CF girls bringing down ECNLs for state cup

This is unfortunate but true about roster manipulation.

I understand where you are coming from, but you also have to understand how frustrating that can be for other teams that either can't do that due to lack of numbers or won't due to integrity. Yesterday I watched an 02 girls team that I know pretty well play with only 2 fit subs. One girl serving a red card suspension from a tournament over a month ago. A few injured girls were not there at all. One of the original 3 fit subs got hurt early in the first half. In the second half she went back in, but she was limping. With 10 minutes left one girl hurt her knee and the team played a man down for the rest of the game. Why did they not pull in girls? I don't know for sure, but my guess is that while it is a big club most, if not all, of the kids were already playing. Since there are different substitution rules the coach did not want to risk putting in a player he did not know well enough to trust, but also is too good of a guy and coach to have called a player to come help and then left them on the bench the whole time to be used as an "emergency" player. He would have felt that was unfair.

Not on my team, we have several out for the weekend due to family events, we're playing with 14.

Wasn't aware of that, maybe they were at a different venue. We played UFA Premier yesterday

I can tell you for a fact that CF U13 girls does not have any ECNL girls playing with them this weekend

It sounds like everyone is talking about very different things here.

- You have a team short on players and you need to add some to fill out your roster or they whole team loses out. If that happens to be an ECNL kid or two, I don't see an issue with it. Even if one poster seemed to think adding any player is unethical.

- If your team has 4 or 5 subs, and then goes and adds some ECNL kids most people have a low opinion about this, which I mostly agree with. Especially when kids on the actual team don't play.

- Lastly (and I have nothing to back this up) but it seems like the same group of people/clubs/Georgia Soccer that say ECNL is on par with RPL, get upset that the ECNL clubs pull kids "down" to play state cup. While I obviously do not want my kids team to get blown out by an ECNL team, I do want them playing against top teams and players, isn't that what state cup is suppose to be. I am not going to complain about one or two age legal players because that play at the big club because I think they are to good. Maybe I am way off base, but I don't think you can have it both ways.

I can tell YOU for a fact that the CF U14 girls had 3 ECNL players on the field.

With any division of players, ECNL to RPL, RPL to A, A to B, B to C, etc, there are always players at the top of the lower team that could play up a team with no issue, and players on the bottom of the top team that could move down and not many would notice. The players within a 3-4 of the break at try outs could probably go either way (A or B, ECNL or RPL), but it's hard for coaches to make those determinations correctly. Sometimes it's too many players at one position that causes a player to drop (or a shortage that pulls one up). Who knows.

The point is, like atlsoccer says above, adding a player or two, from any level, to fill out a roster isn't always stacking a team. Bumping current players for higher level players is clearly not in the spirit of competition. In many cases, teams add players from both higher and lower teams to fill out rosters.

If you read the post above, bringing those ECNL players made all the difference. Unless its for injuries, they should never bring those players down. Those ECNL players should sit on the bench and not play unless theres no other subs. They didn't earn their spot on the top, they don't deserve to take playtime away from anyone.

I am obviously pretty conflicted on the subject. But overall, I don't have an issue with one or two players. I think the team overall will be happy to have players that can raise the level of the game/team (provided there aren't situations where healthy kids on the team don't get a chance to play at all.) I want my kids team to win/do well as much as anyone, but if we got in the car and he/she said well they cheated because they had ECNL kids (like I keep hearing on this forum) we would have a serious conversation about why they felt that way. I do not want my kids to think that they were cheated or the game wasn't fair (at state cup) because the other team brought in good players, they same age from within their club. I would hope that they would want a chance to prove they could compete with those kids and regardless of my personal opinion I would push for them to see that.

These aren't 14 year olds playing 12 year olds. State cup winners don't say we are the 8th? best team in the state after DA/ECNL.

There is a balance that needs to set, but I don't think that any of us parents are in a position to know what that balance is. I am sure this is abused as mentioned on this page and after reading my comments here they sound much more extreme than I actually feel. But I did want to make the case for the otherside of the argument. Good luck to everyone tomorrow, that is unless you are playing my kid team.

I do think it happens the other way, I can't say how much, but I would guess much more than ECNL players playing down. But no one can see a different patch, notices, or cares if a lower level player is brought up so they don't get on forums to complain about it.

Again, I could be very wrong because I am far from an expert in youth soccer. Just my opinion. 

I'll go one further: The coach doesn't believe in his/her ability as a coach or their players.

It's sad with the level of play at state cup because of all the many divisions of multiple ages and genders with DA, ECNL. State Cup use to be the best of the best and the competition was extraordinary. Those teams fought for earning the right to represent their state to earn a spot so they possibly could win a national championship. Except for a few incredible teams, the level of play is sub-standard.

There are some diamonds on the field, and easy to spot but not many teams with 11 stellar players playing the beautiful game. Some games I think they should put out bases, the kids would understand that more.

Shame on Georgia soccer and all the clubs for letting this happen.

I think you're missing the bigger picture.  This is not a Georgia Soccer or club issue.  This is a US Soccer and US Club Soccer issue.  The clubs and Georgia Soccer can not operate outside of US Soccer or US Club Soccer.  So until US Soccer and US Club soccer come to the table and create a unified platform or path this war will rage on at the local soccer level.