Substitutions, and The Expense

I’m not sure I agree with the no re-entry substitution rule in place at this age group.

In fact, I know I don’t.

First year on the 11v11 field for many kids at this age group around the country. Bodies are fully developed athletically. Fitness levels aren’t at a high enough level to sustain performance in such a large space over time.

And most importantly, fatigue opens players up to injuries.

I understand the substitution restrictions in place for professionals. For national teams. Even for collegiate players. Actually, I think college players can re-enter in the second halves, but I might be wrong.

Not sure why this rule is in place for the youngest ECNL age groups, but I’m not privy to the discussions that went on when this decision was made and I’m sure there were reasons.

Looking back at the expenses for our first trip to St. Louis:

• Air travel - $400

• Rental Car - $160

• Gas - $25

• Hotel - $230 total

• Meals - $75

• Misc - $25

That’s just over $900 for me alone (Livi traveled with her mom). It’s not a stretch to think that a parent traveling with their daughter spent $1,300+.

Most players played 1/2 a game. Just over an hour of soccer in total.

And we have road trip for a single game this fall to Milwaukee where families will incur expenses and commit time, and most kids on the team will play 35 minutes of soccer.

One might say that an unlimited subbing rule wouldn’t change this, but it would. I would be able to give key players in key positions breathers, equating to more even playing time across the board.

I don’t like to change my center backs in games. I like the continuity in the key positions in our backline for sure. Moreover, it’s not a glamorous position to be stuck in for most, and I feel players don’t really like being stuck back there, so I let them play a bit more as a reward.

With no re-entry, and key players in these key positions, the positions aren’t in the subbing mix. Less positions in the subbing mix means more players subbing into less positions, which means more subbing for these players in the subbing mix positions.

Follow that?

Re-entry would allow me to give breathers to these center backs, opening up more subbing position options, and allowing more on-field time for more players.

So, the question becomes how to manage things to have some balance and equity when it comes to playing time.

And the question before that I guess is should there be balanced and equitable playing time at this age group in this league?

The answer to this is yes, to an extent. I always walk a fine line here in my head.

A quality youth coach isn’t focused on winning at all costs. In fact, the best youth coaches find ways to get the most our of their players, compete, and win using everyone on the roster that they selected/helped to select.

Players should see 50% of the field at a bare minimum at this age group. Does that mean in a tournament championship game that all the players should see 50% playing time? Not necessarily. But that lost time should be made up elsewhere.

Some players are just more talented than other players…on this team, and on all teams. Some are more naturally gifted, more athletic, more competitive.

Some players clearly work harder at their game than others…on this team, and on all teams. They work harder and are more focused in training, and they work harder outside of training. Girls text me videos of themselves working on new skills in their backyards, girls request the VEO recordings so they can watch their performances, and girls come early/stay late to training to put in extra time. This work has clearly elevated their skills and their ability to influence a game, and I feel that earns them time.

Some players have higher fitness levels than others…on this team, and on all teams. Players play different positions on the field, and we play different formations. There are positions that are going to demand more running, and these are likely the positions that I’m going to need to change.

I don’t have a starting 11 that starts every game - each player has had the opportunity to start a game. And though there are a couple players whose positioning on the field has stayed relatively static thus far, no one has only played a single position this year.

6 games into the season, if I detailed the on-the-field minutes for this team, there would be 3 players who would be at the top of the list. Everyone else would fall somewhere between 1/2 and 2/3 minutes played is my guess. Every non-injured player has played at least 1/2 of each game.

And this is disappointing to some, I’m certain.

Hang on. I’m actually going to try and detail this now…

*** 9 hours later ***

That took WAY longer to pull together than I thought it would. Had to comb through all our VEO footage, and that got rudely interrupted by not-so-stellar 77 at The Wilds Golf Club on a very beautiful Minnesota fall day…

But I did get it together -

Right click and open image in a new tab to see it larger

Green indicates who started that particular half.

My goal has been to try and rotate the players who get to play more than a half of a game, but we’ve also faced arguably 3 of the toughest opponents we’ll see this year in our conference - Eclipse, Hawks, and SLSG Navy. As our schedule eases up a tad bit the rest of the fall, I feel I’ll be able to give more girls more time.

We’ve had injuries and haven’t had a full 18-player roster for any game thus far, so playing time is only going to get dicier when we’re at full strength for the first time - likely starting this coming weekend in Wisconsin.

7 subs to deal with if we stay healthy.

That’s a lot.

There is bound to be a lot of disappointment with playing time the balance of our fall season. I’ve prepped the girls on what to expect about this, and also promised them that we’d be playing a lot this winter in training (see The Game is the Best Teacher), so hopefully this will help manage any disappointment.

My commitment to the team this fall is to ensure everyone sees more than 50% of the field in games. I want to see everyone in competitive situations as much as possible so that I can design a winter training plan to address our individual and collective needs.

But we’re also fighting for Champions League qualification. Not to win a National Championship - such a long shot at this age group for a team from Minnesota - but to be able to see how we match up against the best of the best from across the country, and again dictate our development path going forward.

To qualify we need to win games, so that is always in the back of my mind this fall.

Striving for equity, and always with the thought of player and team development foremost, the goal will be to give all players as much time on the field as possible this fall.

However, in 2022, when push comes to shove and we look to compete against stronger teams in actual tournaments, and in hopefully the ECNL National Playoffs, there are times when the best players will be on the field.

I think this is fair, and the girls are fully aware of this plan.

The good thing is that they have 4 months to earn spots and prove to me they should be in the mix and on the field in “big” games.