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Running up the Score part IV?

siegelsoccer

By siegelsoccer
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siegelsoccer Trainer

siegelsoccer

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Saw this blog on nscaa.com and thought about that popular thread that appears each and every year...

 

By: George Hageage, Coach at Eastern Washington University

 

Here we go again! I thought that the whole idea in sport was to beat your opponent. I thought you play a game to WIN! In the last 15-20 years we have been introduced to leagues that do not keep score, even if the kids do, “tournaments†where everyone advances out of group play, to awards for every member of every team because “the kids†should be protected from experiencing the disappointment of losing a game.

 

Our society is filled with this nonsense labeled under a broad brush of being “more fair†(as if there is such a thing), “protecting our children from failure†or, in the area of speech, being inoffensive and “politically correct.â€

 

Now we get a league that has decided that if you win by too much, you lose! In Ottawa, Canada, a recreational league has replaced its five-goal mercy rule with a rule which states that if a team wins by more than five goals, they lose by default.

 

According to one of the board members of the league, they “are simply trying to make it fair.†While no one wants to see any team or individual win or lose a game or match by a large margin, that’s the nature of competition. I am sure all of us can come up with better solutions that maintain the integrity of the game while trying to even out the matches. The use of a balanced reschedule where teams are reseeded after some games to pair teams that are similar in strength for the remainder of the schedule would be but one such solution.

 

But, let us pretend for just a moment that we can’t come up with a solution. Let us pretend that we are a part of a league where competition on the field rules that day and kids play not only to win the game but because they like to play. They have fun with teammates. Maybe they like the exercise and the challenge inherent in sport. They learn how to win and lose, they learn the life lesson of hard work and the fact that sometimes it is not enough to win the day, and just maybe they learn how to be a leader in times of adversity as well as in good times, along with countless other real-life lessons.

 

Is it really that bad? You try, you lose, you are upset and you pick yourself up off the ground, moving on to become better. Where is the injustice? Better yet, what part of the game was unfair that would justify changing the outcome?

 

As Brazil’s most successful coach, Vanderlei Luxemburgo, said, “To be afraid of losing removes the willingness to win.†You have the ability to make a tremendous impact on the lives of your young athletes. Teach them to never fear losing, to embrace the hard work and dedication it takes to be successful and to develop a willingness to win. They will be better people for it.

 

http://news.nationalpost.com/2010/06/01/win-a-soccer-game-by-more-than-five-points-and-you-lose-ottawa-league-says/

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siegelsoccer Trainer

siegelsoccer

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I understand what your trying to say and agree with the article. But losing and coach's running up the score to pad stats or "send a message" are two different subjects.

 

Woops, I am not trying to "say" anything...I just saw the article and thought about the discussion that comes up every year...literally. Thought the two articles did a pretty good job of summing up both sides of the argument.

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TCBinTN Trainer

TCBinTN

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Saw this blog on nscaa.com and thought about that popular thread that appears each and every year...

 

By: George Hageage, Coach at Eastern Washington University

 

Here we go again! I thought that the whole idea in sport was to beat your opponent. I thought you play a game to WIN! In the last 15-20 years we have been introduced to leagues that do not keep score, even if the kids do, “tournaments†where everyone advances out of group play, to awards for every member of every team because “the kids†should be protected from experiencing the disappointment of losing a game.

 

Our society is filled with this nonsense labeled under a broad brush of being “more fair†(as if there is such a thing), “protecting our children from failure†or, in the area of speech, being inoffensive and “politically correct.â€

 

Now we get a league that has decided that if you win by too much, you lose! In Ottawa, Canada, a recreational league has replaced its five-goal mercy rule with a rule which states that if a team wins by more than five goals, they lose by default.

 

According to one of the board members of the league, they “are simply trying to make it fair.†While no one wants to see any team or individual win or lose a game or match by a large margin, that’s the nature of competition. I am sure all of us can come up with better solutions that maintain the integrity of the game while trying to even out the matches. The use of a balanced reschedule where teams are reseeded after some games to pair teams that are similar in strength for the remainder of the schedule would be but one such solution.

 

But, let us pretend for just a moment that we can’t come up with a solution. Let us pretend that we are a part of a league where competition on the field rules that day and kids play not only to win the game but because they like to play. They have fun with teammates. Maybe they like the exercise and the challenge inherent in sport. They learn how to win and lose, they learn the life lesson of hard work and the fact that sometimes it is not enough to win the day, and just maybe they learn how to be a leader in times of adversity as well as in good times, along with countless other real-life lessons.

 

Is it really that bad? You try, you lose, you are upset and you pick yourself up off the ground, moving on to become better. Where is the injustice? Better yet, what part of the game was unfair that would justify changing the outcome?

 

As Brazil’s most successful coach, Vanderlei Luxemburgo, said, “To be afraid of losing removes the willingness to win.†You have the ability to make a tremendous impact on the lives of your young athletes. Teach them to never fear losing, to embrace the hard work and dedication it takes to be successful and to develop a willingness to win. They will be better people for it.

 

http://news.nationalpost.com/2010/06/01/win-a-soccer-game-by-more-than-five-points-and-you-lose-ottawa-league-says/

 

Overall I agree with this, that said IMHO there is a way to win right. I watched a team get beat last year 12-0, and one girl on the winning team scored 7 goals. Really? What exactly is that accomplishing? What have you taught your "team" when you do that? I have coached and won some fairly lop sided games, but after 4 or 5 goals ahead then why not either work on certain game situations OR start moving kids around, and putting in the 2nd/3rd string. Have all your kids shoot with opposite foot, or from outside the 18. Etc. You don't quit playing, but you can play hard, improve, and not humiliate someone else.

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AAASOCCER Competitor

AAASOCCER

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Tough call, agree you gotta win, but want to keep it reasonable, BUT on the same note, the child that has game should sit out more than everyone else because they are great..? They should be kept to status quoe levels of scoring to satisfy the be reasonable rule..?? I have seen football games where teams got clobbered, I have seen wrestling where people have been beat in 4 seconds, I have seen basketball games quite often that their is a score difference of 30 to 50 pts.. Is soccer a sport unlike basketball where we would promote not doing the best you can because why..?? Michael Jordan, need I say more..? Maybe soccer would be better if we stop giving everyone restrictions to work within and just said go win and have fun...? I don't think a coach should be screaming at their team to drill the other teams eye balls out, but they should coach to win, and score.. I'm all for fair, but a sport is a sport, and win is a win, and a loss is a loss.. Just play the game.

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CoachMikeLHS Trainer

CoachMikeLHS

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As most of you have, or maybe haven't, been on the bad end of a lopsided score, I have given up on this topic. I want my girls to score as many goals as they can. It is not fair to good teams or players to hold back. In the past, 2 teams who are now D2 schools, have given us 13-0 stompings in back to back seasons.

We have been on the top of a couple 8+ to 0 games as well. I had so many requirements for them to meet before taking a shot, it was crazy. The other team ended up scoring own goals. Or just letting balls go in that could have easily been stopped.

This topic will be here till the end of time. Nothing will ever change it. People will be for and against it. Why can't we just squash it and go on the the next good thing. It is like the Gulf War, or the oil spill. It happened, you think it is over, but it keeps creeping back into conversation.

:thumb:

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BigG Most Valuable Player

BigG

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G ...Also looking on the bright side of things. :roflol:

Well, why not? :D As Coach Mike said, it is a debate that will never end, and, as in the public vs. private board, one will never convince the other side to change their minds.

 

But come on, it gives us something to complain about!

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