Originally posted by Guest
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First ,I never justify something that is a bad practice by saying "well other clubs do it too" That doesn't solve the issue. It just gives the culprit the justification to keep doing it.
To answer your question, I have had 3 daughter play this game , my youngest is still playing youth soccer .Our family have experienced a number of high quality clubs/leagues, which include ECNL, The US development academy and The old National league. In our journey ,the clubs that we experienced have kept a very manageable number of players-max 18 or 19 players-two goalies would be included if 19. however, must times numbers reached no more than 18-some as low as 16 depending on the quality of the player the teams attracts. . So that eliminated the issues of being left off a roster. This can be painful for a coach as well and they try to avoid these extra players unless mandated by the club. The US Development Academy actually mandated a certain number of starts for each player up to a certain age.
When a club did try to take more than 18 players -they were always met with resistance from parents and players to the point that kids would just walk the next year. They(the club) had no "Honey pot " keeping them there, so a bloated roster was always short lived.
The "Honey Pot" enables clubs to keep bloated rosters where a club like CSA or STA may not. I would argue that STA or CSA may have trouble finding that many quality players to consider.
What is the" Honey pot" ? The allure of recruitment- and the branding of the label. Why else would good quality players stay put when they are getting such little playing time? Training is great ! but any player will tell you -playing is better.
I realize times may be changing and more clubs/teams may take more players but my truth is that those clubs are the clubs that parents should be wary of -especially if they find themselves on the wrong side of the numbers.
That has been my Truth and others may certainly have their own
Soccer Nut
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