From the Mid-NJ Youth Soccer Association S.A.G.E. (Set A Good Example) manual for all travel teams.

While no child probably will suffer any long-term harm from a season with a number of one-sided losses (especially if the coach explains that this is a normal part of sports), we believe a six-goal margin is enough. The sportsmanship lesson of not kicking someone when they’re down is important both in sports and in life in general.

Though we do not publish scores or keep standings for U10 play and younger, we will be monitoring scoring differentials and contacting clubs when there are large margins in any age division.  

1. Explain during practice why blowouts should be avoided in the interests of good sportsmanship. Teach these steps in practice. Once a game is in progress, it is virtually impossible to introduce these ideas for the first time and expect the players to grasp and remember them.
2. Begin using these steps when you are ahead by a four-goal margin since there still could be additional scoring despite these steps which could push the margin to the six-goal limit.
3. Designate one or two shooters. Only those designated can take shots. Advise them that the shots should be taken from outside the 18-yard box and/or only with the other foot, and/or only after receiving a pass back from closer to the goal. All these help your players build their skills.
4. Don’t always try to pass the ball to the designated shooter (s). Instead, practice possession and in the process, let defenders get some touches. This doesn’t mean we should play keepaway for long periods of time, but a couple of minutes at a time is good practice.
5. It is nice to give defenders a chance to play forward or midfield positions. Players should always play more than one position. They usually have more fun, increase their chances of getting more playing time when they reach higher levels and you may discover they are as good or better at the second position. However make the move when the goal margin is four, because defenders are often so anxious to score that moving them when the margin is six often leads to higher differentials.
6. Ball possession may involve a designated maximum number of touches by each player before passing the ball (e.g. 2,3,5), whatever is reasonable for the particular age group.
7. Try to build the attack from the back through the midfield, instead of sending long balls into the offensive third of the field.
8. These are the games when players who don’t usually start should get much more playing time.
9. The goal is to take these steps quietly, so they are not obvious to your opponent. Please don’t yell out, “Don’t score any more” or anything similar that could embarrass the opponent. That is a key reason why it is important to work on teaching these techniques during practice, not at games.