Roster size 11 v 11 and taking turns playing games?

[Guest]

Honestly, it all comes down to the training - if the training is excellent, the player will still develop without the game playing time. Practice minutes are 3x the full game so as long as practices are teaching the correct things and the kid gets the touches at practice, it's worth the money and investment of time. But if the practices aren't good, sitting on the bench for a high level club just to say you play for CSA or MFA or whatever is a waste of time. Literally no one will care what club you played for until 10th grade and sorry to break it to the coaches, but also no one cares about the win record of a U13, U14, U15 team (except for parents on this message board who seem to be obsessed with it).

Disagree. Training alone is not enough. Game pressure and simulation is required to help youth players develop. So coaches need to stop taking players they do not intend to play. Let them go elsewhere and play at appropriate level.

[Guest]

Disagree. Training alone is not enough. Game pressure and simulation is required to help youth players develop. So coaches need to stop taking players they do not intend to play. Let them go elsewhere and play at appropriate level.

^^^someone with a brain!! Very true. Training goes only so far. Games are vital for development.

[Guest]

^^^someone with a brain!! Very true. Training goes only so far. Games are vital for development.

I'm the poster above and I totally agree that game time is valuable, but this was a suggestion for making the best of it when you have already shelled out $4000 and none of the decent teams around you are looking for players (which is what we had to do). We would have been happier leaving because the training was also crap, but at least better training would have meant that we didn't have to waste the time. I guess the silver lining was our kid learned a little bit of mental toughness.

[Guest]

I'm the poster above and I totally agree that game time is valuable, but this was a suggestion for making the best of it when you have already shelled out $4000 and none of the decent teams around you are looking for players (which is what we had to do). We would have been happier leaving because the training was also crap, but at least better training would have meant that we didn't have to waste the time. I guess the silver lining was our kid learned a little bit of mental toughness.

Exactly. Life is not always 'optimal' and you have to figure out how to deal with the cards you've been dealt. Especially since this little soccer hobby is not exactly life or death.

[Guest]

News flash: if the team needs to win and the coach doesn’t see the lower end kids helping that objective there may not be any “taking turns”. I’ve see this happen first hand and turned out the coach was wrong with his assessment of this player and stunted the players development. The player is now starting for the same coach and doing well but imagine what the extra year competitive game action would have done to further this players development.

I know a family who this happened to and the daughter is such an amazing player now. Perhaps the coaches decision helped shape her to the player she is today.

[Guest]

I know a family who this happened to and the daughter is such an amazing player now. Perhaps the coaches decision helped shape her to the player she is today.

This is quite a stretch. It's hard to imagine a scenario in which any player would be WORSE because she played more a year earlier.

[Guest]

This is quite a stretch. It's hard to imagine a scenario in which any player would be WORSE because she played more a year earlier.

Hmm....hard to say. I could possibly, possibly, see that happening with my daughter. She was a B teamer early on, Club felt she wasn't ready and by putting her in an A team environment, it could've turned her off on the game as she was in over her head.

So, I'd say it's plausible.

[Guest]

Hmm....hard to say. I could possibly, possibly, see that happening with my daughter. She was a B teamer early on, Club felt she wasn't ready and by putting her in an A team environment, it could've turned her off on the game as she was in over her head.

So, I'd say it's plausible.

That's not the scenario described at all. You're describing being playing on a different, lower team; the poster above says the kid rode the bench. PLAYING on a B team is fine. That's what we're all advocating here. Riding the bench for the majority of a game on any team is not okay.

[Guest]

That's not the scenario described at all. You're describing being playing on a different, lower team; the poster above says the kid rode the bench. PLAYING on a B team is fine. That's what we're all advocating here. Riding the bench for the majority of a game on any team is not okay.

sometimes getting benched causes you to work harder. More motivation. Depends on the player I would say.

[Guest]

It’s the parent that can’t take the benching. Players deal with it.

[Guest]

Tried a few times to carry 30 players in same age group with fluid rosters depending on performance, commitment, effort etc….one team played in “higher” division. On paper it worked. Players were ok with it. Parents were the problem. Over communicated but ultimately the players/parents not advancing moved on to different clubs because they were not on A even though they got plenty of playing time on the appropriate level team and competition. It was too much work and aggravation so just stopped it.

