[ColoradoTree]

Having said that, it would be nice to align the college game with professional soccer in terms of substitutions.

A sharp reduction in the number of available substitutions would seem to increase injury risk for those starters, I would think. Some reduction from the current 11 (plus the ability to re-enter) would be fine, but I'm not sure a total alignment with the 3-sub professional rule is necessary. Maybe split the difference somewhat and go with the FIFA rule for international friendlies--i.e., 6 subs a side?

College is not pro - the more kids who can play, the better.  Of course, I don't even like the 3-sub rule for the pro game.  Why?  Why not have free substitutions (or at least more subs); thus rewarding the more complete team/roster?

This isn't necessarily my fight--the college substitution rule hasn't really bothered me that much--but I do think there are some fair arguments for limiting it. Primarily, it distorts the game. Rather than players learn to conserve energy and use space, coaches can have their players sprint full-out for a certain amount of time and then just get subbed off when they need a rest, only to come back in the second half. It can make for a brand of soccer that is more about speed and physicality and less about tactical acumen. 

Not sure that's enough of a reason to outweigh the benefits of more kids getting playing time, but that's the argument (at least, as I understand it to be). And it played out when I was at Stanford, when one of my good friends started but was subbed off with 15 minutes to go in each half so that a crazy fast player could come on with fresh legs and wreak a little havoc on the other team's back line. Nothing wrong with that--it's certainly within the rules. But it's still a bit odd for someone used to the international or professional game.

[ColoradoTree]

Having said that, it would be nice to align the college game with professional soccer in terms of substitutions.

A sharp reduction in the number of available substitutions would seem to increase injury risk for those starters, I would think. Some reduction from the current 11 (plus the ability to re-enter) would be fine, but I'm not sure a total alignment with the 3-sub professional rule is necessary. Maybe split the difference somewhat and go with the FIFA rule for international friendlies--i.e., 6 subs a side?

College is not pro - the more kids who can play, the better.  Of course, I don't even like the 3-sub rule for the pro game.  Why?  Why not have free substitutions (or at least more subs); thus rewarding the more complete team/roster?

This isn't necessarily my fight--the college substitution rule hasn't really bothered me that much--but I do think there are some fair arguments for limiting it. Primarily, it distorts the game. Rather than players learn to conserve energy and use space, coaches can have their players sprint full-out for a certain amount of time and then just get subbed off when they need a rest, only to come back in the second half. It can make for a brand of soccer that is more about speed and physicality and less about tactical acumen. 

Not sure that's enough of a reason to outweigh the benefits of more kids getting playing time, but that's the argument (at least, as I understand it to be). And it played out when I was at Stanford, when one of my good friends started but was subbed off with 15 minutes to go in each half so that a crazy fast player could come on with fresh legs and wreak a little havoc on the other team's back line. Nothing wrong with that--it's certainly within the rules. But it's still a bit odd for someone used to the international or professional game.