running up the score

What is your view on when a coach should continue to run up the score when the game is clearly out of hand? Is there a unwritten understanding about this among coaches?

Was it 26-0? If not, just let it go. Trust me.   

If I was a coach (and I am, just not for soccer), I would let off the throttle and show some mercy to lesser teams at some point. Maybe play hard the first half, then put restrictions on 2nd half (left foot shots only, switch position, no shots until 5 consecutive passes, can only score off a cross, etc.). But at the same time, if some team comes out and whips our butt 20-0, then so be it. There is no rule about it, so I don't have the right to get all pissy about it. Take your beating and learn from it. Don't get all mad and blame the other team or coach. You've then lost the purpose of the game and lost the teaching lesson for your kids.

Another factor to consider is; what was this game for? A tournament? Then some teams will run up the score because goals can be a tie-breaker. A league? Then maybe your team shouldn't be in such a league....maybe that team shouldn't be in such a league.

If its the same 1 or 2 players scoring all the goals, then there is a problem. But if they are putting kids in that normally play in the back and placing them up top, then they should also have the same opportunity to score goals.

I also see that even when teams are getting rung up, they expect the other team to change tactics, but they don't, also. Learn to park the bus... If you aren't adjusting to play more defensively, then you can't complain when the team keeps finding the same hole and exploiting it.

In the end, it doesn't matter. This is an 05 thread. Believe me, these are the least important games that your kid will ever play (assuming they go all the way through select). When your daughter is playing an ECNL game her sophomore year of high school, and there are 40 college coaches there eyeing her every move, you will not be sitting there still stewing over that one time back in her 9 year old year that some random team ran the score up on your team.

^^ What are you talking about? No 9year that has ever had the score run up on them, will ever be good enough to make ECNL.    
I say find another sport now while there is still time.

cochese wrote:If its the same 1 or 2 players scoring all the goals, then there is a problem. But if they are putting kids in that normally play in the back and placing them up top, then they should also have the same opportunity to score goals.

I also see that even when teams are getting rung up, they expect the other team to change tactics, but they don't, also. Learn to park the bus... If you aren't adjusting to play more defensively, then you can't complain when the team keeps finding the same hole and exploiting it.

Agree.

tpitty wrote:

cochese wrote:If its the same 1 or 2 players scoring all the goals, then there is a problem. But if they are putting kids in that normally play in the back and placing them up top, then they should also have the same opportunity to score goals.

I also see that even when teams are getting rung up, they expect the other team to change tactics, but they don't, also. Learn to park the bus... If you aren't adjusting to play more defensively, then you can't complain when the team keeps finding the same hole and exploiting it.

Agree.

+2

Telly wrote:What is your view on when a coach should continue to run up the score when the game is clearly out of hand?  Is there a unwritten understanding about this among coaches?

Yes. The unwritten rule is know as "show some class". Some do, some don't.

it depends on the disparity between the better teams weaker players and your teams players. there should be substitutions (at a minimum) but if the subs still destroy you, its called a mismatch. all the players want to score a goal

Depends on the environment. I've seen teams play up where they had no business doing so and teams registering for Gold divisions where Silver would have been a stretch. Take into account the average cost to the teams of these games in tournament or league play. Should a team be forced to play keep-away that they could work on in any training session to appease the feeling of the opposing parents at $100+ a game for a tournament or $75+ for a league game? What does it teach the opposing team to call the dogs off? What does it teach the winning team they couldn't have already worked on for $0 at practice?

I've yet to see a team where the losing kids cry because of a large deficit. I've seen kids cry losing 1-0 or 2-1 because it was a close game and they gave it their all. I've seen parents and coaches throw their toys out of the pushchair on the end of a beating but never the kids. I think large losses is about the parents ego, not the kids feelings.

