"New California youth football mercy rule"

[SUPERCOACH]

Click here for link

$200 fine if you win by 35 points.  Nonsense.  The solution to this problem is that the league needs to do a better job of balancing the teams so all the best players are spread around evenly.

[pmull]

The league needs to keep teams as evenly matched as possible. Some games will still get out of hand and league coaches are responsible to substitute, run clock and "throttle back" without embarrassing the other team. It is called good sportsmanship.

[N.AL-Tider]

I don't like the fine personally or the suspension of the coaches either for that matter.  If the coaches are suspended for 2 weeks then the kids suffer because they can't play, probably can't even practice.   I used to hate the Gators when Spurrier was coaching there because he could score a bunch of points against almost everyone.  Not sure if it was him or another coach that said it but the statement was made, "If you don't like us running the score up then stop us!"  I tend to agree with that now. 

Oh, and FWIW, my youngest son plays pee-wee football and his team hasn't won a game this year.  The last three games were lost by scores of 33-6, 33-6, and 33-0.  They use a running clock when a 24 point difference is met.  I have no problem with that either...

[ALTideUp]

The league needs to keep teams as evenly matched as possible. Some games will still get out of hand and league coaches are responsible to substitute, run clock and "throttle back" without embarrassing the other team. It is called good sportsmanship.

^^THIS Right there ^^

[SUPERCOACH]

The league needs to keep teams as evenly matched as possible. Some games will still get out of hand and league coaches are responsible to substitute, run clock and "throttle back" without embarrassing the other team. It is called good sportmanship.

Exactly.  I had a soccer game the other day that started getting out of hand.  I put all of my good players back on defense and let the "little" ones try to score.  There are things you can do as a coach in any sport to take your foot off the gas without teaching your kids to slow down.  Nobody scored a goal on either side after that and we ended up winning 6-1.

On the other hand, last week we were on the other side of a blowout and the other coach tried to score as many goals as possible.  I've coached against this guy many times in the past in a variety of different sports, and he is a bad sport when he wins and when he loses, even cheating if you let him get away with it.  People like that have no business leading a youth sports team, but there are so few people willing to invest the time that you have to take what you can get sometimes.  One of the main reasons that I coach is to guarantee that my kids don't end up with a coach like that.

[ricky023]

Well done SC. It is a lot more important to teach the kids honor rather than cheating. You oughta tell him one day your going to pray for him. See what happens. RTR!

[SUPERCOACH]

I don't like the fine personally or the suspension of the coaches either for that matter.  If the coaches are suspended for 2 weeks then the kids suffer because they can't play, probably can't even practice.   I used to hate the Gators when Spurrier was coaching there because he could score a bunch of points against almost everyone.  Not sure if it was him or another coach that said it but the statement was made, "If you don't like us running the score up then stop us!"  I tend to agree with that now. 

Oh, and FWIW, my youngest son plays pee-wee football and his team hasn't won a game this year.  The last three games were lost by scores of 33-6, 33-6, and 33-0.  They use a running clock when a 24 point difference is met.  I have no problem with that either...

IMO, games like that don't really develop the players for either side.  It is in everyone's best interest for the teams to be balanced as much as reasonably possible so that the games are competitive most of the time.  The good players will get better when they are going up against some other good players.  The bad players will have some guys on their team they can watch to show them how it's done.

[SUPERCOACH]

Well done SC. It is a lot more important to teach the kids honor rather than cheating. You oughta tell him one day your going to pray for him. See what happens. RTR!

Fist fight?  Arrest?    I think I would be better off keeping my mouth shut.  I do enjoy beating him though when I have the players to do it with.

[N.AL-Tider]

I don't like the fine personally or the suspension of the coaches either for that matter.  If the coaches are suspended for 2 weeks then the kids suffer because they can't play, probably can't even practice.   I used to hate the Gators when Spurrier was coaching there because he could score a bunch of points against almost everyone.  Not sure if it was him or another coach that said it but the statement was made, "If you don't like us running the score up then stop us!"  I tend to agree with that now. 

Oh, and FWIW, my youngest son plays pee-wee football and his team hasn't won a game this year.  The last three games were lost by scores of 33-6, 33-6, and 33-0.  They use a running clock when a 24 point difference is met.  I have no problem with that either...

