SC Soccer Forums SCSoccer.com Forums Boys Varsity Soccer At what point or score should the offense pull back, or should they?

let me get this stright, if i am on the 2nd string and i get in the game because it is 10-0, the only way i can score is to follow some rules?! what about the 2nd string kids feelings. he only gets to go in when the score is high and now you tell he can't play like the starters. thants not fair to him. let them play and the other team will have to work harder to get better.

As a coach whose team has been blown out on more than one occasion, I sympathize with you. Lou Holtz once told another coach whose team he had just embarrassed, "Its not my job to hold the score down, its your job to keep me from scoring." The best idea I have seen to keep players competitive but allow for continued aggressive play is to pull player off the field as the score gets higher. A team plays 1, 2, 3, etc men down as the game goes on and as goals continue to be scored.

I agree that running up the score is cheap. Scoring goal after goal even after the 10-0 mark doesn't make a team better. (as in it doesn't improve their skill) I'm all for putting in subs or telling the offense to only score on headers-I've seen the Chapin girls do this. Only scoring on crosses and only outside of the 18 also work well. These "rules" make it more challenging for the offensive players and I believe more fun and gratifying. You could also move offensive players into the defense and vise versa. If a player continues to score the same way over and over the game gets boring.

Also I feel that if a Coach teaches his/her players to "show no mercy" it reflects badly, not only on the team and coach, but on the school they are representing as well! I could never have respect for a bunch of spoiled-brat-sore-winners. Running up the score is like shoving the score board in the other teams face...really it sometimes gets childish.

coach j, I don't think you have it totally right. I don't think we're saying make the 2nd string follow rules. Its more like put in 2nd string or challenge the starters with more difficult ways to score goals...not both at the same time. Now if your 2nd string is good enough to keep getting more goals then you could try the "rules."
Anyway I think that's what everyone was suggesting.

ok, here's what my team does and i think it's what should be done...but first ok, my team really has no 2nd string, anyone could play for the next on any day and everyone plays every game even when we play #1 in an amazing game. But when we do play weak teams, we do have restrictions. We're never allowed to score more than 6 goals unless we're playing our rival (which by the way will never happen) or if we're in playoffs, (where 6 is the most we've gotten there) but from the start of a game against a weak team, we usually know what's going to happen, that we're going to dominate, and about the time we get our 2nd goal we know the routine. The rest of the goals have to come on a volley from a cross out of the air, or header, outside the 18, if someone gets a 1v1 with the keeper, they can't just take a clear shot but have to score by making a move or doing something tricky around her or finally if you can, score by flicking it up to yourself for the volley. Most of these things can be pretty tricky to get together and you can't really say it's easy to do. For our team it does suck sometimes that we can't score more than 6 cause we can get those things done and the games seem a little prolonged (don't we all wish we could have a competitive game EVERY time we stepped out on the field?), but mostly it does give the game a challenge. I know I hate playing against teams that can't challenge you at all. When the score is run up you still get no thrill out of the game. It's actually fun to yearn to beat every team 6-0, and look good doing it, making our plays beautiful. And actually if you really wanna treat a team, we often make the goals belong to certain people only. For example, last year we had about 3 people who hadn't scored on our team, our 2nd goalie and a couple other people, so we designated goals so they could have some as well. Now that got a little hectic but it made everyone on our team feel equal, and what most people tell us about our team anyway is that there's not really any standout from the team, we just all stand out, which really shows how well we've come to play together. And even for designated goals, you could have a game with birthdays of such and such months to score ya know, make it fun, and just work on your techniques. I don't know about your team but we dont' have enough players to full field scrimmage one another, so this is the best practice you can give your team...it's just way too easy to let your team just score. What are they getting out of taking on a whole entire defense. They're getting confidence where often times they shouldn't deserve it and in the future they're going to lose the ball to the better players they come up against, trying to carry too long...plus just show a little respect for your competitor. There's just so many reasons to hold the score back, I could really go on forever, and this is from a player on a team who's never gotten beat bad.

Hey guess what! If your team sucks that bad then they deserve to get DOMINATED. Why should my team stop playing just because the opposition just learned of what this sport is and that being "kick ball hard". We will take the field and annihilate every team out there who has no skill. We will play our starters every minute of the game and continue to pound away any team and will not give in just because someone from the sideline who doesn't play thinks "ohhh its unfair". IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT PLAY A DIFFERENT SPORT. IF YOUR A MOM THEN QUICKLY MAKE ME A PIE INSTEAD OF CRYING FOR YOUR DAUGHTERS. You learn from experience, and if it takes us owning your pathetic team then so be it. We will take your team to the BANK. $$$ $

Thanks captain moron! If you think "pounding away" some team is "what this sport is" then you're a complete jerk. Plain and simple. This sport is about competition, SPORTSMANSHIP, respect....etc. Running up the score has nothing to do with it!!!

Another thing- how can you sit there and completely disrespect someone?-especially your elder and a parent at that! "MAKE ME A PIE"!!!!!! I don't like to cuss-so right now I'm thinking of a word that also means donkey-perfect description for you!!!!
You obviously lack HOME TRAINING. If I went to your school, was on your team, or was related to you-I'd be ashamed!!!!

rsoccerhs3...are you actually an athelete?? I can't imagine a true athlete having thoughts like that! A true athelete knows about sportmanship!! You sound like a bitter bench warmer or maybe even a wanna-be player who sits in the stands...I'm sure the Riverside coach would not condone your attitude. Maybe you just made that post for shock value...either way...you degrade Riverside!

rsoccer, YOUR parents are obviously faliures for teaching you such little respect for your elders...On the subject of running up the score, however, if we know the team we're playing might not make it a very competitive game (first year team, etc...), we dress out all of our JVs and sub liberally. In high school you have an unlimited number of subs, so if the game is 8-0 in the first half, why not play a team of freshmen?

I sort of agree w/ all the ones who say keep on. The others are right; this is a varsity sport, high scores are part of the game, and a team knows the possibilties of a high score when they play another team. Our coach does put in second string when someone gets up to 3 goals and encourages those people to play as hard as they can; they've worked hard in practice and deserve a chance to show what they learned. There's no such thing as 'lost dignity'; if you played hard but lost by a large margin, there's nothing to be ashamed of. Life and soccer will go on.

all i have to say is that my brothers freind got on my sn on this message board and wrote this.. they think they are funny.. so dont hold anything agaisnt me.. sorry.. i swear i got mad at them for writing it~