What would you do? Soccer roster issue.

[Anonymous]

So our rec league is finally enforcing their "select player" limits this year. 3rd grade teams went from being allowed to have 3 "select" players to just two. Select = travel players or ADP (developmental) players. 4th grade teams that play on the same size fields with the same roster size in the same field configuration (7x7 - 6 field players plus goalie) as the 3rd grade, but they are allowed to have 3 select players, down from 4.

Our team is now struggling with this, as we have three select players (2 travel, 1 ADP) and we've been told to cut one. This is difficult because of the 8 original girls on our team (before roster size increased), 5 had played together since kindergarten and the other 3 had played together with our current coach since K. All 8 girls have now played together for 5 seasons. We are a good team and tend to lead the division (1st division), but we have won games without each of the select players. Nobody wants to quit. We really like our team. We've all spent 4 years getting to know the other families, and frankly, the reason we put up with the crazy logistics of being on two teams is that we like the other kids/parents and coach so much.

The league suggested dropping the girl who registered last, but all 3 select players were registered within hours of each other, so we don't think is a really fair way to go.
All 3 players prioritize their other teams' games, but 1 made all 8 games, and 2 made it to 7 of 8 games last season, and will play multiple games per day when scheduled. So all 3 players are dedicated.
Only the ADP player practices with the team because rec practice conflicts with one of the weekly travel practices.
The travel players are on the same travel team, a highly ranked team that wins most games. The ADP kid is on a weaker ADP team that mostly loses, so closer to rec than travel.
One of the parents is the assistant coach/team manager of the team and assists with all practices. No other parent has volunteered to do this.

The other teams with players from our school are all at their select player cap, so the girl who leaves will end up on a team with nobody she knows. And since the other teams from Division 1 are likely at cap, she will likely have to move down a division and be the strongest player on a weaker team, which we've personally found to be a frustrating experience for a kid.

We're trying to reason with the league on the grounds that these are 8-9 year old girls and it's cruel to separate one from her entire team, and on the grounds that the rule could be the same as for 4th grade since the rest of the format is the same. But if/when they say no, we're still at the same spot - having to tell a kid she has to go, and with no clue who to tell.

What would you do?

[Anonymous]

Call the commissioner of the rec league and make some compromises. How about suggesting limits on the time the travel kids play and how many of those kid you will put on the field together? If you break those rules, you lose forfeit games where you break those rules.

The rec league is for rec player. Winning in rec because you have travel players really is not what rec is about.

[Anonymous]

^^

Agree. This is stupid of ASA. They have a Rec Committee of parents for this reason. Talk to them. They need to grandfather your team and simply impose some conditions to make it fair, like only 2 select players are allowed to attend any one game, and then you just rotate. If ASA doesn't fix this for a rec team, then they are doing nothing to keep soccer fun for your team. It's not just the player cut, but rather the whole team that gets impacted. If I were an opposing coach in your Division, I would have no beef playing against you as long as you had some fair condition like I mentioned.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So our rec league is finally enforcing their "select player" limits this year. 3rd grade teams went from being allowed to have 3 "select" players to just two. Select = travel players or ADP (developmental) players. 4th grade teams that play on the same size fields with the same roster size in the same field configuration (7x7 - 6 field players plus goalie) as the 3rd grade, but they are allowed to have 3 select players, down from 4.

Our team is now struggling with this, as we have three select players (2 travel, 1 ADP) and we've been told to cut one. This is difficult because of the 8 original girls on our team (before roster size increased), 5 had played together since kindergarten and the other 3 had played together with our current coach since K. All 8 girls have now played together for 5 seasons. We are a good team and tend to lead the division (1st division), but we have won games without each of the select players. Nobody wants to quit. We really like our team. We've all spent 4 years getting to know the other families, and frankly, the reason we put up with the crazy logistics of being on two teams is that we like the other kids/parents and coach so much.

The league suggested dropping the girl who registered last, but all 3 select players were registered within hours of each other, so we don't think is a really fair way to go.
All 3 players prioritize their other teams' games, but 1 made all 8 games, and 2 made it to 7 of 8 games last season, and will play multiple games per day when scheduled. So all 3 players are dedicated.
Only the ADP player practices with the team because rec practice conflicts with one of the weekly travel practices.
The travel players are on the same travel team, a highly ranked team that wins most games. The ADP kid is on a weaker ADP team that mostly loses, so closer to rec than travel.
One of the parents is the assistant coach/team manager of the team and assists with all practices. No other parent has volunteered to do this.

The other teams with players from our school are all at their select player cap, so the girl who leaves will end up on a team with nobody she knows. And since the other teams from Division 1 are likely at cap, she will likely have to move down a division and be the strongest player on a weaker team, which we've personally found to be a frustrating experience for a kid.

We're trying to reason with the league on the grounds that these are 8-9 year old girls and it's cruel to separate one from her entire team, and on the grounds that the rule could be the same as for 4th grade since the rest of the format is the same. But if/when they say no, we're still at the same spot - having to tell a kid she has to go, and with no clue who to tell.

