Rancho Santa Fe A III

It has been long standing policy that the SDCLA does not place a restriction on programs having players play in lower division games on the same day that they play in a higher division game.

 In some cases, programs are sponsoring a B team in Div I or a team in Div III without having a complete roster of players (a team needs close to 20 players to allow for adequate substitutions).  This allows them to provide more playing time for developing players that would not see much playing time in an upper division game all season.  The only way they can make this work is to have some players from the upper division team also play in the lower division game.  As long as the players meet the age restrictions, the league does not prohibit this circumstance. 

If a team is going to have upper division players participate in a game for the lower division, we expect the following:

The coach extends the courtesy to the other team of notifying them before hand of the players that are playing down into the lower division game.  It is best if this notification takes place before game day.

The coach should notify these players that they are participating with restrictions so they do not unfairly change the balance of the game.  They need to understand that they are in a support role so other players can gain experience.  Suggestions are to have them play out of position, play with stick in weak hand only, feeding only, etc…  

The SDCLA believes the downside of having players play down into another division is outweighed by the opportunity to get playing time for players that would not be able to participate in an upper division game.  Since virtually all B teams and all Div III teams are developmental, there should not be a great incentive to move players down for the sake of winning.  The SDCLA expects that following the courtesies noted above will avoid concerns about moving players to gain an advantage.