At the beginning of this season the committee introduced a 15 point cap for each player in the mixed under 10s and boys under 12s competition.
We did this after the experiences of Term 1 season in which a small number of strong players would dominate scoring in games, at the expense of other players getting much of the ball.
As promised, we’ve been keeping a close eye on how it is working out, and talking to coaches and parents about the impact it is having.
Most of the feedback we’ve been getting is positive, but some parents aren’t fans of the points cap.
What those in favour have been saying:
- It encourages dominant players to focus on other aspects of the game other than scoring, such as defence and passing
- It brings other players into the game who otherwise don’t get a chance to shoot or score
What those not in favour have been saying:
- It puts a limit on dominant players from scoring as much as they want
- It puts pressure on other players to score who are not strong shooters
- Coaches have to keep track of how many points their strong players have scored
Some stats from the season so far:
- In Under 10s, 4 players have reached the 15 point cap, on a total of 6 occasions
- In Under 12s, 5 players have reached the 15 point cap, on a total of 10 occasions
- There are 84 registered players in under 10s, and 77 registered players in under 12s
The committee is conscious that the focus and goals of the Domestic competition are different from the Squad competition and other representative competitions, and so we are considering the points cap in that light.
We are in regular communication with coaches, but we’d love to get feedback from as many parents as possible, to help us make strong and informed decisions.
If you have a player in the under 10s and/or the under 12s, please take 30 seconds to fill in this survey.
One submission per registered player please! (If you have more than 1 child playing in these comps, you can submit once for each child.)
Thank you for your time and thoughts.