If you play up and get destroyed or play Gold when you should be Bronze, don't complain about sticking your arm in the lion cage and getting aggressively nibbled.

the7wolf wrote:Depends on the environment. I've seen teams play up where they had no business doing so and teams registering for Gold divisions where Silver would have been a stretch. Take into account the average cost to the teams of these games in tournament or league play. Should a team be forced to play keep-away that they could work on in any training session to appease the feeling of the opposing parents at $100+ a game for a tournament or $75+ for a league game? What does it teach the opposing team to call the dogs off? What does it teach the winning team they couldn't have already worked on for $0 at practice?

I've yet to see a team where the losing kids cry because of a large deficit. I've seen kids cry losing 1-0 or 2-1 because it was a close game and they gave it their all. I've seen parents and coaches throw their toys out of the pushchair on the end of a beating but never the kids. I think large losses is about the parents ego, not the kids feelings.

If you play up and get destroyed or play Gold when you should be Bronze, don't complain about sticking your arm in the lion cage and getting aggressively nibbled.

Well said coach.

the7wolf wrote:Depends on the environment. I've seen teams play up where they had no business doing so and teams registering for Gold divisions where Silver would have been a stretch. Take into account the average cost to the teams of these games in tournament or league play. Should a team be forced to play keep-away that they could work on in any training session to appease the feeling of the opposing parents at $100+ a game for a tournament or $75+ for a league game? What does it teach the opposing team to call the dogs off? What does it teach the winning team they couldn't have already worked on for $0 at practice?

I've yet to see a team where the losing kids cry because of a large deficit. I've seen kids cry losing 1-0 or 2-1 because it was a close game and they gave it their all. I've seen parents and coaches throw their toys out of the pushchair on the end of a beating but never the kids. I think large losses is about the parents ego, not the kids feelings.

If you play up and get destroyed or play Gold when you should be Bronze, don't complain about sticking your arm in the lion cage and getting aggressively nibbled.

 It goes both ways.  I've seen an academy team play in a rec tournament.  Any guess which one it was?   

I like this topic, but it really is about having compassion for the other team. I think most parents would agree and be ok if you had your team play keep away instead of trying to score. Even then it's hard to get the kids to stop trying to go to goal because since forever they have been told go to goal! It is the coaches responsibility not to put his or her team in that situation.

Topherroach7fcdallas wrote:I like this topic, but it really is about having compassion for the other team.  I think most parents would agree and be ok if you had your team play keep away instead of trying to score.  Even then it's hard to get the kids to stop trying to go to goal because since forever they have been told go to goal!  It is the coaches responsibility not to put his or her team in that situation.

I agree with compassion but I think keep away can look bad too.  It only matters for the parents.  The girls know when they are outmatched and are able to go on about their lives after a loss.  It is the parents that sit and stew.  And I bet if you asked those parents on the losing team's sideline, half would would say they want the opponent to keep playing and the other half would want keep away.

TatonkaBurger wrote:

Topherroach7fcdallas wrote:I like this topic, but it really is about having compassion for the other team.  I think most parents would agree and be ok if you had your team play keep away instead of trying to score.  Even then it's hard to get the kids to stop trying to go to goal because since forever they have been told go to goal!  It is the coaches responsibility not to put his or her team in that situation.

I agree with compassion but I think keep away can look bad too.  It only matters for the parents.  The girls know when they are outmatched and are able to go on about their lives after a loss.  It is the parents that sit and stew.  And I bet if you asked those parents on the losing team's sideline, half would would say they want the opponent to keep playing and the other half would want keep away.

Not naming any names, but know of coaches that allow the girls to keep scoring as long as the goal is scored off a header or other form of 1st touch shot (Cross that is finished on 1st touch for example) This way the girls get to continue to work on build up and finishing and by complicating the finish the other team never even knows what is going on for the most part.

TatonkaBurger wrote:

Topherroach7fcdallas wrote:I like this topic, but it really is about having compassion for the other team.  I think most parents would agree and be ok if you had your team play keep away instead of trying to score.  Even then it's hard to get the kids to stop trying to go to goal because since forever they have been told go to goal!  It is the coaches responsibility not to put his or her team in that situation.

