Guest player etiquette

[Anonymous]

In Our league, when we get guest players from significantly higher level teams, we usually get them from the age group a year younger. That helps to make it more fair and fun.

[Anonymous]

My opinion on this is that clubs should be required to designate their teams' pecking order with state registration systems. For league seasons (fall and spring combined) limit that a player on the permanent roster cannot play "down" a level more than thrice a year and that no more than 3 higher level players can play down in a single match. The "3 and 3" rule. Also, no skipping down two levels if the club is that large. Lower level players would be allowed to play up a level on an unlimited basis. Standard game-day rostering sizes apply.

For tournaments, only three guest players allowed, max. Guest players include club-pass or outside of club players. This again limits the ability to stack teams to make club look better and deeper than they really are and provides paying customers of lower level teams with ample league and tournament playing opportunities. Always make it "3" so that refs, coaches, parents, and toruney officials don't get confused and can't realistically claim that "they did not know the rule".

[Anonymous]

Bringing in 2 guest players when there is only one sub is ok - what if one player didn't show up or got hurt. However, guest players in this situation should be used as subs, not starters. Parents of players on the team should have a problem with guests getting more playing time than the regular players, especially at U-littles unless the players lost playing for a reason communicated by coach (not showing up at practice, goofing off, etc.).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My opinion on this is that clubs should be required to designate their teams' pecking order with state registration systems. For league seasons (fall and spring combined) limit that a player on the permanent roster cannot play "down" a level more than thrice a year and that no more than 3 higher level players can play down in a single match. The "3 and 3" rule. Also, no skipping down two levels if the club is that large. Lower level players would be allowed to play up a level on an unlimited basis. Standard game-day rostering sizes apply.

For tournaments, only three guest players allowed, max. Guest players include club-pass or outside of club players. This again limits the ability to stack teams to make club look better and deeper than they really are and provides paying customers of lower level teams with ample league and tournament playing opportunities. Always make it "3" so that refs, coaches, parents, and toruney officials don't get confused and can't realistically claim that "they did not know the rule".

No, if you are a player on a B, C, or D team your playing time should always be in question. If a better player in the club does guest play on the B or C team yes they should get a majority of the minutes over weaker players. That is how it is supposed to work. The takeaway that disgruntled parents should walk away with is how can their DD get to the A team players level and not worrying about your little B or C team silo.

[Anonymous]

The takeaway that disgruntled parents should walk away with is how can their DD get to the A team players level and not worrying about your little B or C team silo.

That's ridiculous. Not every kid is A team material, and that's fine. There is no reason that kids should not be able to get better at a sport, have a good experience, and play against players at their own level, or close to it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

The takeaway that disgruntled parents should walk away with is how can their DD get to the A team players level and not worrying about your little B or C team silo.

That's ridiculous. Not every kid is A team material, and that's fine. There is no reason that kids should not be able to get better at a sport, have a good experience, and play against players at their own level, or close to it.

Unless this happened every week at every game it isn't really a problem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That’s standard practice in every club I’ve been a part of, in every sport.

I'm so sorry for you.

[Anonymous]

In Brazil in some parts of the country, each team has 60 kids and the coaches only focus on training the starting 11.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My opinion on this is that clubs should be required to designate their teams' pecking order with state registration systems. For league seasons (fall and spring combined) limit that a player on the permanent roster cannot play "down" a level more than thrice a year and that no more than 3 higher level players can play down in a single match. The "3 and 3" rule. Also, no skipping down two levels if the club is that large. Lower level players would be allowed to play up a level on an unlimited basis. Standard game-day rostering sizes apply.

For tournaments, only three guest players allowed, max. Guest players include club-pass or outside of club players. This again limits the ability to stack teams to make club look better and deeper than they really are and provides paying customers of lower level teams with ample league and tournament playing opportunities. Always make it "3" so that refs, coaches, parents, and toruney officials don't get confused and can't realistically claim that "they did not know the rule".

No, if you are a player on a B, C, or D team your playing time should always be in question. If a better player in the club does guest play on the B or C team yes they should get a majority of the minutes over weaker players. That is how it is supposed to work. The takeaway that disgruntled parents should walk away with is how can their DD get to the A team players level and not worrying about your little B or C team silo.

Wow. I would move to a different club. I heard that the A teams steal from the BCD teams, but never put quite so clearly as you have stated!

[Anonymous]

That's ridiculous. Not every kid is A team material, and that's fine. There is no reason that kids should not be able to get better at a sport, have a good experience, and play against players at their own level, or close to it.

Unless this happened every week at every game it isn't really a problem.

Why not? It's unfair and creates a bad experience for the kids. If I screamed at the top of my lungs every time a kid on my daughter's opposing team in softball got up to bat, but just for one game, would it be ok as long as it didn't happen every week at every game?

[Anonymous]

Unless this happened every week at every game it isn't really a problem.

I don't agree. It was really demoralizing for our team. If they really didn't have enough players without these guest players, it would be one thing, but they did.

When our team needs guest players, we have either gone to 1. rec players that kids on our team know and who are decent, 2. travel players in the same age group one team up, or 3. travel players in the age group below two or three teams up. We have never considered getting players from our club's top team in the same age group. That just seems insanely unfair when you are able to field a team without them.

We have also played with only 7 kids in a tournament on a 95 degree day (on artificial turf) in a game we knew we would most likely lose (and did) in order to give the opposing team the game they expected and deserved. It would have been great to have some subs for that game, but we didn't go to the upper team in our club.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

That's ridiculous. Not every kid is A team material, and that's fine. There is no reason that kids should not be able to get better at a sport, have a good experience, and play against players at their own level, or close to it.

Unless this happened every week at every game it isn't really a problem.

Why not? It's unfair and creates a bad experience for the kids. If I screamed at the top of my lungs every time a kid on my daughter's opposing team in softball got up to bat, but just for one game, would it be ok as long as it didn't happen every week at every game?

We are talking about two players, who are demonstratively better than the players on the team guest playing in one event or game and playing a majority of the minutes.

Better players play more. If this is a rec team where everyone is guaranteed 50% playing time then you have a point. It is a travel team and playing time is based on merit primarily.

It is not a regular occurrence and frankly the parents and players would not have even accepted the invitation to play if their kids were intended to be the sub.

[Anonymous]

Better players play more. If this is a rec team where everyone is guaranteed 50% playing time then you have a point. It is a travel team and playing time is based on merit primarily.

In our club, which is a travel club, at the U10 level, everyone is guaranteed equal playing time on their own team except in a tournament, which this was not. Perhaps other travel clubs have different rules.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Better players play more. If this is a rec team where everyone is guaranteed 50% playing time then you have a point. It is a travel team and playing time is based on merit primarily.

In our club, which is a travel club, at the U10 level, everyone is guaranteed equal playing time on their own team except in a tournament, which this was not. Perhaps other travel clubs have different rules.

These are not "rules" by the way but stay angry about it.

[Anonymous]

In our club, which is a travel club, at the U10 level, everyone is guaranteed equal playing time on their own team except in a tournament, which this was not. Perhaps other travel clubs have different rules.


These are not "rules" by the way but stay angry about it.

I have no idea what you mean. It is indeed a rule of our club. I acknowledged that other clubs may not have that rule, which is fine.

I intend to ask our league if what occurred is permissible under the league's rules. If so, then fine, I'll drop the situation and not think of it again.