How does your league weed out ringers?

[TickleMeYandle]

Out of curiosity - how does your league/rink deal with ringers? Or do they?

I haven't been playing all that long (just over a year) but I do have experience playing in several different leagues. And I've seen the issue of ringers come up multiple times, and dealt with (or not) in a variety of ways. It seems like nobody really likes a ringer, unless they're on YOUR team. But if the league wants to keep people coming back and paying money to participate, it makes sense to deal with the issue.

In one league that I'm in, it is specifically a developmental league. They make it very clear up front that it is for beginners, and it's not a typical league where you pick a team and register to play together. Each season the teams are shuffled via a draft, although this is something that did not happen until the most current season. The earlier seasons were very lopsided with one team ending up with the majority of truly new players and another having the more experienced players, and a third team somewhere in the middle. I would not say that ringers are a big problem in this league. There is one player who is very good and could definitely play up a league or two but he plays this league because his son is a brand new skater. Nobody minds him because he is friendly and helpful, but mostly because he tones back during the games - we all know he could take it coast to coast and probably score at will, but he chooses not to because he knows that is not fun for anyone.

Another league that I'm in sometimes tells ringers they can no longer play in that level, sometimes not. We had a guy playing against us last night that was quite obviously at least B level. Even the refs skated by and told us he didn't belong there. And it was quite clear what his role was - get the puck and score a bunch of goals, because the rest of his team wasn't going to be able to do so.

Another league of organized drop-in that I do has lines drawn up and divided into the top line and the slower line. So you're never up against people who are completely out of your league. Sure, you'll have slower and faster people on each line - but at least you're not a D-leaguer playing against A or B level players. Since it's just for fun, even the opposing players will let the real beginners skate with the puck sometimes and take a shot, and it seems to work out fine. I wouldn't say people are ringers here at all.

A fourth league of organized drop-in is less organized than the above; there are rosters set up each day but they aren't particularly even - often we'll end up with 15 against 9, or if it is 10 against 10, the skill levels aren't necessarily similar. Again, since it's not a serious game for the most part, people are pretty cool about not going coast to coast every time they are up against the beginners, etc. There are exceptions - I have played in a game where the same person seemed to make it their goal to take the puck from me any time I got close to it. It didn't matter my position or theirs, I never got to skate even 2 feet with it before it being taken. But this person is that way towards lots of people - not necessarily stripping the puck, but definitely not passing to anyone deemed unworthy and taking long shifts (4-5 minutes). That's just an @sshole thing, not really a 'ringer' thing.

Out of all of these solutions, the 1st and 3rd ones seem to work the best for everyone involved and to be the most fun. You don't end up with people getting frustrated, but beginners still get to play with people who are more advanced and have a chance to improve their game by a bit of a challenge. The 2nd and 4th are the most frustrating, because it often seems that little is done to address problems when they arise. People do get tired of situations where they simply can't win no matter how much effort they put forth, and that pushes people away.

So how do other rinks and leagues deal with the issue? Is it a huge issue, or a minor one? And what is the best solution for these sorts of situations?

 

[AcidJazz]

They don't. I'm in the "E" division and there are players that are just starting out mixed with guys who used to play JR or University. It's terrible.

 

[JoeCool16]

Wayne Gretzky rule... can't score more than a hat trick per game. Only works if there's only one opponent ringer, if they have multiple then they'll just move the puck around and you're screwed.

 

[jazzykat]

We play with guys who are absolute beginners up to guys who were children on the soviet 2nd army team, aaa junior, 2nd russian national team, lower pro league, etc.



Since it is a scrimmage team our Captain divides us pretty evenly at the beginning of each game. I am the dictator who controls the roster.

Basically its about respect and understanding why people have come together because the only complaint we have occasionally is that someone takes too long a shift.

I am a good soccer player. Once in a while I am playing against signicantly weaker players. Then I try to make perfect assists instead of racking up points.

 

[TieClark]

Not much... but if a team is really dominating they'll move them up a division.

 

[UpGoesRupp]

Before sign up you have to fill out a form indicating the highest level you've played. Some people fudge it but it at least keeps a balance. The odd time you get the guy that played ECHL or an older guy. The main thing is where I live that guy will usually score 3 goals and then start passing and/or limits himself to defence.

 

[Jarick]

Merged with an old thread that's very similar.

Continue!

 

[Oh_so_saad]

its simple if one dude is plowing house either give the team the option to move up a division or send him to the new division.

 

[17of26]

Now I go down a level. I see a player cutting through the slot. I know he's looking for a one-timer. Pass comes......I quickly push off and leave my post, slide out to the optimal position at the top of the far side of the crease to cut down the angle, arrive just as the player receives the pass, and......he bobbles it, and bobbles it some more, and now he finally gains control of it, and now he's skating with the puck, and no one's stopping him because they're C level defenseman, and my momentum has carried me to the far side of the net, and now he just has an empty net to shoot at. It's frustrating.

This is so true. Even at 41 years old and having only played goalie for 2-3 years, in a lot of ways I find it easier to play against B/C competition than D competition. The higher level games are so much more predictable. The action is much faster, but it's easier to anticipate the flow of play.

You just never know what is going to happen at the C/D level. Passes get flubbed constantly and the puck pinballs around the slot because no one can get a handle on it. And when a shot finally comes along, not even the shooter knows where it might be going.

 

[Ozz]

I find the same to be true. With highly-talented teams, there's an air of predictability or expectancy. With lesser talent, you never know what the hell they're going to do. Half the time they end up getting in your way by accident or stumbling around enough to cause such havoc that you have a hard time dealing with it. A win might not be in jeopardy, but the games are much tighter for it. Of course that doesn't happen every time, but once in a while it's just a big stumbling block of a game.

Also, my leagues don't weed out ringers. Even in the top divisions you get guys scoring 5-7 points in a game relatively frequently. The worst teams usually have the guys racking up points like that every game, and some of the better teams have a guy who'll do it a few times as well. It can change from game to game who produces that well though, so I can understand it's hard to do anything about. The guys who seem to be the absolute best, though, I don't often see them carrying their teams through the more solid teams in the playoffs so it's not much of a matter anyway.