South Oldham 2 Covington Catholic 1 (scrimmage)

[groinpull]

I'd be surprised if the size of the roster is anyone's decision but the coaching staff and I also believe those players who won't play much probably know that already.

[Oldtimebaseball84]

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.

 

 

Reference the first speech in "Rudy"....the greatest movie ever made......when Rudy first goes out for the practice squad......

 

".....and for all you dreamers out there, that picture your gold helmets running out of the tunnel......the biggest value you have to us is that we don't care if you get injured........."

[Sir!]

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.

 

Agree that clear policy and expectations are critical. But with football easier to carry a ton of players on football where play is broken down into component pieces, playmaking is called from the sideline, and individual player execution drives success. Allows "next man up" approach to be workable. Soccer decision making occurs on the field, requires more chemistry/coordination and like-skilled players are still not fungible. IMO unless you're carrying players for the following year you'd be better off with 18 very comparable players than 24. There's a point where it's not just diminishing returns but actually can go negative. As for Varsity scrimmaging 11v11at practice on a regular basis ... I guess JV and freshmen soccer (and band and whoever else use the field) just practice on the other field during that time.

[gameplayedright]

Not comparing football to soccer.

Points I'm making by mentioning St X football is how that program makes player expectations and playing time policy crystal clear from day one. And how these support players, even the ones that may never see the field add value to the program.

IMO you can go either way, have a no cut policy similar to St X football and clearly state and live by your policy from day one. Or make player cuts and go with a manageable roster, say 18 for soccer. St Ursula uses this system, typically they only carry 16-17 players on varsity and they are very successful. No problem carrying a smaller roster, if injuries happen you always have JV players available to bring up even if only needed for a game or two.

Problems occur when programs try to use a system somewhere in between these two methods.

[gameplayedright]

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.

 

Quote from ggclfan over on a football thread,

 

"A buddy of mine who went to the scrimmage was told by a HHS coach that St X. issued over 360 uniforms this year to football players (freshmen, JV and Varsity). That is crazy!!!"

 

Note it says, "issued uniforms", nothing about playing time. St X no cut policy works because it is clear stated, they stick to it.

[StXBomber88]

Played 4 years back in the 80's, 3 on varsity and we had over 100 try out freshman year. Freshman year we cut down to around 80-90. Never had to cut after that, but always carried a large squad. I hear nowadays the GCL has an A,B,and C freshman, and maybe even JV, team that each get to play games against teams in their division so that more kids get playing time. I am not sure about how this works since I have been on this side of the river the last 20 years. It would be nice to see something like that over here but I think many schools would struggle to field B or C teams in some sports. Basketball would be a no brainer, most schools have more than enough interest to field multiple teams.