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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Disagree with earlier posters. Restrictive subbing rules are needed at all levels starting around U15/16 to learn to play proper soccer [b]and grow a pipeline for pro clubs and national teams[/b]. This is because a big part of soccer is learning how to manage a game in terms of your energy level, individually and as a team. Having fresh legs running at you with unlimited subs is the absolute worst way to develop creative players who can use spaces and control the pace of the game and manage and dictate a game.

Also, in a game constantly flooded with fresh legs off the bench, there is little space to exploit as it becomes inevitably a game of kick and rush, and it's one of the reasons why American soccer has traditionally been full of athletes who have no idea how to control a game. As players get older, bigger and faster, creativity and comfort on the ball and tactical skills are hard to develop when there are 10 pairs of fresh legs running at you continuously at full speed (noone has to worry about getting tired, and not hustling enough would lead to the player being taken off). NCAA rules need to change for the good of American soccer. MLS Next and DA before that are doing the right thing by trying to get kids to play the proper way. For the longest time, America did not develop ball-playing center backs, tactically and technically sound central midfielders and playmakers. The ones that are now being developed are coming through the DA/MLS Next system, and the sub rules I believe help in that.

The youth coaches should be training kids in how to manage a game. Anyone who starts a soccer game should be expected to play the full game. This needs fitness, enormous mental strength, and the ability to manage the rhythm and pace of the game. Those who come in as subs should be prepared to play limited role in most cases and provide the lift off the bench, an important part of the training that is not replicated by drifting in and out of the field like hockey. Starters in any game should build the mental strength and the smarts to preserve their ability to be able to do a 60-yard sprint in the 90th minute of a game, when their bodies and minds are screaming "no". That's what makes good soccer players. Not the safety net of leaving the field when you are tired, rest on the bench and come back when you are fresh. To manage playing time and injuries, starters should be rotated as opposed to starting the same set of players every game and subbing them in and out depending who is tired.

BTW, getting used to this for the older age groups in youth soccer is good training for NCAA careers as well. In most good college teams, starters end up playing a huge chunk of most games. That's because good teams know the value of getting into and being in rhythm, which is not possible with repeated subs.

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How many players on any [b]ECNL team will play pro vs play college[/b]? The rules should mirror college rules [/quote]

Quick research, so the numbers might be off a bit:
There are 12 NWSL teams with rosters of roughly 26.  There are probably more in the "pro pipeline" so lets be generous and go with 50 per team with a real shot at playing pro in the US.  So 600 players.
The USWNT carries 23 at the World Cup, but has a larger overall pool.  However, all of those players are probably already accounted for in the pro pipeline.

There are over 400,000 women/girls soccer players playing high school or below.
So why are we applying FIFA/Pro substitution rules?  To accommodate the 0.15% of players who might go pro?

By contrast, there are approximately 41,000 women NCAA soccer players.  Still not great odds, but that means approximately 10% of youth players will play in college.

So, for the high school age groups, which substitution rules make more sense?  The pro rules, or NCAA rules?  Neither rule set allows for free substitution, which is good, as the prior poster stated, you need to learn to manage fitness and the game.  But applying the pro ruleset is simply wrong.  Why do the "elite" youth leagues and tournaments do this? [/quote]

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