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"On The Count of Three…. 1-2-3-…House Leaguers"
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The chant started after their second game. "One Two Three", they counted down, "House Leaguers", they cheered. They laughed, they smiled, they were happy and they felt like a team.
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These boys, 14 and 15 years of age, make up one of the eight teams in their age group that play soccer in their local House League system in a town just outside Toronto. House league players make up what amounts to roughly 70-80% of registered soccer players in the club which mirrors the ratio of house league players verses rep players across Canada which has close to a million registered soccer players. For most of these players aged 14 and 15 it was their first ever tournament outside of their local town. It's an experience that is very difficult to provide under the current layers of bureaucracy and rules in the Province. Permission had to be granted from the club and district before they could play outside their local club. Special cards with pictures had to be made just to play over a weekend. Credit to the local club and District Association for giving these boys a chance to participate in a tournament outside their district. But the hoops that were needed by the parents and coaches to play in a cross-town weekend tournament would make most coaches not want to take the ridiculous efforts needed to take a team away.
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Unfortunately, like has been the trend for many years, these players do not get the same sporting experiences and attention that the more skilled players do. In some sports they are called recreational players but many know them as House Leaguer's. These players usually play for the same club all their youth lives. The club organizes the leagues for them by picking their teams and trying to keep the teams balanced over the course of the years that they stay with the club.
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The better players move up to what can be called house league all-stars, select, rep, or competitive teams. The better coaches also tend to follow the better players. The executive pays more attention to rep players. They always get better brand name uniforms, while the house league players get the lower cost, no name brands. Quite often, the house league players' fee's even help subsidize the club's rep programs. In soccer, many clubs are now hiring paid head coaches providing full time jobs. The registration fees collected from the larger numbers of house league players in the system pay the bulk of those salaries. But the time spent by those paid coaches on house league players is no where near indicative of the portion of their wages that come from them.
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Quite similarly, fee's passed on to the local District and Provincial Association's by house league players does not equal what they receive in return from their governing bodies. Quite often their fees help finance fields and complexes but rarely does a house league player who does not move out of house league ever get to use them.
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"Holy cow, look they even have their own tent!"
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This House League team, which finished near the bottom of their league over the summer, was about to play their first tournament game ever outside of their club against house league all-star and select teams. To top things off they were going into the tournament without their top three-goal scorer's from the regular season due to other commitments. They were replaced with 3 other players from other house league teams of equal caliber. After word got out that a team was going to a tournament more players from other teams wanted to join but it was too late and there were not enough spaced left on the team. The club did not run an all-star program for this age group but most of the players on this team would never have made an all-star team anyway which would have denied them a chance to play. The team trained three times in the week prior to the tournament with practices being well attended. That's about the same number of practices that house league teams usually practice in a month.
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For once these players felt important. They met early in the morning at a local school to share rides. They arrived at the field a half hour later at approximately the same time and marched together as they went to find their field. They were excited to be playing a team from another Toronto suburb, on the other side of town. For most, it was their first game against a team outside of their own club since they started playing soccer nearly a decade earlier. And for the first time, after the first game, they hung out together as the team and went to that favourite Canadian Establishment for a between game snack: Tim Horton's. Even though they lost their first game 1-0, the players laughed joked and got to know each other just like rep players do. Parents did the same at another table of course.
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The team made their way back to the fields and next came a scene right out of a typical Hollywood sports movie like "The Little Giants" or "The Big Green." And the kids reacted accordingly as though it were scripted. Like in the movie, "The Big Green" this house league team was getting ready for their second game against another all-star team. But this looked like an encounter between the 'big bad guys' verses the "nothings from nowhere" (Stolen from a line in the trailer from "The Big Green" with actor Steve Gutenburg). As the players witnessed the arrival of their next opponent one could overhear them talking to each other, "is that who we're playing? Look they have team track suits," said one player to another.
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"Yeah, and team bags too," said another player.
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As their opponents made their way across the park to where they were going to camp out they added. "They're all pretty big. They must be older and they look like they have been together for a while."
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In fact the opponents were all 15 except one boy who was fourteen unlike their team which was had a few more 14 year olds than 15. The players found out that their upcoming opponents have played together and won a few tournaments and that they're a house league select team which is a notch above a house league all-star team and long way above just a house league team like them.
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A few more minutes went by and then one player shouted. "Holy cow, look they even have their own tent!"
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One this day, the players have grouped together and accomplished the unthinkable. They fought hard and tied the select team from across town. 'The team with the tent', as they were now referred by. In their final game of the round robin, they came back from a two goal first half deficit against another Select Team from another town to tie the game. It was enough to get them into the semi finals of the tournament, which was billed as an all-star, and select house league tournament. Tournaments for only house league teams have all but disappeared due to the rulings to play in them. The players were so excited that one could not but notice that on this day, they felt on top of the World.
