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AYSO Region 0144 - South Irvine, California

Identifying and avoiding blow-out games

Region 144's guidelines for games in which one team is significantly stronger than their opponent is to make every effort to win the game by five (5) or less goals because:

  • One of AYSO's most important philosophies or tenets to Good Sportsmanship. And, finding ways to demonstrate good sportsmanship when the teams are mismatched can be difficult to master.
  • Nobody wins in mismatched games if the winning team does not make adjustments to ensure a more equitable match. Plus, a large win over a weaker team typically ends up with frustrated players, angry parents, and damage to the program.

I wanted to share some thoughts on lopsided games, as I have been on both sides of many mismatched games and want to make sure you don't repeat the same mistakes I did.

Team Formation, Player Development, and Season Objectives

As a region we attempt to balance all teams. Unfortunately, there are no perfect ways to ensure every team can be balanced across an entire division. And, very skilled players in a small-sided division cannot be compensated for by weakening the rest of the team.

Fall season tie-breaker rules...

This is the Spring season and definitely a good time for players and coaches to grow their knowledge and that is why there is less pressure, no playoffs and in my opinion there shouldn't really be any score keeping but what we have is good as a learning experience.

Recognizing a potential blow-out

The first skill is recognizing early when a game could get out of hand or recognizing when it is already starting to get out of hand. Although the Region considers a five (5) goal differential as a blow out, coaches need to begin making adjustments when their team scores easily and is up two (2) or more goals in a short period of time -- especially if it's early in the game.

Some suggestions to prevent blow-outs

Telling players on a winning team to simply stop scoring is not a solution. It goes against the primary attacking objectives of the game: to score, to advance the ball, and to maintain possession. Your goal is to use a game like this for player development. Thus, let's look at the attacking objectives in reverse order and see if we can use them for teaching moments, creating opportunities for the opposing team, keeping the match entertaining or fun, and accomplishing these without embarrassing the opposing team.

Here are some suggestions that have worked - and not worked - for me:

  • The easiest way to adjust is to place players in positions they are not use to playing. For example, take your best goal scorers and switch them with defenders or the goal keeper. A good coach is already giving all of their players a chance to play in different positions throughout the season. A blow-out becomes a very good opportunity to rotate players earlier and more often.
  • Let's look at some ways that encourage player development:
    • If your primary goal scorer is right foot dominant and their left foot is weak, then they can only shoot on goal with their left foot.
    • If maintaining possession is the first attacking objective, then finding ways to make it hard for your team to maintain possession become excellent player development opportunities. Here are some suggestions depending upon your team's players and how dominant your team is against the opposing team:
      • If your team has a hard time stringing passes together, then ask them to complete three (3) to five (5) passes before shooting on goal. Start counting over each time a player on the opposing team breaks up a pass.
      • If your team is really strong and needs to learn the importance of playing out of the back, then add more complexity like:
        • Forcing the team to make sure the goal keeper or one to two of the defenders must complete at least two (2) or more of the three (3) to five (5) passes; or,
        • Force the team to complete the three (3) to five (5) passes in their defensive half; or,
        • You can make it really hard by asking them to complete three (3) to five (5) passes in both the defensive and offensive halves of the field before a shot on goal.
      • The key is adjusting the difficulty for maintaining possession until you find a fine line between creating a challenge for your team and generating frustration because you have set the bar too high. The other goal is to give the opposing team something they can accomplish as well. The opposing team might find it fun to try and break up the number of passes completed in a row and to improve their defensive objectives. Or, if you are asking your team to maintain possession in their defensive zone by playing out of the back, then their mistakes can - and often do - create rare scoring chances for the other team.

        Important: Do not abandon the requirements if the other team scores. It is essential for player development that they learn from their mistakes, give their best effort, and continue to learn.
  • Although playing your team with fewer players is possible, it can also create two problems: 1) Players on your team get less playing time; and, 2) It tends to be viewed as "showing up" the other team -- poor sportsmanship and still creates frustration and anger. If you are going to consider creating unbalanced teams through the number of players, then allow the losing team to add extra players rather than substitute out players from the winning team -- increase playing time rather than cutting it back. This is not always possible if the losing team is losing because they are short players, their best players are missing, and/or the players on the field don't have enough energy or motivation to finish the game.

Some final thoughts

Preparing your team...

I've also found out that it is much better to communicate your plan with the other coach. This not only allows them to understand what you are doing to slow the scoring, which mitigates any negative feelings, but also allows the other coach to plan for the changes. When I had a particularly dominant team, I would actually talk to the other coach prior to the game to find out how they wanted to handle the situation if it arose.

The primary goal is to identify the situation as early on in the game. I've had games before where we were at 5-0 in the first qtr and not just because the other team wasn't as skilled as mine but because we were just as skilled and lucky so in that case do I pull back or keep the pressure on even though most of the play was in my half of the field.

Review the document and review it with your team so they know what to do when you give them notice

on the field.

Always feel free to reach out to me or one of the other board members if you have any questions or

concerns throughout the season.

Regards,

Hong Yu, Regional Coach Administrator

http://ayso678.org/docs/Blowouts_what_to_do.pdf

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