Superliga failing

[Unregistered]

I feel that the Superliga has started to lose what their actual identity is and becoming more obvious that its all about money. Too many teams loading with premier players. Should the Superliga make changes to add a cap on premier players per team? I thought the Superliga in RI is a stepping stone for those who are starting to enjoy playing at a slight competitive level? Nothing good about playing a stacked town team with premier players and losing 5-0 week after week.

If I have a child who isn't gifted enough to play premier ”elite soccer” an just wants to play with their friends. I am fine with having him play just town soccer where he can have ”fun” and build relationships. But having to play against a team that is full of gifted individuals makes it border line abuse. Superliga needs to take a stand and fix this madness it's an absolute shame.

[Unregistered]

I feel that the Superliga has started to lose what their actual identity is and becoming more obvious that its all about money. Too many teams loading with premier players. Should the Superliga make changes to add a cap on premier players per team? I thought the Superliga in RI is a stepping stone for those who are starting to enjoy playing at a slight competitive level? Nothing good about playing a stacked town team with premier players and losing 5-0 week after week.

If I have a child who isn't gifted enough to play premier ”elite soccer” an just wants to play with their friends. I am fine with having him play just town soccer where he can have ”fun” and build relationships. But having to play against a team that is full of gifted individuals makes it border line abuse. Superliga needs to take a stand and fix this madness it's an absolute shame.

Agreed

[Unregistered]

There are multiple levels in the superliga age group? Is your complaint the teams stacked with premier talent are in too low a division? Obviously Anchor division I would expect to see more skilled players vs Rhody...

[Unregistered]

There are multiple levels in the superliga age group? Is your complaint the teams stacked with premier talent are in too low a division? Obviously Anchor division I would expect to see more skilled players vs Rhody...

The problem with the divisions is that there's no oversight or enforcement of who should be going where. It seems like a LOT of town associations do everything they can to put their teams one division lower than they really should be, just so they can rack up Ws (and state titles at the older ages). It's all about winning, as young as U10 if not younger.

[Unregistered]

The problem with the divisions is that there's no oversight or enforcement of who should be going where. It seems like a LOT of town associations do everything they can to put their teams one division lower than they really should be, just so they can rack up Ws (and state titles at the older ages). It's all about winning, as young as U10 if not younger.

Agreed! When the focus becomes on winning and let’s face it, egos, kids get less playing time if they aren’t the kids that are on the clubs. And then there are the kids who are younger, late birthdays, often sit the bench while the spring babes eat up the playing time. Statistics show the Jan-July kids get most playing time and more opportunities to play on clubs etc because they are older. So now you’ve got a win at all costs mentality even in towns and the Oct-Dec babes are over looked. So the age cut off is a problem and the number of club kids on a team is another problem. Eventually kids drop out.

[Unregistered]

Agreed, I feel as those who run soccer Rhode Island and overlook the Superliga really don't have a clear mission state for the league.

Multiple divisions of level or not, why is the league letting DA, ECNL, NPL players particpate? Do we really think that a player should be playing for a club team and playing for their town. How are we educating our youth about the dangerous outcome of playing in too many games? ACL injuries are becoming more common in youth players and mental exhaustion. Some players are playing 2-3 games a weekend.

The Superliga removed the cap because so more players can play which means more teams. They were witnessing multiple organizations numbers dramatically dropping, due to more players joining the premier world. So lets remove the cap so organizations can have more players interested which means more teams which means more money $$$

[Unregistered]

But do we really want “town” youth soccer programs to disallow players for being “too good” or playing “too much” soccer?

[Unregistered]

Agreed, I feel as those who run soccer Rhode Island and overlook the Superliga really don't have a clear mission state for the league.

Multiple divisions of level or not, why is the league letting DA, ECNL, NPL players particpate? Do we really think that a player should be playing for a club team and playing for their town. How are we educating our youth about the dangerous outcome of playing in too many games? ACL injuries are becoming more common in youth players and mental exhaustion. Some players are playing 2-3 games a weekend.

The Superliga removed the cap because so more players can play which means more teams. They were witnessing multiple organizations numbers dramatically dropping, due to more players joining the premier world. So lets remove the cap so organizations can have more players interested which means more teams which means more money $$$

My kid is on a club team and also plays for the town team. The town team is made up of about half club players (across a few clubs, so not like it's all one club dominating a town team lineup) and half "regular" town kids. They love playing together with their friends that they've grown up playing with, and it's less pressure than any of their club team environments. As far as increased risk of injury, you have to remember these are 60 minute games and no one is playing the whole game. So even if there happen to be three games on a weekend (usually it's two), they may possibly be getting 90 or so minutes of game time.

