Coach Cheated!!!

[Anonymous]

My DS is on a team that made it to the "playoffs". The coach also coaches an elite, upper-level, higher skills team. For the playoffs, he brought in a couple of kids he coaches at the higher level to play on my DS's team. They are not team members.

There were two boys I didn't recognize -- I'm not super involved in the team so I just figured I hadn't noticed them before. I do go to all the games, though, so I noted that I did not recognize these kids. I sat next to some parents who said they were rooting for the "Insert color here" (our team). I said, oh, the "Insert actual name of team here"? They looked at each other blankly and said, "I guess?" Then they said, oh, he doesn't actually play on the team. He's on the upper level of play but the coach asked him to play just for this game.

WTF? I am so upset. Did the coach really think it was okay to stack the team with higher level kids? Our team "won" -- I put that in quotes because they cheated -- but I feel like they don't deserve it. I'm really angry. They should have had the chance to win -- or lose -- on their own merits.

Now I have zero respect for the coach. What kind of man is so insecure that he[i] needs his team to win? The experience is supposed to be for the kids, not the coach. If they lost, that would have been a learning experience. Now they've "won" the championship by cheating.

What should I do? I don't want to talk to my DS about his coach in a negative way but.... I just said, without mentioning specifics, "I want to tell you again that it's better to lose than to win by cheating, and we don't live or play by a 'win at all costs' mentality." He just looked at me like, why are you telling me this?

This is a large organization that plays more than one sport out of a lot of schools. I am so disgusted with them. (Also with the parents of the kids who were bused in to play on our team. Why did they think that was okay to do? To have their kids used like that, and be taught it's okay to play that way????)

I don't want my DS playing under that coach anymore. I have no respect for him as a person or as a coach.

My DS loves the sport. Should I just move him to a new organization and keep the info to myself?

So, so disgusted.....

[Anonymous]

As long as they are the same birth year or younger, it's "guesting" not cheating. It's normal for coaches to bring in players to help out when needed.

Now, if the coach didn't really need to do it but just brought them in to stack the deck, then I can fully understand why you would be upset. I might talk to the higher ups and get a sense if this is SOP. If so, you might decide to change clubs for next year.

[Anonymous]

I agree. That is horrible. I would talk to the organization about what he did. And I would find another organization to join.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As long as they are the same birth year or younger, it's "guesting" not cheating. It's normal for coaches to bring in players to help out when needed.

Now, if the coach didn't really need to do it but just brought them in to stack the deck, then I can fully understand why you would be upset. I might talk to the higher ups and get a sense if this is SOP. If so, you might decide to change clubs for next year.

Yes it’s cheating to bring a ringer in and certainly unethical.

Definitely take this to the league organizer, although they may not care.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As long as they are the same birth year or younger, it's "guesting" not cheating. It's normal for coaches to bring in players to help out when needed.

Now, if the coach didn't really need to do it but just brought them in to stack the deck, then I can fully understand why you would be upset. I might talk to the higher ups and get a sense if this is SOP. If so, you might decide to change clubs for next year.

Everyone showed up. We were able to sub out every player when needed. He was definitely stacking the deck.

[Anonymous]

Should I talk to my DS about it or just keep it at an adult level? I really feel this has spoiled his "win."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Should I talk to my DS about it or just keep it at an adult level? I really feel this has spoiled his "win."

You would be the one spoiling his win if you discuss with him. Raise your concerns with the adults - and you may not know the rules, btw — move your kid if you don’t like the coach. But for goodness sakes don’t ruin the win for your kid who did nothing wrong.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As long as they are the same birth year or younger, it's "guesting" not cheating. It's normal for coaches to bring in players to help out when needed.

Now, if the coach didn't really need to do it but just brought them in to stack the deck, then I can fully understand why you would be upset. I might talk to the higher ups and get a sense if this is SOP. If so, you might decide to change clubs for next year.

Everyone showed up. We were able to sub out every player when needed. He was definitely stacking the deck.

But was it illegal? Was it cheating? If not you need to leave it alone.

[Anonymous]

OP may I ask how old is your son?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP may I ask how old is your son?

They're sixth graders.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As long as they are the same birth year or younger, it's "guesting" not cheating. It's normal for coaches to bring in players to help out when needed.

Now, if the coach didn't really need to do it but just brought them in to stack the deck, then I can fully understand why you would be upset. I might talk to the higher ups and get a sense if this is SOP. If so, you might decide to change clubs for next year.

Yes it’s cheating to bring a ringer in and certainly unethical.

Definitely take this to the league organizer, although they may not care.

No, it's not. Unethical? Perhaps.

OP, only you can decide what this means for you and your son. What I wouldn't do is to rain on his parade and tell him he didn't earn the win. What I would do is talk to the organization and see if you think you should move because you no longer agree with their priorities.

[Anonymous]

There aren’t enough specifics here to make a judgment call. It’s common for soccer teams to enter tournaments but add players from off the team, because not everyone from the regular season team can play in the tournament, or there are some good players someone knows who could boost the team’s chances of success in the tournament. There’s nothing unusual about that, and it isn’t wrong unless rules are broken. If other parents looked at you like you have two heads when you used the team’s regular season name, this could be why. They aren’t necessarily playing as that team. Sometimes 2 teams merge and take on a new name for tournaments.

I would downshift considerably before jumping to conclusions about the coach’s behavior.

[Anonymous]

There are so many rules about this and they vary by sport, age, league. etc....I really don't think you can assume that this was cheating at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As long as they are the same birth year or younger, it's "guesting" not cheating. It's normal for coaches to bring in players to help out when needed.

Now, if the coach didn't really need to do it but just brought them in to stack the deck, then I can fully understand why you would be upset. I might talk to the higher ups and get a sense if this is SOP. If so, you might decide to change clubs for next year.

Everyone showed up. We were able to sub out every player when needed. He was definitely stacking the deck.

But was it illegal? Was it cheating? If not you need to leave it alone.

Yes, you shouldn't assume that the coach did anything against the rules. Soccer is the sport I'm most familiar with, and virtually all tournaments permit teams to bring up to 3 guest players. A coach's decision to do so may not be popular with the kids and parents who are displaced by the guest players, but it absolutely 100% within the rules. Check whether the league allows this before you talk to the coach or his boss.

You may well still have a legitimate complaint about why he brought the players, how he handled the situation, and the effect on the regular team players, but don't go in there guns a blazin' making accusations if the coach did not actually "cheat".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There aren’t enough specifics here to make a judgment call. It’s common for soccer teams to enter tournaments but add players from off the team, because not everyone from the regular season team can play in the tournament, or there are some good players someone knows who could boost the team’s chances of success in the tournament. There’s nothing unusual about that, and it isn’t wrong unless rules are broken. If other parents looked at you like you have two heads when you used the team’s regular season name, this could be why. They aren’t necessarily playing as that team. Sometimes 2 teams merge and take on a new name for tournaments.

I would downshift considerably before jumping to conclusions about the coach’s behavior.

They looked at me blankly because they didn't even know the name of the team. Only the color. Because their kids was not a member of the team or invested in the team in any way -- had not practiced with them every week, joined in their wins and losses, etc.

Everyone from our team was available, healthy and showed up to play. Are you saying it's still okay to bring in kids who are at a higher skill level than the competition so they can win?

That's news to me. I'm not into sports other than as a parent, so if this is the case, I'm surprised.