One of the fundamentals of participation in team sports has always been and will always be the issue about equal playing time. I think rare is the individual who plays teams sports but isn't driven by the desire to play as much as possible. Playing time is important to every athlete, whether at the youth recreational level or the highest professional leagues. The impact and rewards of playing of course are different given the levels.
So many ask the questions; is equal playing time important ? should it be mandated in youth sport? The debate about equal playing time is in fact a debate about the value of inclusion in sport. At the heart of the value of inclusion is the belief that anyone who wants to play sport should have the opportunity. This would include access to fair try-outs, equipment, facilities and teams. Any version of fair sport requires that each participant gets fairly considered based on his or her merits. Within the value of inclusion sits the issue of playing time. One way of being inclusive is to ensure that all team members play the same amount of time in a game or, alternatively, over the course of a season all team members have roughly the same amount of playing time. That is, in both instances, if you make the team you get to play. It is a hot button issue in youth sport. As more and more club / community and school sports teams incorporate various versions of “equal playing time” into their competitive programs, perhaps we are seeing a subtle shift that will serve to instill character in kids and increase our opportunities for excellence. At the same time thought, we are seeing a certain professionalization of youth sport, with the influx of travel teams, the competition pyramid, academies, sports camps and the move away from volunteer coaches usually a parent to coaches receiving varying levels of compensation. Today, teams in some cases are pre-selected, with players getting guaranteed spots and playing time because of who they are and not what they can do. This, some of the time, leads to trouble as the best teams are not always chosen, some kids do not get equal playing time and that leads to discontent among players and parents. Youth sport teams remain, for the most part, coached and managed by parents of the players. By the time they look after the needs of the kids of their own staff, some kids do not get the equal opportunity at playing time. In addition, there is the parental hope for kids at a certain level to show enough promise to make a higher level, A, AA, AAA of whatever group categorization method your local sports' clubs might use. So should every kid receive equal playing time? That is a tough question, with the logical answer being yes. There comes a time when your season is on the line, and that is where a coach can be creative to keep everyone happy. Everyone wants to win the game, but experience tells me that the most successful coaches are the ones that get the total team effort out of all their players. I do not think that too many would be upset if a coach used everyone to get to the end, and then maybe discreetly used his best at the end. The coach does have an obligation to the rest of the team to try and win, and sometimes it takes their best players to do so. The problems arise when a coach thinks that every game is a must-win, and therefore always plays his best players. It is not easy to coach youth sports today, but those coaches that give equal opportunity and are fair to his or her players are usually the ones who have the most success and minimal problems. I have often witnessed the discussion that goes on between parent and child when it comes to playing time. When youth players complain to their parents about playing time, many can imagine the typical parental response to this all-to-common situation of engaging in the whispering bleacher banter or yelling profanities at the coach throughout the game pointing out all the obvious flaws of all those other players who are seemingly getting undeserved playing time. To many parents rush to put the onus on someone or something else as to why their child isn't play "enough" or more. From experience, rare is the parent who chooses to put responsibility on his or her child to make them realize that maybe they need to improve their performance and / or attitude in order to increase playing time. The simple reaction of a parent will often lead to the attitude a youth athlete will display towards the notion of taking accountability and ownership of their own efforts and development. When we are talking about youth sport, let's say anything below U14 or pee-wee ( I think) coaches should be in the development business as, I think, the true measure of a good coach is how much better their team is at year-end, and how much better each player is. However by the time kids reach this imaginary boundary between youth and competitive sport ( and again it can be somewhat fluid), the idea of equal playing time should not be seen as a requirement. Lower level activities require equal playing time, enforce no-cut policies, and do a great job at allowing kids to hone their skills and try new roles, positions, etc. so they can find their strengths. By the time kids reach a certain level of competitive sport, they are competing for larger goals and perhaps preparing for participation with competitive travel teams or university varsity teams. Not everyone is going to get equal playing time. Not everyone is going to get an A on his or her