It's one thing to say "no town team made up of a club team's lineup," and another to say "no club kids." The kids who don't play for clubs are generally very happy when their friends who DO play for clubs come back and help them be a more competitive team.

[Unregistered]

My kid is on a club team and also plays for the town team. The town team is made up of about half club players (across a few clubs, so not like it's all one club dominating a town team lineup) and half "regular" town kids. They love playing together with their friends that they've grown up playing with, and it's less pressure than any of their club team environments. As far as increased risk of injury, you have to remember these are 60 minute games and no one is playing the whole game. So even if there happen to be three games on a weekend (usually it's two), they may possibly be getting 90 or so minutes of game time.

It's one thing to say "no town team made up of a club team's lineup," and another to say "no club kids." The kids who don't play for clubs are generally very happy when their friends who DO play for clubs come back and help them be a more competitive team.

Some towns need everyone just to play 11 v 11. Like you said, the club players like playing with there townspeople.
Now the issue is, anchor level or not....some coaches/teams totally abuse this and have top club players hand picked from multiple towns even out of state. There basically. A Sunday premier team beating up on town teams.....even in anchor. What if you are a by the book town team who has a good team and wants to compete at the top with the best town teams. Really not right to have to compete with a Sunday premier team.
Superliga is town ball

[Unregistered]

I think there are specific cases and specific teams that are “sand bagging.” There are teams that say they are a town team but a coach, parent of a kid on a club will recruit other kids from the same club and make up a “town team.” Which is primarily a club parent trying to get extra practices and games for their club under a town. That feels strange. However it’s hard to prevent it from happening. The cap should be 3 players from the same club team on a town team. Or say no more than 50% of the team from the same club...Or the coaches should do a better job mixing up their line up with club and non club players. The positive side is that non club kids who are less experienced can learn from the club players. But that’s up to the coach to create an inclusive teaching atmosphere.

[Unregistered]

It’s almost as if a team has more than say 50% club players from same club they should play in a new division called “Elite” which would be understood by all that these are the teams of kids who want to play club but also want to play town with friends. Some towns like Lincoln, Cumberland and East Prov have more club players on the same team not because they are sandbagging but because more of the culture in that town where soccer is more primary and the kids all tend to play club. If there is an agreed division of town called elite or whatever then nobody is upset because it feels honest. A coach would look at the roster and say well I have 60% club players this year I’ll have to put my team in elite.

[Unregistered]

It’s almost as if a team has more than say 50% club players from same club they should play in a new division called “Elite” which would be understood by all that these are the teams of kids who want to play club but also want to play town with friends. Some towns like Lincoln, Cumberland and East Prov have more club players on the same team not because they are sandbagging but because more of the culture in that town where soccer is more primary and the kids all tend to play club. If there is an agreed division of town called elite or whatever then nobody is upset because it feels honest. A coach would look at the roster and say well I have 60% club players this year I’ll have to put my team in elite.

And what about recruiting out of your town? Is that ok?

[Unregistered]

I agree that limiting percentage from a single club is tough—what if the whole team really are such good friends that they want to join the same club? There are also vastly different levels of club teams and players. Some teams are at the top of their age groups with at most two or three club players, while other teams are 50% from the same club but are struggling in Super Liga

Multi-town rosters might be something that could be re-examined. The restrictions on players from multiple towns were probably relaxed for good reasons, but the cure might be worse than the ailment.

Maybe, tighter tracking on teams’s placements across multiple seasons, even looking directly at the rosters?

A separate “elite” division sounds good on paper, but my sense is the top teams in anchor would just move up together, along with anyone else who wanted that level of competition. There’s no real way to get around the fact that we only have these players in our towns.
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[Unregistered]

A separate “elite” division sounds good on paper, but my sense is the top teams in anchor would just move up together, along with anyone else who wanted that level of competition. There’s no real way to get around the fact that we only have these players in our towns.
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Elite division would work because the town teams with mostly club players from the same team would be required to play in that division. If other town teams wanted to also play in elite they could for more competition. But this way it’s transparent. No town/club teams competing in Anchor, Blue, Rhody.

[Unregistered]

Elite division would work because the town teams with mostly club players from the same team would be required to play in that division. If other town teams wanted to also play in elite they could for more competition. But this way it’s transparent. No town/club teams competing in Anchor, Blue, Rhody.

So are you in favor of a 50% from one club limit at all levels, and beyond that the team has to be in this new Elite division? Would 7 from one club and 7 from another on a roster of 14 be allowed? How about players from different teams, ages, or regions nominally belonging to the same club?

How many current Super Liga teams would be affected by this rule ?