Washington Youth Soccer

The Competition Analysis Program (CAP) measures the levels of play between groups and determines from past performances how a team is likely to perform among a set of teams.

The CAP is assembled on a set of rational and agreeable assumptions:

1. That a team should be rated on the quality of its competition, and the results from that competition
2. That a team should have its standing increased by exceeding expectations, incur no change by meeting them, and lowered by failing those expectations
3. That these metrics can be calculated
4. That no meaningful data can be derived from age groups younger than U13
5. That at younger ages large score differentials do little to add to relative value of competitive ability

Using the CAP, teams will be placed within league divisions based on their team’s competitive history and continued performance in each league and state cup game during the seasonal year. This allows for better placement based on historical data rather than on an opinion about a league. Every game will then count towards a team’s ratings. Team ratings will be adjusted and recalculated every week using the league and state cup game results. There will be no more “throw away” games and forfeiting games will strongly impact the team’s CAP.

Using the CAP process will also make it possible for teams with consistently positive game performance to move up within the divisions to their appropriate level of performance, sometimes greater than a single division, from one year to the next. This process will enable the teams to grow in their competitive level within a shorter time frame than was ever possible in the former Premier League.

CAP results will be posted on the Washington Youth Soccer State League webpage every week so teams may follow along with everyone’s progress.

The CAP score is calculated by taking the competitive strength of your team, as well as the competitive strength of your opponent, into account when looking at game results. A stronger team is expected to win a game against a weaker team. Teams that do not meet performance expectations will lower their CAP and teams that exceed expectations will increase their CAP.

For example, if Team A has a 7.00 CAP and plays Team B with a CAP of 8.00, you would expect that Team B would win, on average, by one goal. If Team A (CAP 7.00) wins 3-1 against Team B (CAP 8.00), they would exceed expectations by winning by 2 goals, when on average they would be expected to lose by one goal. By exceeding the expectations for Team A, they would increase their CAP score, and Team B would decrease their CAP score because they did not perform as well as expected.

For an example of what the CAP calculations look like in action, see this sample.

The CAP and the State League set out to measure the performance of teams that strive to perform their best in each and every game, and forfeiting is disruptive to league play. Due to the CAP rating system, forfeiting a game will penalize your team’s overall CAP rating.  A 4-0 loss will be recorded for the forfeiting team, as opposed to the standard 1-0 loss, in order to accurately reflect the missed game in the forfeiting team’s CAP score. 

The best way to raise your CAP score is to keep exceeding expectations on the field. Each game and each goal matter. You can exceed expectations even when playing a stronger team and it is possible to raise your CAP score even if you lose to a much stronger team because you can always perform better than expected.  If Team C has a CAP of 7.00 and Team D has CAP of 9.00, Team C could still raise their CAP by losing by less than two goals to Team D.

Traveling to another team’s home field can add an extra challenge for the visiting team. There is a small “Away” bonus for teams that exceed expectations at away games, whether that is a win or a tie. The bonus is about 10% of your current CAP score and is automatically calculated with your updated CAP score.

CAP scores are based on regulation play. State League games do not go to overtime, but Cup games do. Only regulation scores will be considered for Cup play and any overtime goals will not go towards the team’s CAP score.