Do more cards equal better players?

I was looking at the misconduct cards for D# for our age group, and then looked at D2 and then D1. There were 26 total for all D3 teams, 36 total for all D2 teams and 42 total for all D1 teams. Some could say that this shows that the higher division kids must be trying harder to win.

What does everyone else think? Is that the case? Do they just play “dirtier” than the lower teams? Or did they just get lucky and the D1 refs got in on a Lasik eye surgery special and now they can see everything?

It has been way too quiet on the forum for this age group, no predictions really or anything. Just thought I would try to get something going.

I think there has been the same trend the last couple of years. Not sure if the same applies to other age groups.

Not sure if it reflects a greater determination to win at all costs in D1. Typically 2 or 3 teams have gathered a large percentage of the cards in D1.

It would stand to reason that the teams in higher divisions tend to not only play faster but also play more aggressively to loose balls. Increasing speed and aggressiveness would naturally lead to more serious collisions and cards.

bigtex75081 wrote:It would stand to reason that the teams in higher divisions tend to not only play faster but also play more aggressively to loose balls.  Increasing speed and aggressiveness would naturally lead to more serious collisions and cards.

When I first started playing indoor in my 30's after not playing since junior high, I had a similar problem.  I was too fat and uncoordinated, so once I got going, it was hard to stop.  I gave up a lot of fouls in the beginning.

davito wrote:
Typically 2 or 3 teams have gathered a large percentage of the cards in D1.

Beast, dig a little deeper and look at the foul distribution in D1. No need to give exact team names, just state Team 1 has X fouls and Team 2 has X fouls, etc. Let's test Davito's assumption to see if it's correct.

finish1 wrote:

davito wrote:
Typically 2 or 3 teams have gathered a large percentage of the cards in D1.

Beast, dig a little deeper and look at the foul distribution in D1. No need to give exact team names, just state Team 1 has X fouls and Team 2 has X fouls, etc. Let's test Davito's assumption to see if it's correct.

Yellows per game in D1:

U11: 0.2
U12: 0.5
U13: 0.4
U14: 0.5
U15: 1.8
U16: 1.7
U17: 3.0
U18: 2.0
U19: 2.3

Clearly something goes on at U15 and greater. Testosterone. Refereeing. Etc.

Some teams clearly get more cards than others. In U19 one team has 30% of the cards through three games. But in the other U15+ age groups the top two teams in cards are in the 25-40% of the total combined. Skewed a little bit, but not insane. U17 has the most yellows and it also has the most balanced distribution. At U15, one team has nine yellows and another has one. Say what you want about Castro but he doesn't tolerate much crap.

I thought more of the cards were for dissent than is actually the case. At U15 its 6:1 for Unsporting Behavior: Dissent.

Shrug.

The stats show an accelerated number of fouls per age group from U11 through U16, then dropping off and leveling. but those numbers can be skewed by a few teams. It could be that at U15 fewer teams are committing lots of fouls, but the ones that do are committing more fouls than the others.

For me if 2 teams represent 40% of the fouls, that's skewing the results more than just a little bit. But then I don't have access to the data, and he who has the data and doesn't share can interpret them any way he wants. LOL!

finish1 wrote:

But then I don't have access to the data, and he who has the data and doesn't share can interpret them any way he wants. LOL!

I got the data right from Edward Snowden and he told me not to share it with you. I'm kidding, I called Patty and had her read back game reports for 190 games.

Number13 wrote:

finish1 wrote:

But then I don't have access to the data, and he who has the data and doesn't share can interpret them any way he wants. LOL!

I got the data right from Edward Snowden and he told me not to share it with you.   I'm kidding, I called Patty and had her read back game reports for 190 games.  



 

Funny stuff. And all I asked was to look at 10 teams in one age group. Not surprisingly, an overachiever takes the point to the extreme. Just kidding. Shrug.

I am assuming that we all know you can just click on the misconduct link at CL at get whatever info you want for cards?

Apologies for smartassery Finish, I am used to boss asking me to "go to this file and copy this data and send it to me". So overly sensitive. I keep telling him that I have a lot of Amazon shopping and forum browsing to do, but little hints like "Google what Ctrl-C and Ctrl-V do" don't seem to help.

Just want to say you're doing a great job!

As far as by Division, I would say more aggressive play and wanting to keep a spot on the starting rooster, or to gain a starting spot. That, and old habits are hard to break.
As far as age, hormones, homework and the slew of other issues going through their brains.
I'll throw this out there; Does the CR's gender ever play a factor?

A lot of the most aggressive fouls seem to be frustration from one team losing badly to another or getting behind late in the game. Not always though.