RUSH-HENRIETTA

TRAVEL SOCCER

RHSC Travel Playing-up Policy

 The Rush-Henrietta Soccer Club recognizes the potential for the following playing-up situations within the club.

1.       Highly skilled player - The traditional reason for promoting a player to play up is to provide the player with a level of competition that best matches their skills. 

2.       No age appropriate team – If there is not an age-appropriate team for the player, promoting a player to play up will provide the player an opportunity to participate in travel soccer,

3.       Older team needs players – If an older team needs additional players to be able to field a team, we may consider promoting players from the age level below if that team has enough interested players.  This promotion prevents the club from folding the older team.

 Eligibility & Considerations

Characteristics of a player who could be considered

1.       Physical size must not endanger child at next age level

2.       Mental maturity must enable player to compete at the next age level

3.       Player’s family must approve

4.       For Highly skilled player promotions,

a.       Player should have strong offensive skills.  (Playing up with weaker offensive skills will inhibit development.)

b.       Player may or may not need development of defensive skills

c.       Skills assessments for players who have played for one or more seasons in RHSC should be heavily weighted on prior performance.  Tryouts are one or two events.  In a typical season, a player participates in fifty or more events.

Will the older age bracket provide a greater challenge?

1.       We need to consider the division level of both teams involved. 

a.       One age group older is roughly equivalent to one division higher at same age.  Therefore, going an age up, but dropping a division doesn’t add significant challenge.

Reasons that are NOT valid for justifying a play-up

1.       Playing up should not be a replacement for recruiting.  If an older team needs players, they need to demonstrate that they have tried recruiting and are unable to attract players.

2.       Playing up is not justified to keep a set of players together who might play together on another team or a future team.  (e.g. “They’ll play together on the Freshman team, so they should be on the same travel team.”)

3.       We do not promote a player to play-up to “fill a team” as backups.

How the process works

All players will tryout with their age-appropriate age group each year.  Play-up decisions are evaluated after tryouts are complete.  This allows the club to see the number of potential players at each age level.

Single point of accountability for decision making

1.       Coaching Coordinators decide (1 person)

2.       Both coaches must be involved in the review.  It is desirable, but not required, that both coaches agree.

3.       Coaching Coordinator informs parents to obtain approval.  This communication needs to include what position(s) the player can expect to play during the season.

4.       Board must review and approve each play-up decision to ensure that it is aligned with principles

Players who play up must play

The principle is that the play-up decision should not reduce playing time for a player.  

1.       If the reason for the play-up is No age appropriate team or Older team needs players, the promoted player(s) should be provided equivalent time to other players on the team. 

2.       If the reason for play-up is Highly skilled player, the player should receive >= 50% playing time.  These players should have equal opportunity to start as other players on the team.

All playing time guidelines are subject to the health and attitude of the player.  Additionally, the nature of substitution rules may create individual game circumstances that prevent a coach from meeting these guidelines, but over the course of the season, these guidelines must be fulfilled.

Is this a single-year or multi-year decision?

The decision to promote a player to play up is a single year decision.  It is re-evaluated each year.  We need to clearly set the expectation with the player when the decision to promote is made.

There is a different expectation (not decision) for future years depending on why a player is playing up.

Last modified: 9/12/09                 Rush Henrietta Travel Soccer Club,  P.O. Box 460, Henrietta, New York 14467