[Guest]

Tried a few times to carry 30 players in same age group with fluid rosters depending on performance, commitment, effort etc….one team played in “higher” division. On paper it worked. Players were ok with it. Parents were the problem. Over communicated but ultimately the players/parents not advancing moved on to different clubs because they were not on A even though they got plenty of playing time on the appropriate level team and competition. It was too much work and aggravation so just stopped it.

It’s usually the parents that have the problem. Kids also don’t like sitting the bench. But parents don’t want to hear that their kids are not an A team player. As long as my child is playing and growing as a player, I don’t care if she’s on the A team or C team. I may reconsider where she plays if she’s not an A or good B team player though. That’s when I would say just play local and for fun instead of having pressure on yourself to earn playing time or a spot on the A team. Luckily my D is on an A team with average playing time but I’m not unrealistic and know there will always be better players than her. She’s good but not a star. If the day ever came where she wanted to take a step back, I would be ok with it because I know this is most likely not going past high school. I would be surprised if she said she wanted to play in college. But at the end of the day, the kids want to play and the parents want to watch their kids play.

[Guest]

Tried a few times to carry 30 players in same age group with fluid rosters depending on performance, commitment, effort etc….one team played in “higher” division. On paper it worked. Players were ok with it. Parents were the problem. Over communicated but ultimately the players/parents not advancing moved on to different clubs because they were not on A even though they got plenty of playing time on the appropriate level team and competition. It was too much work and aggravation so just stopped it.

My only complaint about this, and that was through experience when our club tried to carry about 25, was the travel. A couple of kids spent the weekend away, two games, total of 15 minutes. It wasn't good. Much better to keep them home and have them play on a secondary team instead.

[Guest]

My only complaint about this, and that was through experience when our club tried to carry about 25, was the travel. A couple of kids spent the weekend away, two games, total of 15 minutes. It wasn't good. Much better to keep them home and have them play on a secondary team instead.

Yes, but the OP was talking about an over-rostered B team. As others have said, if the team isn't going to play the kid, they shouldn't take them -- let them find a team where they can play. Or be up-front: say, we're going to take up to 20-25 kids, potentially, and we'll mix and match for games according to metrics we won't really reveal to you, and your kid is low on our priorities so he/she might not play every game or very much at all, even if you've driven two hours for the game. If you heard that, and you were considering shelling out $4000 for an ECRL team, would you still sign up, really? I bet most people would move on, which is what the OP intends to do, and what many people here have argued for. It's not whining to ask for a size-limit on a roster for an average team comprised of kids who don't want to play after HS. Most of us aren't investing in some mythical future college/professional outcome, we're paying for a healthy and fun hobby. It's the clubs, not the parents, who are turning this whole thing into some imitation of a professional trajectory as an excuse to over-roster. And the few extremely defensive parents here who are telling us it builds character to ride the bench at 12 or 13 or 14 years of age on a B or C team are buying the myth that the clubs/leagues are selling.

[Guest]

Yes, but the OP was talking about an over-rostered B team. As others have said, if the team isn't going to play the kid, they shouldn't take them -- let them find a team where they can play. Or be up-front: say, we're going to take up to 20-25 kids, potentially, and we'll mix and match for games according to metrics we won't really reveal to you, and your kid is low on our priorities so he/she might not play every game or very much at all, even if you've driven two hours for the game. If you heard that, and you were considering shelling out $4000 for an ECRL team, would you still sign up, really? I bet most people would move on, which is what the OP intends to do, and what many people here have argued for. It's not whining to ask for a size-limit on a roster for an average team comprised of kids who don't want to play after HS. Most of us aren't investing in some mythical future college/professional outcome, we're paying for a healthy and fun hobby. It's the clubs, not the parents, who are turning this whole thing into some imitation of a professional trajectory as an excuse to over-roster. And the few extremely defensive parents here who are telling us it builds character to ride the bench at 12 or 13 or 14 years of age on a B or C team are buying the myth that the clubs/leagues are selling.

Absolutely true. If the kid is not good enough to play, these clubs need to be honest with them before taking their money or offering them a spot. Most of us don’t care about college but all these clubs have to be in all these leagues that require travel and advertise college recruiting. There are not many options that are good options that don’t travel or worry about college showcases. It’s unfortunate that this sport is becoming a “go big or go home” mentality. There are a lot of good players that get shut out because town teams don’t cut it anymore at a certain age. I wish they did. Too many clubs claiming to be great.