I agree with compassion but I think keep away can look bad too.  It only matters for the parents.  The girls know when they are outmatched and are able to go on about their lives after a loss.  It is the parents that sit and stew.  And I bet if you asked those parents on the losing team's sideline, half would would say they want the opponent to keep playing and the other half would want keep away.

I'm in the half that would rather the other team keep playing. It's more dejecting when they play keep away and move up the big-boned girls to striker.

Running up the score is when your starters at each position are still playing that position after the game is well out of hand. Of course you continue playing, but you should be giving girls opportunities at positions they don't normally play. If at that point you are still scoring at will, the team you are playing shouldn't be in that division.

Trust me, it sucks for the coaches as well(at least most of them)

sad part is, there is no right answer

Some parents on the side getting beat down want the wining team to keep playing and others want them to play kickball, but once you start doing that you get yelled at from the sidelines, THIS IS NOT SOCCER, so you tell them to start playing again and you get CALL OFF THE DOGS

I once coached a game when every single player on my team scored a goal, within 10 minutes of the start of the game my goalie was my forward, my forwards were now defenders and the girls at the bottom of my roster where in there playing like the starters.....what does a coach do, every girl wants to score, all of the parents want the girls that don't score to score when they can

But you know what, the next day at school all the girls from both teams were friends

It is only the parents who care

How about the coaches that play an over age player down into a league and run the score up?

they should be shot

I had one Saturday. What was hillarious was the coach actually got mad that I wouldnt let the kid play. Game kicked off and the kid proceeded to score 7 or 8 goals. No one on his team or my team was touching the ball. So i ask the coach nicely, is he an 09.

"Nope, he is an 08"...

Me.. "You know this is a U6 league, right?"

coach.. "yes, but so what. What does it matter"

He wouldnt play the team up because he didnt want his younger ones to play against older ones, but he thougth it ok to have his older ones play down against the younger ones... waste of that kids time.

What even funnier, is the entire team knew he was too old to be playing.

WTF!

Borussia wrote:How about the coaches that play an over age player down into a league and run the score up?

Cheating?  Suspected or proven?

Was this a situation where the player had a forged birth certificate and  misled the coaches and parents, or one where the coach was complicit?

It happens - why are people here afraid to call out the cheater(s) - coach, parents and club?!?!


IMO - if it was the player only with a forged birth certificate, they should be banned from NTSSA and US Club for a period of time.  A year?  2?

If the coach was complicit, suspend their license - at least a year.  And this information should be highly publicized.  Parents looking to bring their daughter should know, as should any opponents that this is the character of the coach, AND THE CLUB IF THEY RETAIN THE CHEATING COACH.

And clubs don't help matters.  They readily employ and retain known cheaters (and coaches who have had their licenses suspended for multiple years).

Borussia wrote:I had one Saturday.  What was hillarious was the coach actually got mad that I wouldnt let the kid play.  Game kicked off and the kid proceeded to score 7 or 8 goals.  No one on his team or my team was touching the ball.  So i ask the coach nicely, is he an 09.

"Nope, he is an 08"...

Me.. "You know this is a U6 league, right?"

coach.. "yes, but so what.  What does it matter"

He wouldnt play the team up because he didnt want his younger ones to play against older ones, but he thougth it ok to have his older ones play down against the younger ones... waste of that kids time.

What even funnier, is the entire team knew he was too old to be playing.

WTF!

So again, I ask . . . why are people here afraid to call out the cheater(s)?!?  

At the least, doesn't the team this coach plays next week have the right to know that he has been caught using illegal players?

Im not calling for anyones head on this, but it happened. Yes, the coach new and went ahead and played the boy.

His argument was I should not care and let him play it will make my boys and his boys better.

Problem was the child in question was at such a higher level, literally no one else was touching the ball. He had possession and he kept possesion and kept shooting.

that doesnt benefit my team, or even his team for that matter. Those little guys were not touching the ball at all. once the boy was removed... what do you know, we had a soccer game on our hands... everyone touched the ball and every kid had a good time.