IMO, games like that don't really develop the players for either side.  It is in everyone's best interest for the teams to be balanced as much as reasonably possible so that the games are competitive most of the time.  The good players will get better when they are going up against some other good players.  The bad players will have some guys on their team they can watch to show them how it's done.

Our league is spread out over three counties.  The two farthest teams from each other are about 75 miles apart.  It would be impossible to distribute players evenly.  We have to play the kids that sign up in each community.  The kids that age don't really learn that much from the games either IMO.  I really feel they learn the most from the practices.

[SUPERCOACH]

I don't like the fine personally or the suspension of the coaches either for that matter.  If the coaches are suspended for 2 weeks then the kids suffer because they can't play, probably can't even practice.   I used to hate the Gators when Spurrier was coaching there because he could score a bunch of points against almost everyone.  Not sure if it was him or another coach that said it but the statement was made, "If you don't like us running the score up then stop us!"  I tend to agree with that now. 

Oh, and FWIW, my youngest son plays pee-wee football and his team hasn't won a game this year.  The last three games were lost by scores of 33-6, 33-6, and 33-0.  They use a running clock when a 24 point difference is met.  I have no problem with that either...

IMO, games like that don't really develop the players for either side.  It is in everyone's best interest for the teams to be balanced as much as reasonably possible so that the games are competitive most of the time.  The good players will get better when they are going up against some other good players.  The bad players will have some guys on their team they can watch to show them how it's done.

Our league is spread out over three counties.  The two farthest teams from each other are about 75 miles apart.  It would be impossible to distribute players evenly.  We have to play the kids that sign up in each community.  The kids that age don't really learn that much from the games either IMO.  I really feel they learn the most from the practices.

Wow, that is a lot of travel for a pee wee league.  When multiple towns are involved I would bet that makes it difficult to keep things respectful.  You won't run the score up on another guy from your town that you are going to see in church the next day, or at the PTA meeting next week.  But a guy from another town that you only see once a year on the football field...

I will bet you an e-cred that some of those towns that have enough kids for 2 teams will put all their good kids on one team and all of the other guys on the other team so the good team will have a chance to win the league.

For the record, I don't have a problem with 33-6.  It's not fun to lose a game like that but you are going to have some games like that.  I'm talking more about 70-0 type games.  Once you get into a 30+ point lead you probably need to start shutting things down.

[BAMADCHAMPSHIPS]

The league needs to keep teams as evenly matched as possible. Some games will still get out of hand and league coaches are responsible to substitute, run clock and "throttle back" without embarrassing the other team. It is called good sportmanship.

Exactly.  I had a soccer game the other day that started getting out of hand.  I put all of my good players back on defense and let the "little" ones try to score.  There are things you can do as a coach in any sport to take your foot off the gas without teaching your kids to slow down.  Nobody scored a goal on either side after that and we ended up winning 6-1.

On the other hand, last week we were on the other side of a blowout and the other coach tried to score as many goals as possible.  I've coached against this guy many times in the past in a variety of different sports, and he is a bad sport when he wins and when he loses, even cheating if you let him get away with it.  People like that have no business leading a youth sports team, but there are so few people willing to invest the time that you have to take what you can get sometimes.  One of the main reasons that I coach is to guarantee that my kids don't end up with a coach like that.

SC, I coach my kids we got hammered Saturday on my daughters U10 team. All but 2 girls moved up from last year so I have mostly 8 year olds. Once the other team hit the field you knew they were the superior team. Right away they scored 5 goals. He kept his foot on the pedal until about 5 minutes left. Anyway we lost somewhere between (I quit counting) 15-20 to 0. I don't mind losing but good grief.

 

[SUPERCOACH]

The league needs to keep teams as evenly matched as possible. Some games will still get out of hand and league coaches are responsible to substitute, run clock and "throttle back" without embarrassing the other team. It is called good sportmanship.

Exactly.  I had a soccer game the other day that started getting out of hand.  I put all of my good players back on defense and let the "little" ones try to score.  There are things you can do as a coach in any sport to take your foot off the gas without teaching your kids to slow down.  Nobody scored a goal on either side after that and we ended up winning 6-1.

