SC Soccer Forums SCSoccer.com Forums Girls Varsity Soccer Vote Yes or No Here

Two thoughts here - If you have a full squad say 20 players and usually 11 - 14 get the most playing time, isn't it right to get those players 15 - 20 a chance to get up and down the field? This has come up if FB too. The players that make practice day after day and put in their time should get a chance too. I'm not saying 18+ to nothing but there's a limit somewhere. The other is that we had a girl that was a freshman, when my daughter was a junior, that was in the top 5 in 4A in the state in scoring. She did not make all state because she had scored 4/5/6 goals against very weak opponents. I think for once the big picture was looked at in this one case. If you lead the state in scoring, or in the top 10, but you score most of the points in non-competitive games, are you really that good?

FM's best offensive players are only scoring two, tops three, goals per game in these 8-0 and 9-0 blowouts. After 6-0, major restrictions are imposed.

As for padding stats, our center forward could score 10 goals per game (80 goals!) in eight of our ten region matches if the coach turned her and the team loose. I'm being 100% serious.

She will get her recognition as HS and college coaches see her play in competitive games. She doesn't need to set a state scoring record by piling it up against weaker opposition. It's just not the right thing to do.

On cutting the game short, how would you feel if you were a parent that went to every game, home and away, and you child is one of the reserves (I hate the word "bench player") and the team was playing a weaker opponent. The game is 6 - 8 to 0 at half and when your child gets in the game, they call it after 15 or 20 minutes?

Just as a matter of note: the so-called "mercy rule" IS allowed in high school soccer. The NFHS rule book states:

"By state association adoption, a goal differential may be established whereby at the end of the first half if one team has gained the established goal differential or if it secures such differential during the second half, the game shall be ended." (Rule 7, Art. 5, page 33)

The SC High School League has NOT chosen to establish such a goal differential.

I for one would like to see at least a 10-goal rule passed much like that of the 10-run rule in baseball ... I know the argument that soccer is timed, but sometimes it's not as simple to say "knock it around" and ask reserve players to not move forward and attack.

A few years back eastside traveled to Blue Ridge . Eastside was loaded and BR did try hard .
Coach Bachour would leave anyone that was in the least bit injured at home. Then would take players off the field slowly and let the reserves get get some 9v 11 experience. Blue Ridge had a guy in the announcers box that did play by play
perfectly . Did it every game and never missed a player. His callSalle down the left , Crosses back to Reader,who passes to Speakeman for a open shot . But they pull it back to get a better look at the goal. . I think it was about 10-0 after the game but the announcer did a job that I will always remember

no, what is the purpose? you should at least pull back and if that doesn't help then o well. but that is just unsportsman like.

I think that every coach teaches their players to be competitive. What kind of competition does it show to pull players off the field? Since this is our first year in Varsity, we have had a few good old fashion butt-whoopings. Our team, including myself, learned from those games in more ways than one. Limiting how goals can be scored, placing the fullbacks up front, telling your team that a certain number of passes have to be made before they can go to goal, and starting attackes out of the back are all ways to still be competitve and keep the score down.
Giving a player a chance to score that might never get a chance is one of the best things that can happen for that player. I know that it happened for us in one game this year and that was one of the best things that happened for the relationship between me and the player and her family.