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For rep players, by the age of 14 or 15 most would have participated in a minimum over 20 tournaments and up to as many as 50. They would have traveled to out of town tournaments involving major travel and hotels etc. Some rep players, who play in tournaments, don't even get excited about them and there is a case that rep teams play in far too many tournaments and that this is detrimental to player development. That was not the case for this team. Parents commented that their son had problems sleeping the night before because they were so excited about going to a tournament. For two weeks prior to the tournament, the major discussions at the school cafeteria revolved around playing in this tournament. The discussions carried into the night across the newest form of communication that us older folks still haven't completely grasped MSN.
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Sitting together and watching other teams play in the tournament and putting together all the different possibilities and probabilities on how to advance created the true feeling of a tournament. But unlike the rep teams, the pressure to win was not there. Coaches of all but one team were just happy to see their players have fun. But, one of the coaches was so disappointed that they could not beat this ordinary house league team that he used some pretty demeaning language towards the boys on the sidelines. But one would conclude that this coach was probably under pressure to advance and do well in order to be considered for a future rep team. He did not act like many other House League Coaches who although competitive, stay levelheaded in how they treat their players.
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Even though the coaches needed to go through the aggravation of carding their players for this tournament as per Provincial and district rules, not one coached asked for those cards to be checked. It's just not the house league way. Many of the rules that exist are there to prevent the 1 out of 100 coaches that may want to cheat. But what the rules actually do is hinder and take away the opportunity of the house league player to play in a tournament outside of their club. The rules are actually denying the average player in their membership who will never-ever be good enough to play all-star, select, or rep soccer from participating in one of the best experiences sport has to offer. That is: playing in a tournament away from home. A tournament where players cannot go home between games. A tournament where players can eat together, travel together and hang out together. The average house league player arrives at the game 15 minutes before kick-off, plays and goes home. Tournaments bring a whole new experience to sport.
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The year end tournament that many clubs provide their house league players is usually against the same teams that they play during the season and is played in many of the same fields players see over and over throughout their careers. Unfortunately, getting away for even just a day is not a chance many kids will ever get.
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This is where their Provincial Association fails them
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Many players are stuck in house league their whole lives because they just don't have the talent even though many love the game. This is where their Provincial Association fails them and about 70% of their total membership. The tournament experience for all players should be part of the experience we provide kids. This is especially true between the ages of 10 and 16. Judging by the player's reaction to this tournament and their eagerness to go to more tournaments and register for indoor soccer, it may be a key turning point for players making a decision to continue playing or drop out of soccer. We all know the major drop out age for kids from soccer is between grade 7, 8 and 9. Keeping kids in sport is good for many things not limited to health and fitness but also for social reasons and keeping them busy and away from trouble.
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But the experience may also help a general player development program because a child may work harder to get better so that they can move up a notch and play in more tournaments. Or for the player who should attempt to play at a higher level but wants to stay in house league because they or their family is not prepared to offer the time needed to dedicate to a higher level, then maybe they will reconsider that choice. Even staying with the same group of players building life long friendships cannot happen in rec. soccer because players get shuffled around to different teams each year. Most of us in competitive sports know that some of our best friendships for life were made through playing with the same people for a number of years in our youth. A bond develops that often lasts a lifetime. The house league player does not get this feeling.
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The team hung out between games and received some more in-depth strategy sessions that normal house league games and practices don't allow. Between games, the players listened to soccer stories and went through tactics and behind the scene things that happen in sport. But most of all it was a time for bonding and friendships to be formed.
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On the next day, the team bowed out to a select team in the semi finals but the bonds had been strengthened. Advancing in itself was an accomplishment. The coach and parents discussed taking them out for a Pizza for a team meal. No one opposed as they saw their kids just where parents want to see their kids. With friends, having fun and enjoying each other's company. Things that rep teams do all the time. It can be especially hard for parents who have one child who plays rep soccer and another that may not be good enough. For once it's the rep player who had to follow the team to watch their brother play. It's a great feeling watching players gel, not so much on the field but off it. A clear indication that many more players would cherish the opportunity they may never get.
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The tournament was the talking point again the next day at school and this time the house leaguers could talk about their tournament experience to their rep friends. One player said he wrote two pages in his daily journal at school about the tournament experience. He usually has problems writing two paragraphs. Not on the day after The Big Tournament!
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The tournament was the talking point again the next day at school
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House league players should not be denied one of the most rewarding and fun experiences in sport. One other notable observation throughout the tournament was that opposing players often engaged in friendly conversations during the game. They were joking with players on other teams during the game and laughed together. Not one yellow or red card was handed out over the 4 games that the team played and none were reported in any of the other games either.
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One parent sent the coach the following e-mailed after the weekend:
'Many thanks for the hard work you put in this year. I think the tournament was the highlight of the soccer season for Michael. After getting dragged around from tournament to tournament for his sister's team, I think he now appreciates how much fun the players have as well.'
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Thanks for reading,
John DeBenedictis
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P.S. It was a weekend I was glad to provide and enjoyed just as much as the kids. As for who won the tournament, I still don't know and none of the players called to find out. In reality, who really cares..? It's house league!!! Everyone had fun and that's the way it should be.
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