Guest players - what to do

L

lulu9155

SILVER
Our coach has two 2015 flight 1 teams in LA. A first F1 team that was formed a couple of years ago. And a second F1 team that was formed last year with kids that came from other clubs that all played flight 1 before. My son plays on the second F1 team. Both teams are good. The first team is slightly better. Both teams have 11 kids. Both teams go to the same number of tournaments but different ones.

For the tournaments for the second F1 team the coach will invite 2 of the better kids from the first team to our games. It’s usually 13 kids with 6 subs each game. And he plays them as well a pretty good amount. On their own first team the kids he invites start and play almost the entire game.

We assume he will do the same during fall league. 13 kids is a lot for 7v7. We have always had 10 on our teams In the last couple of years. When we signed up he said he would not go over 11. But now it’s 13 and playing time for everyone has gone down. And it’s really not what we signed up for.

Is this normal for a coach to do this? To bring up kids from his other team and let them play a lot during tournaments and most likely fall season? Should we talk to him? He is not the type that you can easily talk to either…very set in what he wants.
 
Hit post too soon. Title should have been “Guest players - what to do”

I fixed.
Dominic/Admin
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Some are in it to win it, and some are in it for development. I have seen this happen often, and it happens more as they get older. My son ages out in two seasons, and I am so looking forward to it.
For the fall season, they are limited to one game a day (I think most leagues). I'm curious why the coach would bring "Guess" (IYKYK) during the fall season. That's a red flag, for sure especially at the younger ages.
 
Def agree this is a red flag. No need for guest players unless you are short players. 4 subs is plenty for 7v7. Even when it's not easy, open communication is the best policy. You should ask the coach about it and if he is not open to it then maybe he's not the best coach for the long run (unless other things weigh in his favor). The best coaches we've had have been open and honest about their decisions - and even when you don't agree with it, as long as they have a clear and fair reason for what they are doing, I can respect that, as a parent.
 
We had a similar situation. A bunch of us talked to the team manager and told him we don’t want guest players and asked him to let the coach know. It helped that the guest player was taking team manager kid’s playing time so he was all for it.
 
lulu9155 said:
Our coach has two 2015 flight 1 teams in LA. A first F1 team that was formed a couple of years ago. And a second F1 team that was formed last year with kids that came from other clubs that all played flight 1 before. My son plays on the second F1 team. Both teams are good. The first team is slightly better. Both teams have 11 kids. Both teams go to the same number of tournaments but different ones.

For the tournaments for the second F1 team the coach will invite 2 of the better kids from the first team to our games. It’s usually 13 kids with 6 subs each game. And he plays them as well a pretty good amount. On their own first team the kids he invites start and play almost the entire game.

We assume he will do the same during fall league. 13 kids is a lot for 7v7. We have always had 10 on our teams In the last couple of years. When we signed up he said he would not go over 11. But now it’s 13 and playing time for everyone has gone down. And it’s really not what we signed up for.

Is this normal for a coach to do this? To bring up kids from his other team and let them play a lot during tournaments and most likely fall season? Should we talk to him? He is not the type that you can easily talk to either…very set in what he wants.
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Unfortunately this is becoming very common. Coaches want to secure the win. 7v7 should be all about fun & development. I have always been of the opinion to speak up respectfully & hopefully it can get worked out. That has not always been the result i’ve gotten. Some coaches look at it as being challenged & don’t like it. Be prepared & if that’s the case probably not the right fit for what your looking for.
 
fjc8871 said:
Some are in it to win it, and some are in it for development. I have seen this happen often, and it happens more as they get older. My son ages out in two seasons, and I am so looking forward to it.
For the fall season, they are limited to one game a day (I think most leagues). I'm curious why the coach would bring "Guess" (IYKYK) during the fall season. That's a red flag, for sure especially at the younger ages.
Click to expand...
"GUESS" haha IK
 
Jamisfoes said:
We had a similar situation. A bunch of us talked to the team manager and told him we don’t want guest players and asked him to let the coach know. It helped that the guest player was taking team manager kid’s playing time so he was all for it.
Click to expand...
Coaches will listen if the majority of parents are not happy with something that he is doing. This is a good approach.
 
lulu9155 said:
Our coach has two 2015 flight 1 teams in LA. A first F1 team that was formed a couple of years ago. And a second F1 team that was formed last year with kids that came from other clubs that all played flight 1 before. My son plays on the second F1 team. Both teams are good. The first team is slightly better. Both teams have 11 kids. Both teams go to the same number of tournaments but different ones.

