Everyone has a different way of handling these games when some starters don't even start and maybe play 15 minutes and get stats or you play your full roster moving kids around. For both teams it is a mandated district game. No one complained when Tierney from NDA scored 4 goals v HC or Sherrard has 7 of her 9 goals in the 3 mercy rule games. That is what good players do they stand out. A coaches job is not to figure out how to waste time, etc. I don't see any benefit to these games but schools are mandated to play them and for kids that get kicked all season they enjoy a fun night of soccer. The Highlands score is not even the worst blow out of the season. 16-0 was what I found. It happens, I saw a score from Indiana that was 22-0. Some teams have the luxury of having 29 girls on their varsity roster like assumption and others do not. Trust me most of the good players do not like these games either but you take the bad with the good.

 

Wasting time... it's a 20 minute game in which you get to score 10 goals. You do possession activities in training for more than 20 minutes.

 

Not enough players to spread the 20 minutes around... bring up some JV players.

 

Mandated District game... others have worked that out. Covington Catholic doesn't play a single game against a team in its District. Just requires a supportive AD and the ability to work well with others to craft win-win solutions. Clearly it can be done.

 

"For kids that get kicked all season they enjoy a fun night of soccer".. what are you even saying? Are you saying it's a nice break to be able to go by opponents without being touched. Maybe fun for the team delivering the stomping, but probably not much fun to be on the receiving end. If piling up stats is fun then yup... it's fun.

 

"good players do not like these games either but you take the good with the bad." ... are these the same girls enjoying a fun night of soccer? Yeah it really stinks to bag 4 or 5 goals. And the girls on the losing end... I guess they just feel privileged to have seen some great soccer. What is the antonym of empathy?

"What is the antonym of empathy?"

mercilessness, lack of concern about other's feelings, disdain?

Has nothing to do with the professionalism of the coach. That is the politically correct answer. It is not a coaches job to worry about how to help the other team. Most coaches focus on their team as they should. I would suspect many coaches want to go home and get those games over as quick as possible. It is a lose-lose situation because if you play your JV team in a game like that and win 4-0 the yappi heads come and question the coach. Find something positive to talk about like Highlands playing West Jess this weekend or NDA and SK heading to Zionsville. SMH!

 

It's not about helping the other team. It's about developing your players as people to understand compassion, empathy, alternative approaches to solve problems. If ithat s outside a coach's wheelhouse so be it. Good luck in Zionsville.

Obviously both by fact he mentions 13 and 14 in the post.

I wasn't sure as I saw the SK score but knew Highlands didn't score 14 in 20 minutes.

 

Wasting time... it's a 20 minute game in which you get to score 10 goals. You do possession activities in training for more than 20 minutes.

 

Not enough players to spread the 20 minutes around... bring up some JV players.

 

Mandated District game... others have worked that out. Covington Catholic doesn't play a single game against a team in its District. Just requires a supportive AD and the ability to work well with others to craft win-win solutions. Clearly it can be done.

 

"For kids that get kicked all season they enjoy a fun night of soccer".. what are you even saying? Are you saying it's a nice break to be able to go by opponents without being touched. Maybe fun for the team delivering the stomping, but probably not much fun to be on the receiving end. If piling up stats is fun then yup... it's fun.

 

"good players do not like these games either but you take the good with the bad." ... are these the same girls enjoying a fun night of soccer? Yeah it really stinks to bag 4 or 5 goals. And the girls on the losing end... I guess they just feel privileged to have seen some great soccer. What is the antonym of empathy?

 

Lost me on the 20 minutes part.

There were no players to bring up. Highlands JV and FR were playing at NDA.

 

Send some 2nd string var down to play NDA and bring up JV to play Bellevue??

Can't imagine the BGP thread on that one.

 

Which AD do you suggest is responsible for figuring out how to not play the district games? Is that on Bellevue or Highlands to figure out?

 

Game play

The game was a running clock from the opening kick.

I don't know the timing, but not too far in, seems like everyone was in a different position, except McQuery in the goal.

**I actually thought I might get to take a picture of her taking a shot on goal. But thinking about it now, some people would be complaining that they were rubbing it in by having the goalie score.

 

What else? Go Norman Dale(Hackman/Hoosiers) and say no shots without 4 passes?

What else? Go Major League and institute fines for good plays and goals?

