirty" play. Especially when it is their kid that is knocked down or hurt. I don't support cheap shots but physical contact is a fact of life in soccer. I am tired of the "wimping"of our kids. How did I somehow survive no helmet on my bike, blacktop and gravel on the playground, and playing tackle football in park with my friends without helmets? To the using their head idea, how about the fact that the fact the striker got slammed off the ball on his or her first attempt at a break away makes them hesitate to do it again and that reluctance gives you a tactical advantage. That's smart soccer.
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True. Fouls are part of the game and can often be strategically sound. Unless/until players play with an actual intent to do harm, it's all parents crying over nothing.
 
timbuck said:
Yes. But if your coach is spending time teaching 9 year old players when is the right time for a strategic foul instead of working on technical aspects, then they're doing it wrong.
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I have a hard time believing coaches are spending significant time on strategic fouls at U9. Do you have examples of such?
 
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