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Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 60
throw in
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throw in
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 60 |
Interesting thought... Should the coaches NEED to tell their players when to back off? As Varsity athletes, we are (I lie...we SHOULD BE) mature enough to know when it's time to back off. I'm all for making restrictions (i.e. 3-touch-rule, must score off of a cross/one-touch, etc.) but should a coach need to tell a team that before it'll happen? I'm not saying players should up and decide how they are going to play the game, but when it gets to be 8-0, 9-0, 10-0, there really is no point in continuing to run up a score. It's not hard to take a couple of shots at the keeper or let a defender challenge you instead of just flying past--I've done both. (I've also been whupped-up on 0-9...but we won't talk about that.  ) I don't think a coach should have to tell his/her players when to back off, they should be able to determine that for themselves. A coach has every right to do as he/her wishes (in this case, in terms of restrictions and the number of players on the field) but as players, we should also see when it's time to backoff and act upon that. Just an opinion.
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Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 273
corner kick
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corner kick
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 273 |
I agree that you shouldn't need to be told when to back-off, that should be understood by all players on the field. I do like the restrictions, however, because it's nice to have some sort of specific unified goal to be working at the time rather than just be knocking the ball around aimlessly. Can we get 9, 10, 11 consecutive passes? Can we get this crazy new combo to work? Can we take it back, switch it, and then do x, y, or z?
Captains, of course, can always set those specific goals, but a coach is another good way to make sure everyone knows and understands the particular point in time.
Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; [it] is also what it takes to sit down and listen.
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Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 558
Goal
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Goal
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 558 |
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It was 7 players (that's as few as the officials will allow) and the coach asked for no mercy. With a new facility and a win or two already on the season, it is hoped that a few humbling experiences will bring out the "want to" and desire to find a fall soccer team.
1. Does anyone know if the Greer coach asked for "no mercy" in the Wade Hampton game? My daughter's team had a similar score against Greer last year (again, minimum number of players on field at end), and she said the coach at that time made the same request of her team as the Laurens coach made of TL Hanna last week.
2. Most of the discussion on these scores has been focused on the responsibility of the dominant team to avoid the blowout. I agree that a dominant team, even if asked to show "no mercy", should still strive to provide "experience" for the weaker team in a sporting manner (restrictions, etc.).
However, does a weaker team share in the responsibility of avoiding a blowout? Perhaps more important, do the coaches and those developing schedules for struggling programs (not sure who develops league schedules) have a responsibility to maybe go a little further in scheduling some matches where the weaker teams will not only avoid the blowout but will have a greater opportunity for success?
I have a great deal of respect for those players of teams like Greer and Union County. I would say that they display a greater love for the game than many who would probably hang up their cleats after so many lopsided losses. However, Greer and Union County play in arguably one of the strongest AAA regions in the state, II-AAA. As "developing" programs they are going to be playing against the odds in almost every region game they play. They play every other team in the region twice... except one. As two teams that could really use an opportunity to play on a little more level playing field, why do their schedules not include "Greer vs. Union County"? Perhaps the posted schedules do not include all of their matches, but they include no pre-season scrimmages or non-regional matches.
If these are "programs in development" where are the developmental parts of the schedules? If these are programs concerned with the morale of the players and their love for the game, where are the non-region games against teams of similar strength? Laurens plays in a tough AAAA region, but with a goal of developing the program the schedule includes matches that provide the players with opportunities to play "straight up", not packed in or with restrictions placed on the opposing team. They may not win, but they may be competitive.
My point is this, and I make it with all due respect for the players of Greer, Union County and other "struggling" teams around the state, many of whom are struggling just to find that first goal scored of the season. If the schools and coaches of these "developing" and "struggling" programs do not make the effort to provide real opportunities to develop the competitiveness of the teams, can we keep placing the sole responsibility of avoiding blowouts on the dominant teams of the various regions? Year after year with the same teams?
If an honest assessment of a program's goal is to provide a less than varsity level of support and development for the players, perhaps the players' love for the game will find greater satisfaction through a junior varsity schedule. (No disrespect intended for the many fine junior varsity programs out there.)
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Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 4,768
World Cup
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World Cup
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 4,768 |
Quote:
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Heard from one of the parents at the game that TL Hanna was only playing with 6 field players at the end of the game...