For the tournaments for the second F1 team the coach will invite 2 of the better kids from the first team to our games. It’s usually 13 kids with 6 subs each game. And he plays them as well a pretty good amount. On their own first team the kids he invites start and play almost the entire game.

We assume he will do the same during fall league. 13 kids is a lot for 7v7. We have always had 10 on our teams In the last couple of years. When we signed up he said he would not go over 11. But now it’s 13 and playing time for everyone has gone down. And it’s really not what we signed up for.

Is this normal for a coach to do this? To bring up kids from his other team and let them play a lot during tournaments and most likely fall season? Should we talk to him? He is not the type that you can easily talk to either…very set in what he wants.
Click to expand...
I think this is a good opportunity for you. Ask the coach "why?" Since your kid is u9 and might be playing for a bit in the club set-up in Southern California, get in the habit of speaking with coaches. Accept whatever explanation is given to you, including whether you're ignored. Take that information and then determine whether you want your son to continue with that club or bolt. In your son's situation, the coach might have a very reasonable explanation for why he's carrying extra players and giving them a lot of field time.

Talking with other parents and reading tea leaves can lead to expectations and eventual resentments. That's a way toxicity forms on the sidelines. I spent a few years early on avoiding talking to coaches because of an expectation that they would take my questions as an intrusion and then take it out on my kids. I only had one coach do that, and he was a psycho. The others have been communicative in their responses so I don't have to play the guessing games with the other parents. I didn't always like the answers the coaches gave me, some were dishonest, but I was able to use the information to make a determination whether it was a good environment for my kids to stick around.

Edit: or what Jamisfoes said.
 
Well after day 1 of the tournament the two guest players each played more than half of each game. With 6 of our original 11 on the bench most of the time. My son got to play the a lot of the time but he even lost playing time. it was hard to watch. I felt really bad for the rest of the kids. The parents were not happy but talking to everyone we all knew we could say not say anything to the coach.

I’m so disappointed in our coach.
 
fjc8871 said:
Some are in it to win it, and some are in it for development. I have seen this happen often, and it happens more as they get older. My son ages out in two seasons, and I am so looking forward to it.
For the fall season, they are limited to one game a day (I think most leagues). I'm curious why the coach would bring "Guess" (IYKYK) during the fall season. That's a red flag, for sure especially at the younger ages.
Click to expand...
ColdPizza said:
"GUESS" haha IK
Click to expand...
Is YK/IK making fun of one's language skills or something else?
 
lulu9155 said:
Well after day 1 of the tournament the two guest players each played more than half of each game. With 6 of our original 11 on the bench most of the time. My son got to play the a lot of the time but he even lost playing time. it was hard to watch. I felt really bad for the rest of the kids. The parents were not happy but talking to everyone we all knew we could say not say anything to the coach.

I’m so disappointed in our coach.
Click to expand...
Leave before July 1st is my recommendation if you are in the SoCal league.

SOCAL Player Transfer Policy
The SOCAL Player Transfer Policy goes into effect July 1 of the current year. BEFORE July 1:Any player that has signed, paid, practiced or played with a team CAN release and transfer to anyother club/team without being in violation of the policy and without having to adhere to therequirements of the policy.Example: Suzie's mom signs a Player Agreement with Real Madrid on February 20th and pays 1/2of the club dues for the upcoming season. Suzie practices and plays a few tournaments with RealMadrid but decides that the team may not be a good fit for her. So on June 15th, Suzie joinsManchester United. Even though Real Madrid already registered Suzie in GotSport as a player intheir club, the club must release the player so that she can join Manchester United because it'sbefore July 1st. Real Madrid can not enforce the transfer policy or require payment in full as it isbefore the July 1st policy enforcement date. Either the Real Madrid Registrar or a SOCAL leagueofficial may release the player so that she can join Manchester United.
 
Messi>CR7 said:
Leave before July 1st is my recommendation if you are in the SoCal league.

