Classic QT

When we met our coach a month or so before signing the contract we were told by both the coach and the manager that they would only sign 12 or 13 players at most. It's my fault for not taking a headcount at signing day but the coach decided to sign 15. As soon as I realize they'd signed 15 I knew I'd been misled. In the winter the coach decided to sign a 16th player.

16 players for a 9-player field. We had excellent commitment from the families so it was very common for us to have 7 players on the bench.

When the 16th player was signed we deeply regretted our decision to trust that coach for his word. We should never have signed with them. We learned a hard lesson last year about how some youth coaches perceive their role.

We had 4 boys that literally averaged <15 minutes per game for the year. Thankfully my son wasn't one of them.

At this age the goal for your BB should be development, not winning and $$$. The coach may be good but the game is the best teacher. With 15 or 16 players on a 9-player field, there's simply not enough time during games to keep every player happy and developing. My advice... If your potential coach wants to sign >14 players (or might consider going >14 players after signing day) I would sign elsewhere.

bigtex75081 wrote:When we met our coach a month or so before signing the contract we were told by both the coach and the manager that they would only sign 12 or 13 players at most.  It's my fault for not taking a headcount at signing day but the coach decided to sign 15.  As soon as I realize they'd signed 15 I knew I'd been misled.  In the winter the coach decided to sign a 16th player.  

16 players for a 9-player field.  We had excellent commitment from the families so it was very common for us to have 7 players on the bench.

When the 16th player was signed we deeply regretted our decision to trust that coach for his word.  We should never have signed with them.  We learned a hard lesson last year about how some youth coaches perceive their role.

We had 4 boys that literally averaged <15 minutes per game for the year.  Thankfully my son wasn't one of them.

At this age the goal for your BB should be development, not winning and $$$.  The coach may be good but the game is the best teacher.  With 15 or 16 players on a 9-player field, there's simply not enough time during games to keep every player happy and developing.  My advice... If your potential coach wants to sign >14 players (or might consider going >14 players after signing day) I would sign elsewhere.

My advice... If your potential coach wants to sign >14 players (or might consider going >14 players after signing day) I would sign elsewhere.

How would you know what # they are signing? Coaches say anything and are notorious for telling one parent one thing and another parent something else. You've been around long enough, I know, you know; but parents new to this likely haven't learned to never take anything word for word from a coach.

...and parents do the same to the coaches. When parents wait till signing day to announce they are signing with a different team it can impact more than just their kid.

allen04 wrote:

My advice... If your potential coach wants to sign >14 players (or might consider going >14 players after signing day) I would sign elsewhere.

How would you know what # they are signing?  Coaches say anything and are notorious for telling one parent one thing and another parent something else.  You've been around long enough, I know, you know; but parents new to this likely haven't learned to never take anything word for word from a coach.

...and parents do the same to the coaches.  When parents wait till signing day to announce they are signing with a different team it can impact more than just their kid.

I agree.  Getting to the truth is the tallest hurdle.  Our family took our last coach for his word and it blew up in our face.  I should have counted heads on signing day last year but I didn't think of it.  I will be a smarter consumer going forward.

I should clarify.  I wasn't trying to take us off topic here.  I wrote in response to the earlier question in the string, "Should a red flag go up if it goes past a certain number?"

This is a great thread!

"At this age the goal for your BB should be development, not winning and $$$. The coach may be good but the game is the best teacher. With 15 or 16 players on a 9-player field, there's simply not enough time during games to keep every player happy and developing. My advice... If your potential coach wants to sign >14 players (or might consider going >14 players after signing day) I would sign elsewhere." This is a great point!
Thanks for posting the information.

Having been through the stages of this, and dealt with disgruntled parents over that span...I can say with pretty good certainty that the tipping point on #s (at a game, mind you, not on the roster) is around:

7v7 = 10 players
9v9 = 13 players
11v11 = 16 players

You have more than that, and people are going to be unhappy.  Not everybody gets to be happy, granted.   But you have two more players than any of those numbers and shite with multiple people will start getting lumpy quick.   And by people I mostly mean parents.  Kids are far more likely to accept role player status than parents.   Some coaches undoubtedly manage it in more egalitarian manner than others.  

The most fun year was running 14 kids in 11v11.  That was possible at U12 when kids were made of rubber and nobody was getting hurt or doing school sports.  That year four of us chipped in 2 players worth of $ to the coach to keep #s down.  Pretty much everybody came back the next year.  

