Minimum Play Players, Favoritism, & Parents
I planned to write about defense today, but I received an email last night which begs me to address minimum play players, favoritism and parents in today’s blog post. My coaches and I rank our players each week and use these rankings to determine who will start and what positions they will play. I develop a depth chart each week from these rankings. I do not believe in favoritism. Our players win a starting position based on intelligence, physical abilities, football skill and football knowledge. Just because a player is a top starting player and plays a majority of downs, does not equate to favoritism, it equates to smart coaching. Coaches should field their best talent.
In today’s youth sports, many coaches must weigh fielding the best talent and playing the minimum play players. How do you weigh the needs of the team above the needs of one to three minimum play players (MPP) and their vocal parents? This question frustrates me each week. I want all my players playing every play of the game. I want all players getting a good rest on the sidelines. I want everyone to score a touch down. But the reality is, this is not Drake and Josh afternoon TV. Some players are not ready to play more than the mandatory minimum plays. I want to win American Idol but I can’t hold a note. Should the network force American Idol to allow me to sing at least once in front of National TV audience? I doubt it.
But many MPP parent’s feel the coaches are playing favorites by not playing thier children more. I am sure there maybe a minority of coaches playing favorites, but if your child can contribute to the team then your child will play more. I’ll guarantee it.
One last point that I find surprising. Why doesn’t anyone talk about the starter who must sit out while someone takes his place? How do they feel? Are they upset that we substituted a player in the game that does not do the work required to play the position? Who is speaking up for the starting player and their feelings?
If I had one wish as a coach, I would wish that all the players on my team were starters. Now that would solve my problem. Although, I have 24 players on my team. Hmmm, I needed to be more specific. It’s always something!
I know what I’ll do, I’ll start my own Youth Football League. Who’s with me?
Rules:
1. 11 kids per team
2. Each game will last exactly 22 plays.
3. Each Child will play one play at each position.
4. No score will be kept as we don’t want to offend anyone.
5. There will be no end zone, if a team reaches the end of the field, they just turn around and come back. This will help stop “Secret Scores” being kept.
6. Offense and Defense are derogatory names so the sides will be called, ummmm… Ah.. “We have the ball” and “They have the ball”.
7. Before and after each game there will be a group hug involving both teams at once. The singing of songs will be optional, providing we can find a generic, non offensive, non religious, song to sing.
Any other suggestions would be welcome, Thanks for your assistance in setting up the Generic League of Football for the Chronologically Challenged.
We have a coach that has made his son the 1st string QB. I have two boys that play. Being totally honest, one doesn’t give his all because he is always on the sidelines. His coach focuses more on offense, which my son play defense. I live in a small town and it’s all about who you are and who you know to make 1st string. We have some amazing players that aren’t given a chance. I have a video of one of those players who happen to be hispanic but isn’t given the same opportunities as say the “coaches son.” Our small town football coaches suck! I can understand wanting to win, but they should switch players out to let them shine too.
My son is playing middle school football and he is 6’0 145 pounds and is the fastest 200 m hurdler in the State. He plays free/strong Safety and he hits like a Mack Truck but the Coach just moved him to defensive tackle but did not move any of the other skilled defensive players that are around his size speed. He asked the coach why he moved, and the coach said “we don’t need speed back there, but we need it close to the line and it’s not because you did a bad job at safety” I understand that you have to be a team player but is this move good for my sons football future considering he is not built like a lineman and never will be (Everyone in my family is tall and lean)? Should I express my concern to the coach?
Any position on the team that helps the team to win is a good move. Speed on the LOS is awesome, especially if he hits like a mack truck. He may try to use him as a DT that can contain also. So I would not worry about it yet.
One year, I moved a corner to one of my noseguards because he was so quick and had a great nose for the ball. It worked out great.
Have your son talk to the coach not you. Coaches like the players to talk to them about position changes. Give it a week or two and see what happens.
Thanks
Coach Parker
Coach Parker, do you have the same opinion of playing time at the 8 year old level? My son gets his mandatory 12 plays every game and will never touch the ball this season, in scrimmages or games. He is athletic but there are 7 kids on the team that know the sport better and play every single play on both sides of the ball. The remaining 22 kids get their 12 mandatory plays at the less skilled positions. Does this seem like the correct thing to do at age 8?
Thanks,
Keith
After almost 20 years of coaching, at the end of the day a youth football team must win. Unfortunately parents on losing teams become unbearable to deal with as a youth football coach. So, I understand why coaches play the best players the majority of time. Everyone is feeling great until the team loses almost every game.
I’ve personally coached a development team, we rotated many players around and intentionally played players to gain experience. Unfortunately we lost all but one game. The players and parents were very disappointed in the coaching staff that season. The parents and players did not feel they learned anything. Winning sets the tone of the team. Losing = Everyone unhappy, Winning = everyone happy
12 plays during a youth game is usually one quarter of the game because a youth game is around 60 plays. The problem with your team is 30 players. Most leagues keep the teams at 20, our league keeps the teams at 16. So, more players get to play just by the size of the teams.