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It was 7 players (that's as few as the officials will allow) ...
6 field players plus 1 goalkeeper = 7 players. The referee will also not allow you to play without a goalkeeper.
We here in the midlands don't read the whole post...so shut up!
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Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 4,768
World Cup
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World Cup
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 4,768 |
Quote:
Interesting thought...
Should the coaches NEED to tell their players when to back off? As Varsity athletes, we are (I lie...we SHOULD BE) mature enough to know when it's time to back off. I'm all for making restrictions (i.e. 3-touch-rule, must score off of a cross/one-touch, etc.) but should a coach need to tell a team that before it'll happen?
I'm not saying players should up and decide how they are going to play the game, but when it gets to be 8-0, 9-0, 10-0, there really is no point in continuing to run up a score. It's not hard to take a couple of shots at the keeper or let a defender challenge you instead of just flying past--I've done both. (I've also been whupped-up on 0-9...but we won't talk about that. )
I don't think a coach should have to tell his/her players when to back off, they should be able to determine that for themselves. A coach has every right to do as he/her wishes (in this case, in terms of restrictions and the number of players on the field) but as players, we should also see when it's time to backoff and act upon that.
Just an opinion.
If your friend has a hat trick and you have zilch, what HS kid isn't going for it? If you have nevery scored a goal and you have that opportunity...what is stopping you? I just don't think we can assume that HS kids have the desire to pull off themselves. Too many factors in play.
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Joined: May 2002
Posts: 2,256 Likes: 2
Coach
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Coach
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 2,256 Likes: 2 |
Quote:
I agree that you shouldn't need to be told when to back-off, that should be understood by all players on the field. I do like the restrictions, however, because it's nice to have some sort of specific unified goal to be working at the time rather than just be knocking the ball around aimlessly. Can we get 9, 10, 11 consecutive passes? Can we get this crazy new combo to work? Can we take it back, switch it, and then do x, y, or z?
When you look at it that way, it's not so much "restrictions" as "challenges"...ways to make a game challenging enough to provide both entertainment and development. Those kinds of "restrictions" aren't there to hold the players back, but rather to give them a way to play their best without taking the easy route. Scoring goal #9 might not be anything to brag about, but pulling off that insane combo without losing the ball is. Whether put in by the captains or designed by the coach, they're a good way to get something meaningful out of an otherwise anticlimactic game.
I've got good news and bad news...
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Joined: May 2002
Posts: 2,256 Likes: 2
Coach
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Coach
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 2,256 Likes: 2 |
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If your friend has a hat trick and you have zilch, what HS kid isn't going for it? If you have nevery scored a goal and you have that opportunity...what is stopping you? I just don't think we can assume that HS kids have the desire to pull off themselves. Too many factors in play.
I don't know about most HS players, but I can vouch for the one who wrote that post above. She's one of mine, and I watched it happen. We were playing last year against a developing team, and although they had spirit, the goals were coming pretty easily. Now, anyone familiar with my school knows that my players don't get a whole lot of opportunities to score goals; we've been on the bleeding end of the blowout from time to time, but to say my girls were goal-starved might be an understatement. I was rotating players out after they scored and giving some girls a chance who hadn't had any PT yet that season...at halftime, I told my keeper I was going to rotate her out into the field to get some ball touch time; she's actually a pretty talented forward and outside mid, but we need her in goal, so she doesn't get much chance to dribble, much less take a shot, any more.
Before I had a chance to say another word about scoring restrictions, she just looked at me and said, "Coach, I'll go in...but I won't score."
Nobody else on the team gave in to the urge to plant one in for the rest of the game after that either; we had a good sesson of possession practice, counted passes, and ripped one wide now and then rather than pointedly dribbling up to the keeper and turning around.
I don't think anyone left that game mad.
I've got good news and bad news...
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Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 273
corner kick
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corner kick
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 273 |
Restrictions, challenges...semantics, bah! Putting the restrictions = the challenge ;-).
Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; [it] is also what it takes to sit down and listen.
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Joined: May 2002
Posts: 2,256 Likes: 2
Coach
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Coach
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 2,256 Likes: 2 |
Putting in restrictions is certainly a way to get into some antics, yes.
I've got good news and bad news...
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Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 4,768
World Cup
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World Cup
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 4,768 |
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