I think all you can do it ask the coach the max # he will sign.  Ideally as a group of parents.  And if he signs more, let him know about it.   Lots of people in the world say one thing and do another and at some point you are stuck dealing with a-hole decisions by a-holes, parents and coaches alike.  

Something like playing on an 11v11 team with 22 kids would not make any sense whatsoever.    

Texans '06 carried max number of players last year vs trying to form a 2nd team and diluting the player pool. Supposedly these BBs had the inside route to DA. I guess you can make an argument for this arrangement in extraordinary circumstances.

Anybody out there know how many of those BBs made the DA squad?

Its an interesting case study as FCD Red is potentially in the same situation this as they more than replaced 3 Solar defections with quality BBs from other top 5 teams.

D1/D2 Bubble teams. All the talk about Top 10 is somewhat irrelevant when it comes to QT as all are expected to qualify D1. Bigger question is who will round out the bottom 3-4 of D1?

***I have Ayses solidly in assuming small, speedy forward stays put. If he defects to Rush after guesting multiple times, Ayses falls to D2.

Last 4 in:
Solar Martinez (formerly Oglesby)
NTX Celtic
FCD Che
Fever United

Near miss:
FC Fast
FCD Blue
Garland Tigres
Solar Lanier

A lot will depend on how the brackets shape out. If you assume Youth Soccer rankings are used and there are 10 brackets

Solar Martinez plays Fever - I put Fever through
FC Fast plays Che - I put FC Fast through
NTX Celtic plays DI Stars - Celtic through
FCD Blue plays Club Leon - toss up

Solar Lanier has a good shot if the 2nd ranked team in their bracket is Volkan which could very easily happen, otherwose I don't even see them on the bubble.

Volkan is through to D1 unless they run into a team like Solar Lanier which Can give them trouble based on what we've already seen this summer. Though Volkan should realistically easily cruise into D1.

Question is, what movement has occurred and who has gotten stronger/weaker in the 10 to 25 ranking range.

I'm hearing teams ranked as low as the mid 70's plan to try to enter QT and shoot for D2, be interesting to see how it all shakes out. Going to be some very igly first weekend games I suspect.

I believe 48 entered QT for '06s last year. Does anyone know if there is a max number Classic will accept? Seems like you'd almost need a play in tourney if the number gets too high???

Socceropath wrote:I believe 48 entered QT for '06s last year.  Does anyone know if there is a max number Classic will accept?  Seems like you'd almost need a play in tourney if the number gets too high???

this is what is being discussed - the qualifying tournament.

40 teams accepted into U11 for this fall.
the tournament is for qualification AND divisional placement.

most of the interest here is for which teams make divison 1.

nearpost95 wrote:

Socceropath wrote:I believe 48 entered QT for '06s last year.  Does anyone know if there is a max number Classic will accept?  Seems like you'd almost need a play in tourney if the number gets too high???

this is what is being discussed - the qualifying tournament.

40 teams accepted into U11 for this fall.
the tournament is for qualification AND divisional placement.

most of the interest here is for which teams make divison 1.

20 D1, 20 D2?

Solar 07B wrote:

20 D1, 20 D2?

yep.

used to be 20/10, but with the implementation of smaller-sided games and new smaller fields built at Richland, the league went to 20/20.

Solar,
I'm well aware of the format. The question is does Classic put a limit on the number of teams entering the QT?

nearpost95 wrote:

Solar 07B wrote:

20 D1, 20 D2?

yep.  

used to be 20/10, but with the implementation of smaller-sided games and new smaller fields built at Richland, the league went to 20/20.

When my daughter went through, it was

Year 1
20 - D1,
10 - D3 the first year.

Year 2
10 D1
10 D2 (bottom half of D1+ promotion /relegation)
10 D3 (+promotion / relegation)

Makes for even and balanced seasons - how does 40 work in year 2? Stays only 2 divisions?

And there was also a cap on QT her year as well - I just can't remember the number - thinking 50

Socceropath wrote:Solar,
I'm well aware of the format.  The question is does Classic put a limit on the number of teams entering the QT?

There is no published official limit, but it is effectively limited by the $850 entry fee and the teams' expectations.

are there just more teams/ more kids in this age group, or is this the norm?