test. Not everyone is going to get the same amount of stage time. Not everyone can be first chair in the band. Not everyone is going to be a starter. People earn these things by their performance. When you are on a competitive team of any kind you have to realize you are competing! You are competing not only as a team, but also you are competing for specific spots and roles. This is not a bad thing. This is a time to find strengths and weaknesses. It is a time to find likes and dislikes. It is a time to learn life lessons. If you have seen the movie Rudy, based on a true story, you get the message the dedication and hard work overcomes all. We cannot expect everyone to have the resilience of Rudy Ruettiger, but an attitude like his paired with hard work, listening to coaches, showing up to perform and displaying good character and teamwork can benefit a player as well as the whole team. Unfortunately, even with hard work and great attitudes, some kids just aren’t cut out for certain activities. Myself, for example, I was not a terrible gifted soccer player but I reached a certain level by working hard, being ultra competitive and playing to my strengths. However at the same time, I knew that no matter how much I might practice and train, there was a level I would never be able to attain. We all must understand our capabilities. Parents, teachers and coaches need to help their children by setting a good example of sportsmanship instead of instilling entitlement. When someone joins a competitive activity and find that they are not able to honorably ride the roller coaster of emotions then maybe competitive activities are not one of their strengths. However, equal playing time in youth sports, especially up to the age of 13 or 14, is an integral part of providing every player with match practice. What they learn during practice and drilling has to be tried out in a real game environment so that each player can successfully adopt it. It’s also more important for a coach working with a team at this level to make sure they are cognizant of working with players to develop skills individually. Kids grow at different rates. A star-player with great talent and potential in one season might decline as other players start catching up especially as they go through growth spurts and the athleticism catches up. But a balanced team can rely on teamwork to overcome specific skill deficits. With that said, there are many more benefits for allowing young athletes to engage in this equal participation rule and the focus should be on having fun while developing skills for the game. In my opinion, once children reach an older age, there can be more emphasis on playing time and who gets to play when. The question is, what is the appropriate age where this shift in equal playing time becomes a lesser issue? I think by the time the athletes reach 14 or 15 years of age, they should be able to make the choice of either embarking on the competitive route or the recreational/house league division. In the competitive route, coaches will be able to play who they think is best at the right time and not worrying as much about why one child is playing less than the other. On the other hand, the recreational/house-league route allows this “equal playing time” and playing for fun model to still come into play. I think the house league option is more for just further developing those skills in the sport. I do feel that mandating equal playing time at all costs however is a potential problem. If athletes arrive to practice ( or don't attend) , knowing that no matter what, they will still get a certain amount of allotted equal playing time it can certainly lead to bad habits and a sense of entitlement. Sports are a great way to convey messages or work ethic, teamwork and good social interaction and part of that in my opinion is learning that a spot on a team is earned. Part of the reason why coaches play only their best players is to ultimately win the game. Everyone has expectations; however, the common denominator with these expectations is that parents, coaches, and athletes want to win the game. Parents will all talk about the importance of equal playing time, until the team loses because a perceived weaker player was played. Then all of a sudden these same parents will complain. The question is, how do we win games without sacrificing the development of the weaker players? More times than not, young children don’t care about winning to the same extent as really wanting to get a chance to play the game. From experience, I know that it is hard to only be winning by a couple of goals and have to put in one of your weaker players, possibly giving up the lead; however, it is crucial for these players to develop their skills for the sport by playing those tough games. I could probably write for pages and pages on the topic and for every opinion I put down, someone could find a contradictory argument and have us both be right. Ultimately, I think it is about balance and more about equitable rather than equal playing time. Everyone should have the chance to earn playing time on equitable terms, but there should be some merit in earning it so as to value effort and hard work. to be continued ?
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AuthorAfter many years of coaching at various levels and with different teams, I thought I would share some of my experiences and thoughts about coaching. Archives
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