What would you do?

This was going to happen sooner or later anyways. A compromise could be only 2 of the travel kids play each game forcing a rotation of one to miss each week. But there are other issues with your post that are concerning. Primarily the emphasis on winning and "team" for rec soccer. I question your sincerity regarding the "cruelness" when your first basic point was mentioning how good the team is.

[Anonymous]

Why are travel kids playing on rec teams? That's not allowed in our league.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why are travel kids playing on rec teams? That's not allowed in our league.

Same.

[Anonymous]

Is this ASA? If so, I sympathize with the situation you're in because there's no good answer, but as a rec parent, I'm so glad to hear this is happening. My kid has been on a team with no select players and has been debating quitting because he's tired of getting blown out all the time because the other teams are loaded up with select players (especially sine not everyone is honest about their kid playing travel for another club). Hopefully this will spread talent around more and create better balance among the rec teams.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^^

Agree. This is stupid of ASA. They have a Rec Committee of parents for this reason. Talk to them. They need to grandfather your team and simply impose some conditions to make it fair, like only 2 select players are allowed to attend any one game, and then you just rotate. If ASA doesn't fix this for a rec team, then they are doing nothing to keep soccer fun for your team. It's not just the player cut, but rather the whole team that gets impacted. If I were an opposing coach in your Division, I would have no beef playing against you as long as you had some fair condition like I mentioned.

This is your answer. Talk to the league commissioner and get this concession for your team and for all teams in the age group. You can PLAY only 2 travel/ADP players in any game, but you can have 3 on the roster.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is this ASA? If so, I sympathize with the situation you're in because there's no good answer, but as a rec parent, I'm so glad to hear this is happening. My kid has been on a team with no select players and has been debating quitting because he's tired of getting blown out all the time because the other teams are loaded up with select players (especially sine not everyone is honest about their kid playing travel for another club). Hopefully this will spread talent around more and create better balance among the rec teams.

In rec indoor, they let unlimited numbers of ADP players on the rosters. There were several teams of ALL ADP players which was ridiculous. Our team had the limited 2-travel players (no ADP), but often just 1 out of 10 present at each game. Many of the players on are team are not year-round soccer players. They were buddies that had been playing together since Kindergarten. To then play against a group of kids with nutso "gung-ho' crazy parents banging on the boards and going nuts about running up the score against a bunch of kids who only casually play soccer was not fun.

Rec should be about rec. I am all for limits on the number of travel players and I am a travel parent. My kids have never played outdoor rec once they started travel. It just didn't seem fair to me and over-kill. We did keep them with their indoor rec teams in the winter because there are no practices and it used to be way less 'formal'.

My spouse isn't go to coach next year because it's kind of disgusting what the rec has become.

[Anonymous]

i believe the county organizes and sets the rules for indoor soccer, not ASA.

[Anonymous]

If you can't get the league to agree to a compromise, then I would suggest that the ADP player who can actually makes rec team practices be given a slot on the rec team. And then the other slot should perhaps go to the player whose parent is an assistant coach.

[Anonymous]

10:38 - this is why they have different divisions. In Division 1, most/all of the teams have at least 1-2 select players. If you're getting blown out at every game, you're in the wrong division. If you're getting blown out in the lowest division, you might need to look at why - are the players not showing up to practice or games? Is the coach not following the drills they provide?

Teams move within divisions between seasons. Teams that go 8-0 or 7-1 in division 2 move to division 1 and teams that lost most division 1 games move to division 2. none of our games were blowouts last year - all the wins were close, which tells me the seeding is pretty good.

I get it - teams should be fair. But when it comes down to telling one girl on a team of 11 that she has to leave, the whole thing sucks. And telling her that not only does she have to leave, but she is the only one who has to leave, and she has to go to a team where she doesn't know the other 10 girls - that's tough. The point of rec is having fun with your friends.

We mainly stayed on our rec team last year when my daughter was also doing travel because she was on a travel team with mostly older girls (she has a late birthday) where she didn't know anyone. Most games that season were total blowout losses, she didn't get much playing time and she would have been really bummed if she hadn't had her rec team to play with also. She likes the girls and the coach and we like the parents, and it's nice to have the continuity.

I like the 2 of 3 playing solution, but what do we do if we're low on numbers for a game? If we only have 7 girls available for a 7x7 format, which has happened, are we supposed to forfeit? (or 6? which has also happened.)

[Anonymous]

10:51 - I hear ya. The indoor soccer thing gets a bit weird when you have mixed rec and ADP. Personally, though, as a parent who's been through rec, ADP and Travel, I don't think the difference between ADP and rec is all that big - the quality of coaching can really vary since it's the parent coaches (not the pro coaches) that handle the games.

[Anonymous]

Why would you want travel players on your rec team? Seems unfair to other players on the team. Winning isn't important huh?

[Anonymous]

This is confusing to an outsider.. Is this outdoor? indoor? (or futsal) or for Alexandria (ASA)?

in any case I would ask for a waiver/exception for this one team given those circumstances are legitimate... the grandfather clause...