Another issue no one brings up is what is fair to the good players on the team. We were winning Saturday and took out our starters after mid 3 quarter. I had several starters upset and crying that they had to come out of the game. They did not understand that we wanted our other players to get game time.
In my opinion from experience coaching a development team, a team must play the best players on the team and sub as needed so the team wins. As a youth coach you just do not have enough time at weekly practices to develop players that do not respond and excel during normal practice hours.
Thanks
Coach Parker
Of you don’t have the time to help the “less skilled” players and you are only there to win as a youth coach – tell those parents to find a team that will take the time to coach them and PLAY them.
And if the “better players” cry because they have to allow other children to play and the coach is worried about “their feelings” well, that’s part of the problem with youth sports!
I coach every player the same if they get on my teams. Because at the end of the day your team is only as good as your weakest player. Each player get almost equal practice time and that is where players learn to play the game. The article is talking about play time in the games. Practice is where the game is learned not in games. Not all players get the same amount of playtime in games. Thanks for your comments. Have a great day.
I have had just the opposite experience. My son was on the 8U team last year, they only lost 2 regular season games and many parents were horrible. This year on the 10U team we are 0 and 4 and the parents have been very supportive. One team we play has 4 10 year old kids that are over 200 lbs. The entire youth league organization in our town is, well, organization may be too strong a word for them. It’s more like a circle… I mean cluster… well it’s not very organized. We have had 6 games cancelled, we have only played on 2 weekends, yes that’s 2 games per day. But the parents have been supportive of the team, if not the youth league it’s self. But even though the minimum play according to the league is 2 quarters, we basically ignore it. If you want to get playing time work in practice. If you listen, and try you play, if you back talk, loaf and don’t try in practice you don’t play. The parents, so far have not had a problem with that.
HIGH SCHOOL VARSITY FOOTBALL IN THE PRIVATE SCHOOLS IS AWFUL;. THERE ARE DOZENS OF PAID POSITIONS-THE PARENT’S CONTRIBUTION TO THE ATHLETIC BOOSTERS ASSOC. AND PLAYING TIME ARE DIRECTLY CO-RELATED. THIS CUSTOMARY PRACTICE GUARANTEES THE PARENTS AN OPPORTUNITY TO LOCK THEIR NON-ATHLETIC KIDS IN KEY SKILLED POSITIONS. AT ONE PARTICULAR SCHOOL, A NON-SKILLED COACH, HAS NUMEROUS 5’7-5’8 150-165 LB. PLAYERS IN A LINEBACKER POSITION. UNFORTUNATELY 90% OF THEM PLAY THE POSITION POORLY AND LACK THE SKILL AND ATHLETICISM TO FULFILL THE LB ROLE. THEY’RE UNABLE TO BLOCK, THEY CAN’T STOP PLAY IN THE SECONDARY AND THEY ARE MOSTLY INEFFECTIVE. AS A RESULT WHEN THEY PLAY CHALLENGING TEAMS, WHICH THEY TRY NOT TO, THEIR INADEQUACIES BECOME COMPLETELY EXPOSED TO THEIR PEERS, THE PARENTS AND EVERYONE WATCHING THE GAME. THE ENTIRE GAME THEY GET -BURNED, TRUCKED AND STRONG ARMED AND EVENTUALLY, INJURED. iT’S SUCH AN EMBARRASSMENT. BUT THEIR PROUD DAD’S ARE ON THE SIDELINES THINKING “LOOK AT MY KID”-HE’S A TROOPER.
****AS LONG AS THEY PLAY TEAMS THAT ARE NOT A CHALLENGE, THEY ARE AB LE TO GET BY WITH SUB-PAR PERFORMANCE. BUT WHEN THEY PLAY A CHALLENGING TEAM OR A TEAM WITH A FEW ATHLETES, THERE MASK IS REMOVED. THEIR LACK OF TALENT AND ABILITY IS COMPLETELY EXPOSED… AND IT’S NOT PRETTY!
. IT’S SAD WHEN YOU HAVE OTHER KIDS ON THE BENCH WHO ARE MORE ATHLETIC AND WHO BETTER FIT THE POSITION (SIZE, STRENGTH AND SPEED). THE SORRY KIDS PARENTS WANT THEIR SONS OUT THERE-NOT CARING THAT THEY ARE CAUSING THE TEAM LOSSES OR THAT THEY RISK INJURY AND THE BETTER PLAYERS COULD BE ON THE FIELD PERFORMING MUCH BETTER AND Better ASSISTING THE TEAM,.
THE OTHER PLAYERS ARE ALSO PUT IN A HORRIBLE SITUATION. THEY KNOW WHAT THEIR TEAMMATES ARE SAYING WHICH LEADS TO TEAM MEMBER RESENTMENT KILLING TEAM MORALE THUS AFFECTING TEAM PERFORMANCE. IT’S SUCH A LOSE-LOSE FOR ALL INVOLVED.