On the other hand, last week we were on the other side of a blowout and the other coach tried to score as many goals as possible.  I've coached against this guy many times in the past in a variety of different sports, and he is a bad sport when he wins and when he loses, even cheating if you let him get away with it.  People like that have no business leading a youth sports team, but there are so few people willing to invest the time that you have to take what you can get sometimes.  One of the main reasons that I coach is to guarantee that my kids don't end up with a coach like that.

SC, I coach my kids we got hammered Saturday on my daughters U10 team. All but 2 girls moved up from last year so I have mostly 8 year olds. Once the other team hit the field you knew they were the superior team. Right away they scored 5 goals. He kept his foot on the pedal until about 5 minutes left. Anyway we lost somewhere between (I quit counting) 15-20 to 0. I don't mind losing but good grief.

 

Oh my.  That is totally uncalled for. 

If you have a superior team it is easy to freeze the score and do it in such a way that your team can get something out of it.  For example, tell your kids that they can't score on a kick, they have to do it on a header.  Or they can score on a kick if they are outside the larger penalty box.  Limit the number of girls that can be across midfield at one time.  There are tons of things you could do if you wanted to.  And if the coaches won't do it voluntarily, then make some league rules that allow the refs to step in after the lead gets to 5 goals.

I don't think I have ever beaten anybody by more than maybe 6 or 7 goals (although I could have occasionally).  I have been on the wrong side of some of the beat downs though.  It destroys the kids to get beat that bad.  These are little kids, have some mercy on them for goodness sakes.

[ricky023]

I wonder could a coach just stop the game and give the contest to the other team? Would this be wrong? RTR!

[BAMADCHAMPSHIPS]

The league needs to keep teams as evenly matched as possible. Some games will still get out of hand and league coaches are responsible to substitute, run clock and "throttle back" without embarrassing the other team. It is called good sportmanship.

Exactly.  I had a soccer game the other day that started getting out of hand.  I put all of my good players back on defense and let the "little" ones try to score.  There are things you can do as a coach in any sport to take your foot off the gas without teaching your kids to slow down.  Nobody scored a goal on either side after that and we ended up winning 6-1.

On the other hand, last week we were on the other side of a blowout and the other coach tried to score as many goals as possible.  I've coached against this guy many times in the past in a variety of different sports, and he is a bad sport when he wins and when he loses, even cheating if you let him get away with it.  People like that have no business leading a youth sports team, but there are so few people willing to invest the time that you have to take what you can get sometimes.  One of the main reasons that I coach is to guarantee that my kids don't end up with a coach like that.

SC, I coach my kids we got hammered Saturday on my daughters U10 team. All but 2 girls moved up from last year so I have mostly 8 year olds. Once the other team hit the field you knew they were the superior team. Right away they scored 5 goals. He kept his foot on the pedal until about 5 minutes left. Anyway we lost somewhere between (I quit counting) 15-20 to 0. I don't mind losing but good grief.

 

Oh my.  That is totally uncalled for. 

If you have a superior team it is easy to freeze the score and do it in such a way that your team can get something out of it.  For example, tell your kids that they can't score on a kick, they have to do it on a header.  Or they can score on a kick if they are outside the larger penalty box.  Limit the number of girls that can be across midfield at one time.  There are tons of things you could do if you wanted to.  And if the coaches won't do it voluntarily, then make some league rules that allow the refs to step in after the lead gets to 5 goals.

I don't think I have ever beaten anybody by more than maybe 6 or 7 goals (although I could have occasionally).  I have been on the wrong side of some of the beat downs though.  It destroys the kids to get beat that bad.  These are little kids, have some mercy on them for goodness sakes.

The 1st week the director the program sent out an email reminding coaches about not running up the score. Have them kids use left foot only/ putting your less athletic kids up and all the tricks of the the trade to not make it seem as onsided. Then the 3rd week (before our game) he sent out the same email because apparently it's still going on. I think this coach is the habitual offender.

[N.AL-Tider]

I wonder could a coach just stop the game and give the contest to the other team? Would this be wrong? RTR!

Think about the message you would be sending to the kids if you quit.  It's ok to quit if you are getting beat.  I say never quit.  If you are going to get beaten badly then learn how to lose with dignity and pride.  Also, a good coach won't run the score up to the point where it embarrasses the other team/coachs IMO.  Of course, some changes in which players play and where they play would be required to prevent that...

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