Valid Players on the Pitch

[Unregistered]

Could it happen? Yep. Does it happen? Maybe.

However, in the last 5 years my DD has been playing, you get to know the teams and the players. I have never seen it happen in spring or fall soccer. Where it gets suspicious are the summer tourneys. But those are hard to tell, as teams can have guest players as long as they are registared by a certain time itls legal.

Riiiiiiiiiiight. All birth certificates are created equal. All are real, all are honest. Hey look at that team of huge kids, they all just happen to have gigantic parental genes. Riiiiiiiiiight.

[Unregistered]

Again, why? To win a spring game? To ensure getting into the watered down NWCL?

Doesn't happen, if it did, sad.

How would you know? Your just guessing.

[Unregistered]

Yes, you have to have valid documentation to get a player card..... but..... the refs do not look at the kid on the pitch when they look at the cards.

Agree that the refs certainly don't study the cards and compare them to the players. However, when they call out "Jane Smith," then Jane Smith should step forward. If it is another girl, then everyone on the team knows it, including the players, coaches, and managers. That's what I mean about a lot of people needing to be in on it. That's also why I tend to believe that if it happens, it will be a player improperly getting the card and not some action on the pitch.

[Unregistered]

The photos on our player cards look nothing like them. They look like a photo of a photo of a relative.

Also we've had several times when a player card was missing and referees are always understanding. They let them play.

It would be pretty unusual for a coach to try to sneak in an older player. What's the point?

Some of the bigger tournaments they are very strict.

The whole system is pretty silly anyways. Are there any other youth sport where kids have to line up on a regular basis to get carded.

[Unregistered]

Riiiiiiiiiiight. All birth certificates are created equal. All are real, all are honest. Hey look at that team of huge kids, they all just happen to have gigantic parental genes. Riiiiiiiiiight.

Some kids also grow earlier than others. In the last 12 years that we have had kids playing I have watched many times where there will be a player on a u11 Team that looks like a giant, but then over time you notice that kid hasn't grow a whole lot and the others have caught up with him.

It is always disappointing to me how quickly people jump to the cheating accusations. It is highly unlikely that this kind of cheating would happen. Too many eyes.

[Unregistered]

What ?

The whole system is pretty silly anyways. Are there any other youth sport where kids have to line up on a regular basis to get carded.

Yes, if you kid has played at a high level in other sports.

[Unregistered]

Yes, if you kid has played at a high level in other sports.

Really, what sport is that?

I have seen cases where a parent had to bring in a birth certificate for a kid in question, but that is more or less an exception.

I have older boys who have played football, AAU basketball, and baseball.

Please let know what sport you are talking about.

[Unregistered]

Really, what sport is that?

I have seen cases where a parent had to bring in a birth certificate for a kid in question, but that is more or less an exception.

I have older boys who have played football, AAU basketball, and baseball.

Please let know what sport you are talking about.

Can a birth certificate always be trusted? What about records from another? Or another country?

[Unregistered]

Can a birth certificate always be trusted? What about records from another? Or another country?

What else are you going to do? Cut off a kid's arm and count the rings? This is youth sports. If a family is that desperate to cheat, they will. I am sure this happens once in a while. I doubt it happens much.

[Unregistered]

Can a birth certificate always be trusted? What about records from another? Or another country?

Never had an issue before. Like I said, even checking a birth certificate is extremely rare. The whole checking ID before every game is a soccer thing. Not sure why the initial poster is so paranoid.

[Unregistered]

How do you know you never had an issue? Sounds like you are over defending here? If the process has holes, and it sure does, people will abuse it. Just because you havent personally seen it, doesnt mean it's not happening. Are you telling me that the rabbid fans you see week in and week out, of those, some might not abuse a self regulating system. Oh, and just because other sports have worse holes does make it ok. Age fraud is exposed in sports the world over ALL the time. Dont believe it? Google age fraud and begin to read. So when I see an oversized team, not just one or two players mind you, it makes me wonder. And why shouldnt it? Here are the holes, clubs check ids for themselves and copies of whatever passes as a birth cert is ok. Hole 1. Next, players card id photos are a joke and any player that closly resemble a kid could play on that card. Hole 2. Then you have refs that barely look at them at check in, lack of time and likely a lack of priority to ensure true ids are a problem. Hole 3. Lastly, players should not be able to show up to a game late, run over to bench and then enter a game without a check. Yes, this happens. Hole 4. Ok, use the hole reference now and bash me, but you all know this is a process worth tighening up some.

[Unregistered]

A BBC Article on Global Age Fraud. Dated Feb. 2014.

http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/26174252

[Unregistered]

Yes, you have to have valid documentation to get a player card..... but..... the refs do not look at the kid on the pitch when they look at the cards.

Exactly. Once a player card is issued, another player could easily use it. I manage my son's team and I'm usually within earshot of this process. It really depends on how closely the ref looks at the cards. It varies. Sometimes the ref will call out their number and have the boys say their name or visa versa. One ref had the boys say their DOB after calling out their name. However, it is not mandatory that player numbers or on the roster so you could theoretically switch them around. In the OYSA league (where we are on of 2 non-Timbers teams in our group), the manager has to print the official roster before every game. That roster has both your team and the opposing team's players listed. It also (this is a nice feature) indicates if a red card was issued at the last game (so that player would be invalid). You can write in players though if they have a card. I've wondered though whether some teams might swap in an older player . We played team where one of the U 12 boys had facial hair and who's voice had changed. While I realize there is variability in development, this looked and acted like a 14 (or older) year old.........

[Unregistered]

Exactly. Once a player card is issued, another player could easily use it. I manage my son's team and I'm usually within earshot of this process. It really depends on how closely the ref looks at the cards. It varies. Sometimes the ref will call out their number and have the boys say their name or visa versa. One ref had the boys say their DOB after calling out their name. However, it is not mandatory that player numbers or on the roster so you could theoretically switch them around. In the OYSA league (where we are on of 2 non-Timbers teams in our group), the manager has to print the official roster before every game. That roster has both your team and the opposing team's players listed. It also (this is a nice feature) indicates if a red card was issued at the last game (so that player would be invalid). You can write in players though if they have a card. I've wondered though whether some teams might swap in an older player . We played team where one of the U 12 boys had facial hair and who's voice had changed. While I realize there is variability in development, this looked and acted like a 14 (or older) year old.........

OYSA checks the guest players to make sure they are correct. If someone is too old it will most likely come back to haunt them. I remember a few forfeits because of this for invalid players. Really not worth the risk. More likely to happen in the summer tournaments and really would be stupid to try in state cup.

[Unregistered]

Yes, it's a fact that some older players play in younger teams. I don't see what's in it for them, honestly, unless they don't have an alternative in their age range.
My DK's welcome the opportunity to play against older players, they do it in events outside club all the time. It is more of a challenge for them and they like taking them on.
However, kids mature at very different rates and I've seen kids the same age that look like they're 4 years apart. Did you see LeBron James coming out of high school?