South Oldham 2 Covington Catholic 1 (scrimmage)

[Oldtimebaseball84]

Cch played all players and also switched up several different formations.

 

A truly fabulous night to watch a match......

 

South Oldham has a very talented club. Possesses extremely well. Their goals came during the three defensive back formation that CCH was playing...

[Sir!]

Who looked good for South Oldham? I know they graduated Christian Lister who was outstanding last year. Played on South Oldham's narrow field?

[groinpull]

It remains to be seen if the large roster is a help or hindrance to CCH this year. Given that there have only been scrimmages so far, it's hard to tell but the first regular season match next week will reveal a lot I think.

[gameplayedright]

I can not figure out why some sports, basketball for example only play their top 7, maybe 8 players on a 15 player roster in every game, even during the regular season. Even in blow outs the end of the bench player only get in maybe the last minute or two. Soccer on the other hand seems to play every player on the roster in almost every regular season game. I can see when you have an 8-0 blowout game soccer playing all of their players but in most games IMO teams need to build consistency, have the same 11-14 players play together to prepare for tournament time.

Thoughts?

[groinpull]

I agree completely at the high school level. You need some level of depth in case of injury, suspension, etc but that has to be within reason. Almost any competitive team will have various levels of players, normally divided into 1/3 segments. In the top 1/3 you have your team's game changers, the kids that play the entire game, every game. In the middle 1/3 you have the vital supporting players who are solid, fundamental players who in my opinion, also stay in the game just about every game. The bottom 1/3 is of course the bubble group and are frequently the 3-4 players who are alternated w/ the regular 3-5 reserve players and that is your core 15-16 players that make a team go.

 

For any high school team, playing 20 players or so regularly is a losing formula in my opinion. Depth is one thing but quality depth is rare.

[Yellow Card]

It remains to be seen if the large roster is a help or hindrance to CCH this year. Given that there have only been scrimmages so far, it's hard to tell but the first regular season match next week will reveal a lot I think.

 

I believe that it will prove difficult for the CCH coaching staff to sort through their large (and deep) roster early in the season, I look for it to take them a few weeks to actually come up with a rotation. If the total number on Varsity was closer to 18-20, I think it would be easier to try and decide what works best for them. This being said, they do have some time to tinker with rotations, and formations, until they get it right.

 

With having so many boys on Varsity, there is a chance that quite a few could be left out of the "normal" rotation once all is said and done. I hope that this does not end up being a source of animosity for the players, or their parents.

[Yedboy]

KHSAA lists them with 27 players? I do not see how it is possible to get enough playing time in for that many players.

[gameplayedright]

I thought HS sports was more then "playing time" we're not talking U8 recreational soccer. Have to believe for the top 10 programs in NKY winning Regional titles is higher on the to do list then getting all 27 players equal minutes. I don't know how CCH or any program states their playing time policy, but I would hope it is made very clear up front how playing time is determined.

Nothing wrong with rewarding the players that have committed themselves to soccer likely giving up other sports (sports they would have excelled in) to make themselves the best soccer player they can. These are typically the best players on the HS team, reward them and benefit the program by keeping them on the field.

[groinpull]

It's a little too early to say how this will play out but I'm convinced that the staff will in fact narrow down to a core of players as the season progresses and put the best team on the field as they see it.

 

And for the record, Trinity is listed as having 32 on their roster but that includes 4 managers I believe so 28 players.

[Sir!]

Hard to play quality soccer and get more than 15 field players into competitive games. By post-season top 10 + 2 rotating into midfield + 1 giving spot breaks for the backs + 1 giving spot breaks for striker(s).

 

And... hard to run a quality training sessions with more than 18 (or so) field players.

 

Dealing with the frail psyches of 16-17 year old boys (and parents) it's important that policy on PT is made clear and applied consistently. Can't make everyone happy, but at least they can know what to expect.

[gameplayedright]

Agree, and think it needs to be done sooner rather than later and against top teams, the likes of Trinity, Walnut Hills, Summit, etc. play these games straight up to win. Teams need to learn how to win, how to come back, how to hold onto a lead/manage a game against good teams, (i.e. up 3-1 in second half Vs St Henry in Regional final 2014). This takes time and there are only a few games in the regular season that provide this opportunity. One benefit of having a huge roster, decent talented roster it allows the team to scrimmage 11 v 11 when ever they want. Nothing wrong with figuring things out, experiment during intersquad scrimmages.

No Regional title since 2009, I'm asking myself and my staff why? What did we do wrong, how can we as a staff improve, etc, etc.

[Oldtimebaseball84]

All great points, One thought that myself and very, very intelligent soccer fan had in a conversation at the game last night was.......at what point do you really start putting those "core players" together , consistently, so they can get used to playing together and really learn how to "think soccer" the same.

 

Is it when the season really starts, or during the pre season scrimmages.

 

She was brilliant in her insights and I sat back and listened and learned.....

[Yedboy]

So is it a coaches decision for have this large of a roster or a school decision? If I am a 16-17 year old that would be 3rd or lower on depth chart, how hard am I going to work in practice? Would I be a good influence on the team? I understand that is it not always about playing time in high school games, sometimes it is about building a resume for their future for these kids. I don't know, I understand having a roster that would give a hope of playing time to kids, but having a roster this large would seem to be detrimental to the lower quality players.

[gameplayedright]

In HS soccer where you have such a disparity of competition I think it is just as important or maybe even more important to put your core players together against your top competition, EVERY chance you get. And at this point the CCH staff has been there what 4-5 years, they must have a very good idea of who their top 12/13 players will be come October. Sure injuries may dictate you need to look down that bench to say the 14th-16th player, but lets be realistic on a team such as CCH how much experimentation is really needed?

[gameplayedright]

So is it a coaches decision for have this large of a roster or a school decision? If I am a 16-17 year old that would be 3rd or lower on depth chart, how hard am I going to work in practice? Would I be a good influence on the team? I understand that is it not always about playing time in high school games, sometimes it is about building a resume for their future for these kids. I don't know, I understand having a roster that would give a hope of playing time to kids, but having a roster this large would seem to be detrimental to the lower quality players.

Agree, but will add. I've heard St X Cincinnati has well over 100 boys in their football program each year. Heard they tell every player and parent on the first day of tryouts, "if you do everything we ask, give 100% in every session, show up for every session and we promise NO playing time, you may never see the game field all 4 years, if you agree to our policy here is your uniform."

Many St X football parents credit that program's success in part to this policy.