Bainbridge Island Youth Soccer Club

BIYSC Coaches – I hope the season has been a good and positive one for you and more importantly, for your players!
 
I wanted to offer a few guidelines and thoughts in case you find yourself in a situation where the game you are involved in coaching gets to the point of becoming a blowout!
 
Because of the way the recreational teams are formed, there can be a great discrepancy in the level of play amongst the individual players and teams you play against. Absent any association-wide guidelines, each club and coach is really on their own in managing these situations. Our club will be asking our association to standardize some guidelines but absent that, here are some ideas you may be able to use in this type of situation.
 
1.                  If you find your team is much stronger than the opponent and you start to see a sizeable lead (5 goals?), the first thing to consider is playing time. Are you giving all your players the chance to play in the game? Are there some players who you could give a few more minutes to who maybe have been shorted or not seen the same game time as some of your stronger players? If so, get them in there! Most of you routinely share game minutes somewhat equally so this may not make much difference, but giving some of your “weaker” players a little more time may help.
 
2.                  Switching positions. Obviously moving your strongest attackers to defense can help but sometimes those defenders you put up front have one thing on their mind - scoring goals! After all, that’s the object of the game! If that doesn’t slow the scoring down then…
 
3.                  Let the opponent add a player. Quietly, either have a word with the ref or the other coach and let them add an additional player. This may or may not slow down further scoring but you have made a very sporting move, and rather than pull one of your players, give the opponent a chance to have another player gain some playing time.
 
4.                  Shooting from distance! It can be difficult depending on the ability and age of your players, but you can instruct them to shoot from distance, maybe from outside the goalie box for those fields that have them! Instruct the team to do so quietly and please don’t make a big show over it! Worse than getting hammered by a superior team can be the laughing joke they can make of substitutions, putting the keeper at striker, yelling out how many passes they have to make before being allowed to shoot, etc. Try and make these conditions quietly and within the team, and in the best possible sporting manner.
 
5.         Instruct the players to shoot only with their non-dominant foot.   In the long-run, it will improve their play overall because they will learn to shoot with their non-dominant foot.   Able to shoot with both feet is better than one. 
 
6.         If the other side is missing players, volunteer one or two of the best players to go to the other side for a half.    It will surprise you, a player or two will volunteer.
 
And, if you are on the receiving end…!!!
 
1.                  Try putting your best players, even if they are attackers, in defense.
 
2.                  If it’s really getting out of hand, quietly ask the ref to ask the other coach if you can add another player on to the field.
 
3.                  If you continue to get scored on, keep positive, encourage your player’s effort, and don’t let the score cause you to lose your composure and get angry at your players, the ref, or the other team. You should not pull your team off the field as there are fines and suspensions for doing so. Try all other measures! If your players see that it doesn't bother you (at least on the outside!) then it will less likely bother them.
 
It can be a very tricky situation because we teach the players to give maximum effort and we know the object of the game is to score more goals than the opponent, but sometimes, enough is enough! Another complicating factor is that some league divisions at some ages use goal differential as a tie breaker. Some leagues and divisions cap the per game goal difference at +5 no matter what the real score of the game. Know the rules of your division and after gaining max differential etc, slow it down. Try your best to make adjustments, given the circumstances, and you should be fine. Honestly, big scores seem to bother the parents more than the players! I’ve been on both ends of the spectrum and it has never taken away my long term love for playing or coaching the game.
 
If you have any specific questions or would care to offer some other tried and true methods, please pass them on to me!
 
Thanks for your time,
 
Grant Clark
BIYSC
Coaching Director