What is a Blowout?
The first time you have a young team that scores 4 goals in the first five minutes, your reaction as coach is probably, "All Right...". But when the players on the other team quit trying, and one of your players scores the 8th goal, the enjoyment quickly fades for everyone. Some would like to see the kids keep on trying to score, but you as an AYSO coach have to look at the situation differently. The first time it happens, it's going to be tough for you to change what happens on the field, but you can change your substitution plan. Have your goal scorers sit out the next quarter, and maybe play goalie the next.
Everyone knows that it's no fun to be on the wrong end of a high score, and for the purposes of these tips, we'll call a blowout a win by 5 or more goals. The Division Commissioners spend many hours in August trying to create evenly matched teams. But no matter how hard they try, and how balanced the teams look on paper, there will be problems. You may end up with a stronger than average, or maybe a weaker than average team in your division.
A score of 3 or 4 to zero might be a sign of a game where the score was managed. If so, good job. A score of 5 to zero is a sign of a game where the score could have been better managed. A score of 6 or more to zero....
If you get a quick lead again, and by this time you may suspect you have a strong team, you will need to do more planning. For example, if you have two strong players who are responsible for the team scoring, you can split them so that when one is in goal the other is on the field, and when one is out for a quarter the other is on the field. This will (hopefully) force the players to use their weaker team-mates. This is good, because you will be helping the weaker players improve (since they will get more touches of the ball), and you are encouraging the strong players to play a team game. Many of the division "super-star" players appear to be good because they have matured a little ahead of the pack, and are making use of a physical advantage that will not last. As a result they may not work on the skills that will serve them well later on, and when they get to be teenagers they fade back into the pack. By forcing them to use other skills, you are doing these players a great service.
Referees, when you see a blowout in the making, please confer with the coach and remind him to prevent a blowout.
Why Aren't the Teams Balanced?
The biggest problem has to do with player ratings. Teams are balanced based on the opinion of the coach of the players last year. And next year, it is your opinion of the players that will be used to balance the teams. Sometimes, players change radically from one year to the next, and there's nothing we can do about that. The key to making sure we have well balanced teams is for you, the coach, to really focus on the player rating at the end of the year, and do your best. The Division Commissioner will ask you to rate your players online at the appropriate time.
What not to do: Tell your team you want them to stop playing so hard because the score is too high. This is no fun for anybody.
Strategies to Hold Your Score Down When WInning
Recognize the disparity early: The sooner you recognize the disparity in your team's level of play compared to your opponent's, the sooner you can start taking subtle steps that will encourage everyone. It is best if you can be subtle about controlling your score rather than having the opposing coach have to deal with the demoralizing recognition by his players that your team is holding back. Be prepared: Know what you want to do ahead of time. It's a sinking feeling when you see yourself winning a blowout and trying to figure it out on the fly. Give weaker players a chance: This is a great opportunity to let your team know that you want everyone to have a chance to score during the season. Put your slower or less skilled players up front. Or perhaps your goalie or defenders up front, if in a higher division. U7 to U8: Lets score: The score at this age does not loom large on our radar screen in terms of identifying blowouts. Per the reasons you do not have goal keepers, the objective is for the kids to be able to develop some soccer skills and get the ball in the net. Although the referee knows the score, and will enter it on the game card, it is important that coaches and parents and players do not discuss the score. Even better if they pay no attention to the score. It is important they notice and mention the great plays, the great fun and how many chances to score a goal everyone had. It is important to try to let a team score that is having difficulty getting the ball into the net. It's not about score or score differential, more about both teams walking away feeling like they had some great goals. If the opposing team is having difficulty scoring try these tactics:
U9: Balance that is twice as hard: Manage the goal differential for two separate mini-games. It is not important what the sum of the goals are from the two mini-games. For each mini-game, check out the strategies on this page for U7 & U8, as well as the other suggestions. Some or all of them may work for you. At U9 the score becomes more interesting to the players. Even though you try to not focus the players attention on the score, many players will keep count and focus there, anyway. In this case, just continuing to set the example of being focused more on good play, not score, helps our players maintain a better balance. Introduce some new plays: Got a play that you haven't tried in practice? Expect some foul-ups as you have your team work on the play? This would be a good time for some "instructional foul-ups". Work on difficult scoring skills: Tell your team you want them to work on difficult scoring skills. This might include scoring from a distance. Or only using their "off foot". This will challenge your players to develop their skill more and keep the game interesting. Work on passing: Tell your team that you want to develop team play and passing skills. Only allow a shot after 5 passes, or more if needed. "Score" on the outside of the net: Move the ball up the field and kick the ball into the side of the net (outside). | Lee Berg manages the score. Lee is our Regional Referee Administrator and coaches Spring Select. Here's a strategy that I have used with older age teams and my teams found it fun. The entire team works to move the ball to the opponent's goal line and win a corner kick. (This involves the whole team and develops ball movement skills that are useful under "normal" circumstances.) If a defender doesn't kick the ball over the goal line voluntarily, win a corner kick by taking the ball close to a corner flag and kicking the ball off a defender over the goal line. Then, the team practices executing the corner kick (another useful team skill) -- restricting the team to score only directly from a header. ===================== A related idea that limits scoring: Rather than just playing "keep away" which quickly becomes boring for both teams, the leading team moves the ball to the opposing goal line and kick it into the side of the net (or over the goal line), or, if your team has good control, move the ball into the opposing penalty area and pass it (gently) to the opposing goalkeeper. As above, this engages both teams (the offense must move the ball up the field and the defense must defend against the "threat" of scoring). Here's something I do when I know I have the upper hand in a match. As soon as my team goes up 3 to 0 in a match I give a hand single that is not obvious to the other team, no words need to be spoken. At this point goals and shots can only be made from outside the penalty area and only from players who have not scored, a challenge for most of the players. If the opposing team scores a goal during this time, my team is allowed to try to get it back by playing in a normal way, which I indicate by another hand signal. If the second half begins at 3 to 0 and I know the team I'm playing is out matched, we go back to shots from outside the penalty area only. As we get into the closing "quarter", crosses to a header (made inside the penalty area) are added and is the only goal that can be scored inside the penalty area. This applies to corner kicks too. Keeping in mind the object is to reach a 5-0 by the end, keeping the players motivated. I found that playing around with the ball no matter how much you try to hide it is figured out by the other team. Keep in mind that if we win two quick goals near the beginning of the game I go into goal management mode immediately and will try to not exceed a 3 to 0 half-time lead. This keeps the other team from playing goofy soccer for most of the game by pulling the keeper or not chasing the ball down when you try and bring it to the goal line. I think multiple strategies are needed and do a combination of approaches. |