SC Soccer Forums SCSoccer.com Forums Boys Varsity Soccer Unsportsmanlike Scores

The most intense and angry reaction I have ever seen by an opposing coach was in a match where the winning coach asked his team to possess the ball and NOT SCORE.

The losing coach was livid afterward—as were the fans. They all claimed that NOT scoring was disrespectful.

My point? When the match is one-sided, there is no good outcome. . .that is the worst aspect of high school soccer.

I feel keeping the score south of 10-0 is the best option, but there is nothing that will make a losing team happy when the match is mis-matched.

the team could back off at 6-0 and try to score on headers, or have the middle fielders try to score from way outside versus the normal attack. This would be like practice that may help in a later match, in my opinion that is better than a 10-0 blister, or a keep away game... keep away is ugly

I don't mean to sound like I disgree, but alot of you are fogeting that by this point the kids playing are mostly subs that do not get to play very much or at all, so now you tell him he can't score or he can only score off a cross,etc. If he could do that he would be a starter. How do you solve that? You tell him to go out and play but not the way you trianed him? Not much has been said about this. How does he get better if he can not play in a game the way you trained him. Again I am not supporting running up the score just intrested in your responce.

Coach J.

Are those subs going to develop GOOD attacking habits playing weak competition? My guess would be no. BUT, you can work on specific parts of the game. Why not dump the ball in and work on a line of pressure? This is something that even your starters could work on. Why not work on specific runs (overlaps, take-overs, give-n-go)? Every time you pass, you must make the run. This could develop how to cover for a foward run. If a sub doesn't start because he can't finish a cross, then what a better time. Maybe work on a more defensive formation for 1-0 games in the tournament where you have to defend. Maybe get subs time with starters to try to help them within the system. Maybe work on the speed of play by limiting touches or playing only the way you are facing.
I agree that keep-away is just as bad as running it up. But there are definately ways to not score and not play keep-away.

What goes around comes around. 3 years ago, my first year in Darlington, we regularly got beat by big scores. I never really wanted to end the game early. Neither did my players. We played Northwestern that first year. I knew my boys were going to get pasted, so did they. But it gave me an opportunity to show kids soccer like they had never seen, not on a video, but first hand. You need to use those moments as coaching opportunities. Last year, we were able to return the favor to a couple of those teams, beating them like they beat us.
This year my guys don't want to put forth the right kind of effort in practice they need to. If they get the scored ran up on them, it serves them right. In my situation, my players needed the humbling experience. Practice is much better since they got hammered.

Play the game...Kids get over loses..even big ones

Totally agree

Atta baby Fav.

I agree Cornerflag

when I coached against the Clintons of the world I would only start 8 players. I figured while it may still humiliate the other team, at least my team got a good workout. I felt the results were much better than having other restrictions.