I’d say there are plenty of teams. There’s just too many tournaments.
22-0
- Thread starter timbuck
- Start date
Surf Zombie
GOLD
Our town 5/6 grade girls team (which is 12 strong club players) played in a charity jamboree yesterday to raise money for the family of a police officer who was killed last month. Each team in the event played two games. First game was against another fairly strong team and ended up 5-0.
The second game was against a smaller (probably 4/5 grade) team who had traveled up from out of state. Knew from the get go it was going to be very hard to keep the score down. Last thing I wanted to do was run up the score in a charity event. I spoke to the other coach and he added an additional player on the field and we put in a “five pass rule” before shooting for our girls. Game still ended up 10 or 11-0, but I felt like the kids on the other team fought hard the whole game and probably benefitted from it.
Sometimes it’s really hard to keep the score down even when the kids buy into why we are asking them to do it.
The second game was against a smaller (probably 4/5 grade) team who had traveled up from out of state. Knew from the get go it was going to be very hard to keep the score down. Last thing I wanted to do was run up the score in a charity event. I spoke to the other coach and he added an additional player on the field and we put in a “five pass rule” before shooting for our girls. Game still ended up 10 or 11-0, but I felt like the kids on the other team fought hard the whole game and probably benefitted from it.
Sometimes it’s really hard to keep the score down even when the kids buy into why we are asking them to do it.
ItsCalledSoccer
SILVER
Yes this is the issue, too many tournaments and too many leagues results in travelling further to find competitive games. Being in Orange County, I don't see any reason to travel outside of South OC, there are enough teams here and if everyone was in the same league/system then everyone would be a winner.
Definitelynotanotherref
SILVER ELITE
Sometimes, teams will be severely outmatched. What should a coach do in this instance? It is hard to strike a difficult balance between letting the score get out of hand or embarrassing the other team. The goal in this instance is to make a somewhat competitive challenge without humiliating the other team.
To me as a player. Losing 5-0 to a 11v7 is just as humiliating as losing 22-0 to 11v11. If the other team plays keep away instead of try to score goals, that is insulting and frustrating.
The perfect theoretical solution is for the coach to handicap his own players without the other team noticing. Keep-away and removing 4 players is noticeable. Shouting "Only 2 touches" so the whole field can hear is noticeable. Obviously the perfect solution is theoretical as there will always be some sort of notice to any solution, but the closer we get to the theoretical solution, the better.
Switching player roles is not that noticeable. Telling your subs they only have 2 touches and subbing them in so the whole team is on the same page is not noticeable. Telling your team (via subs or half time) that they can only volley or header a goal from a cross is not that noticeable. Doing your best Spain vs Russia cosplay, using only the weak foot to shoot or pass. All this is really the most a coach can do. He should also tell his players to not advertise that they are being handicapped.
And for God's sake. If you put the goalie on the field, inform your team and your goalie at halftime that they shouldn't celebrate like madmen when the goalie score his first goal ever, which just so happens to be the 11th goal of the game.
To me as a player. Losing 5-0 to a 11v7 is just as humiliating as losing 22-0 to 11v11. If the other team plays keep away instead of try to score goals, that is insulting and frustrating.
The perfect theoretical solution is for the coach to handicap his own players without the other team noticing. Keep-away and removing 4 players is noticeable. Shouting "Only 2 touches" so the whole field can hear is noticeable. Obviously the perfect solution is theoretical as there will always be some sort of notice to any solution, but the closer we get to the theoretical solution, the better.
Switching player roles is not that noticeable. Telling your subs they only have 2 touches and subbing them in so the whole team is on the same page is not noticeable. Telling your team (via subs or half time) that they can only volley or header a goal from a cross is not that noticeable. Doing your best Spain vs Russia cosplay, using only the weak foot to shoot or pass. All this is really the most a coach can do. He should also tell his players to not advertise that they are being handicapped.
And for God's sake. If you put the goalie on the field, inform your team and your goalie at halftime that they shouldn't celebrate like madmen when the goalie score his first goal ever, which just so happens to be the 11th goal of the game.
If the team is 12 and under and this is the first goal the keeper has scored, it might explain why a "winning" team is going 11-0. United Soccer Coaches (formerly NSCAA) recs are clear that goalkeepers shouldn't be 100% specialized until age 12. If that's really happening, it may be an indication that the team has prioritized winning over player development....in which case no wonder they are so dominant, but if you buy into the guidelines, the keeper (let alone field players who may be overspecialized) may be getting the shorter end of the stick.
Surfref
PREMIER
I had a G15 semi-final game recently that was 6-0 at halftime (30 minute half). The two coaches came to me and my ARs at halftime and said that if the score gets to 9-0 to just end the game. The game ended 10 minutes into the second half. The losing coach had to restrain two of his player's fathers because they thought we stopped the game early and wanted to tell us that we sucked for not letting the kids play a full game. Not sure why those two dads were so mad. The winning teams 9 goals all came from 9 different players.
Keepermom2
GOLD
One of our U-15 games had a small bracket this past weekend and we just stopped scoring when the score was 9-1 and our team basically played keep away. It was great for my Keeper daughter because she was getting practice with the ball being played back to her, but I almost think that was more demoralizing for the other team. I know our coach had the right intentions for it, and she would be beaten up by comments if she let the score keep going up, but was playing keep away better? Maybe I am just dealing with my own traumatic experiences with kids playing keep away with my glove. LOL I think there is a life lesson in being killed in a game for the olders...you have two choices 1. Let it drive you to do whatever you can to be able to compete at that level in the future or 2. Get yourself in the right place that works for your skill set. We are not equipped to compete every where. Having said that, I think the best choice is for the demolishing team to play with less players on the field. I wouldn't have said that prior to this last weekend but I hated watching the "keep away game". At the same time, that is what they do at practice to learn how to defend so is it that demoralizing for them? The reality is the girls have probably all forgot about it and they are now worried about what they will wear on the first day of school.
Surfref
PREMIER
Smaller tournament in LA county. It’s only flight was divided into two brackets that played cross bracket. The six teams included tier 1-3 teams. One bracket had all of the stronger teams and the other bracket had the weaker teams which included two teams from the tournament’s club. The tournament team was the one that lost 9-0. It was apparent that the tournament set the brackets so the home club teams would make the semis and I am sure they thought at least one would make the final. The two teams in the final were from the strong bracket, so the home clubs cooking didn’t work.