What else? Tell them to only hit corner cross balls for header shots?

What else? Play keep away? 4 corner pass around like basketball?

What else? Play less kids on the field?

 

Maybe folks on here can lay out a game plan to avoid this when Highlands plays Dayton on 9/29 or NewCath plays Bellevue on 9/21 and Dayton on 9/26. Although it looks like JV squads will be available for those games.

That's why the statistics thread doesn't really mean anything, it can be skewed so much by who you play and games like that. Anna Lee of Wess Jess had 3 goals by half last night against East but game was called at 3-0 for lightning. She probably wouldn't have played much after that as Coach Wright is good about getting his top players out or moving them to the back line once he sees it's not very competitive regardless of score.

 

Going to be a good one Saturday night when Highlands comes to town.

Not commenting on a particular performance, but coaches want no part of these forced district match ups. It is easy to criticize, but a high level club player can and often will score 3 goals in 5 minutes in these games. Unless you see the game, its not fair to be overly critical based on a box score. Players on an inferior team often give up once it gets to 5 or 6, there is no stopping the bleeding at this point. Back up defenders start scoring goals and you can't tell a kid not to play hard. Playing keep away when the opponents have stopped chasing is just as insulting as scoring.

 

Coaches who keep playing starters, continue attacking aggressively, and allow the leading scorer to put in 5-6 are another story. I have seen very few who operate in such a manner. Remember most varsity teams are only carrying 18-20 players. Starting your JV in a varsity game is ridiculous, the players likely aren't listed on the official KHSAA varsity roster. Keep in mind other logistical issues are involved. The JV and varsity don't even have the same uniforms at some schools, varsity jerseys may be passed down to the JV. KHSAA rules prohibit different jerseys, and most officials will enforce this rule as they are expected to do.

Dayton prides themselves on trying to make every game they play go the distance, and yes this entails putting all of your best players on defense playing "prevent" I'm not sure if this helps anybody, but I think it is this best way to try to keep it close and pray for a miracle.

I would just be thankful it wasn't a 0-0 game. If Bellevue (which is a small school) wants to play Varsity soccer and Varsity Volleyball then they may be years when they come up very lean. Obviously they can not even hang with fellow smaller school Dayton which has fielded a team about the same number of years. So maybe they should have played an independent schedule like some football teams do or play just play a JV schedule. Maybe they want to play a full District schedule hoping it helps down the road. It is up to them to decide not the opposition.

There is nothing to be gained for either team in a game like this. The better team's coach should let the 2nd and 3rd team varsity players start and play the full 80 minutes. This gets them plenty of touches and help with conditioning for later in the season. If the JV is available, let them play a varsity game. It has been done, so being on the varsity roster is not an issue.

There is nothing to be gained for either team in a game like this. The better team's coach should let the 2nd and 3rd team varsity players start and play the full 80 minutes. This gets them plenty of touches and help with conditioning for later in the season. If the JV is available, let them play a varsity game. It has been done, so being on the varsity roster is not an issue.

 

I get what you are saying but don't know how it is possible to play a second or third string for an entire match.

 

How many players do you think is on most Varsity squads?

I get what you are saying but don't know how it is possible to play a second or third string for an entire match.

 

How many players do you think is on most Varsity squads?

 

Usually 20, so I guess a starter or 2 may have to be on the field for part of the game, but it could be done by bringing up a few JV players for the game too.

Usually 20, so I guess a starter or 2 may have to be on the field for part of the game, but it could be done by bringing up a few JV players for the game too.

 

This sounds about right, and I completely agree with this line of thinking. It was your earlier comments about letting the 2nd and 3rd team varsity players start and play the full 80 minutes that did not compute.

I am really hesitant to say anything on this thread but let me play devils advocate here.

 

1st I like the mercy rule. It lets games get over and have kids get home at a decent hour. Obviously at some point it would become rubbing their faces in it though.

 

Second, for those that say put the JV in, what if you do and they start to destroy the other team. What now? Play keep away and risk further embarrassing or angering the other team? Which can lead to retaliation play and injury. Just something to think about

I agree with both ways. Think about this win the game in mercy rule and you varsity kids get home 1 hour earlier to do homework, go to bed, spend time with family.....I think many coaches look at this differently but there are reasons both ways but I think getting kids home earlier is a great reason to end those type games earlier.