SOCAL Player Transfer Policy
The SOCAL Player Transfer Policy goes into effect July 1 of the current year. BEFORE July 1:Any player that has signed, paid, practiced or played with a team CAN release and transfer to anyother club/team without being in violation of the policy and without having to adhere to therequirements of the policy.Example: Suzie's mom signs a Player Agreement with Real Madrid on February 20th and pays 1/2of the club dues for the upcoming season. Suzie practices and plays a few tournaments with RealMadrid but decides that the team may not be a good fit for her. So on June 15th, Suzie joinsManchester United. Even though Real Madrid already registered Suzie in GotSport as a player intheir club, the club must release the player so that she can join Manchester United because it'sbefore July 1st. Real Madrid can not enforce the transfer policy or require payment in full as it isbefore the July 1st policy enforcement date. Either the Real Madrid Registrar or a SOCAL leagueofficial may release the player so that she can join Manchester United.
Click to expand...
The OP knows the overall circumstances and options better than us, but yeah. I'd leave.

The greatest power (maybe only power) we have as parents of youth soccer players is to leave a club, or never give them your money in the first place. If you leave, don't look back and don't second guess yourself. There is virtually nothing at 7v7 that you or your child is going to miss out on.
 
watfly said:
The OP knows the overall circumstances and options better than us, but yeah. I'd leave.

The greatest power (maybe only power) we have as parents of youth soccer players is to leave a club, or never give them your money in the first place. If you leave, don't look back and don't second guess yourself. There is virtually nothing at 7v7 that you or your child is going to miss out on.
Click to expand...
I can't believe there are still coaches out there willing to risk losing paying parents over a ULittle tournament trophy nobody gives a shit about 6 months later.
 
lulu9155 said:
Well after day 1 of the tournament the two guest players each played more than half of each game. With 6 of our original 11 on the bench most of the time. My son got to play the a lot of the time but he even lost playing time. it was hard to watch. I felt really bad for the rest of the kids. The parents were not happy but talking to everyone we all knew we could say not say anything to the coach.

I’m so disappointed in our coach.
Click to expand...
Wow, sorry to hear that. Very frustrating. The complete disregard for the other players is a BIG red flag. Not worth dealing with it in the fall.
 
Slobodan said:
I can't believe there are still coaches out there willing to risk losing paying parents over a ULittle tournament trophy nobody gives a shit about 6 months later.
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It happens more often than you think. It happens to me 2 year in a row, with 2 different clubs/coaches. The coach added players AFTER everyone signed up and paid. At one point it is so bad that we have 17 players for 9v9 team.
At least 50% of the parents left after the season is over but you cannot leave sooner because the club charge the annual fee upfront. Only 2 parents left mid-season because they don't care about losing $2500. I think the club is happy when people left after paying. The coach immediately recruit replacements and I know the replacements paid full annual fee.
 
aong cangkol said:
It happens more often than you think. It happens to me 2 year in a row, with 2 different clubs/coaches. The coach added players AFTER everyone signed up and paid. At one point it is so bad that we have 17 players for 9v9 team.
At least 50% of the parents left after the season is over but you cannot leave sooner because the club charge the annual fee upfront. Only 2 parents left mid-season because they don't care about losing $2500. I think the club is happy when people left after paying. The coach immediately recruit replacements and I know the replacements paid full annual fee.
Click to expand...
I hate to say it but it's like anything else... we have the power to change it, as a paying customer, but we're sheep. These clubs wouldn't get away with charging for a full year (up front) if we all refused to pay it.
 
Slobodan said:
I hate to say it but it's like anything else... we have the power to change it, as a paying customer, but we're sheep. These clubs wouldn't get away with charging for a full year (up front) if we all refused to pay it.
Click to expand...
100% brother. Standard rules for all for thee to follow would be nice. I say no guest players allowed at all, only new additions during the dates allowed. Guest players can guest at practice or sxrimmage. Paying $3000+ $10,000 in travel costs should be enouhg for play time. Adding a few ringers (usually free) for a tournament is not right. I'm guilty of this when my baby girl was 10. Tad at Blues did Sunday Scrimmages amd did not allow guest players. He did allow his players to guest as long as it didnt interfear with the teams obligations.
 
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