what is the norm in rec basketball with respect to allocating minutes across players? equal playing time?

[Anonymous]

My daughter's main sport is soccer, but she plays rec b-ball in the summer and winter.

We have always had a good experience with coaches with respect to playing time -- not necessarily with respect to teaching skills, but with respect to giving each player equal playing time.

However, this past weekend we had our first bad experience. My daughter is on a new summer 3v3 team and knows neither the coach nor the players. There were 5 players available for the game. Games are 25 minutes, so, in theory, each player should have played about 3/5 * 25 = 15 minutes. In the first game, my daughter played 7 minutes. The coach's daughter played 20 minutes. In the second game, my daughter played 10 minutes. The coach's daughter again played 20 minutes.

Having coached rec soccer over the years, I know that it is hard to make playing time perfectly even. But the coach played my daughter merely 17 minutes across two games, while her own daughter played 40 minutes. This type of asymmetry of minutes cannot be a mistake. It was intentional. BTW, these minute counts are close to accurate because I turned on a minute counter about 5 minutes into the 1st game because I sensed that something odd was happening.

Question to rec b-ball coaches: does rec b-ball typically aim for equal minutes? We follow this approach in soccer, but I'd like to understand what is the norm for b-ball.

2nd question -- if this is indeed atypical behavior, how best can I handle it? Or is this an issue that my daughter needs to take care of on her own? She is 11 years old.

Lastly, I should add that my daughter is a good player. She is significantly more skillful than the coach's daughter who has both poor dribbling and shooting skills. I don't think skill level should be a consideration with respect to allocating minutes in a rec league -- but if it were, then the coach would have to keep her own daughter on the bench for most of the game.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My daughter's main sport is soccer, but she plays rec b-ball in the summer and winter.

We have always had a good experience with coaches with respect to playing time -- not necessarily with respect to teaching skills, but with respect to giving each player equal playing time.

However, this past weekend we had our first bad experience. My daughter is on a new summer 3v3 team and knows neither the coach nor the players. There were 5 players available for the game. Games are 25 minutes, so, in theory, each player should have played about 3/5 * 25 = 15 minutes. In the first game, my daughter played 7 minutes. The coach's daughter played 20 minutes. In the second game, my daughter played 10 minutes. The coach's daughter again played 20 minutes.

Having coached rec soccer over the years, I know that it is hard to make playing time perfectly even. But the coach played my daughter merely 17 minutes across two games, while her own daughter played 40 minutes. This type of asymmetry of minutes cannot be a mistake. It was intentional. BTW, these minute counts are close to accurate because I turned on a minute counter about 5 minutes into the 1st game because I sensed that something odd was happening.

Question to rec b-ball coaches: does rec b-ball typically aim for equal minutes? We follow this approach in soccer, but I'd like to understand what is the norm for b-ball.

2nd question -- if this is indeed atypical behavior, how best can I handle it? Or is this an issue that my daughter needs to take care of on her own? She is 11 years old.

Lastly, I should add that my daughter is a good player. She is significantly more skillful than the coach's daughter who has both poor dribbling and shooting skills. I don't think skill level should be a consideration with respect to allocating minutes in a rec league -- but if it were, then the coach would have to keep her own daughter on the bench for most of the game.

At very young ages yes. As kids get older, winning starts to enter into the equation and coaches are more likely to follow league rules regarding playing time than ensuring equal time. 11 is borderline. 5 is way too many for 3 on 3 25 minute games. 15 minutes is basically no playing time. When my kids do one off tournaments, just sign up with two friends and don't have a sub.

[Anonymous]

I coached rec basketball from K to high school age.

I never coached 3v3.

The rules from the league varied by age, and your experience would have been within the rules of most leagues I knew.

Personally I had a rule that I would tell the players and parents that through 3rd grade I would give as close to even time as I could. 4th grade and above I would give even time for the first three quarters, and then in the 4th quarter I would put in the players that I thought would help us win.

I recommend asking the coach what their philosophy is on playing time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My daughter's main sport is soccer, but she plays rec b-ball in the summer and winter.

We have always had a good experience with coaches with respect to playing time -- not necessarily with respect to teaching skills, but with respect to giving each player equal playing time.

However, this past weekend we had our first bad experience. My daughter is on a new summer 3v3 team and knows neither the coach nor the players. There were 5 players available for the game. Games are 25 minutes, so, in theory, each player should have played about 3/5 * 25 = 15 minutes. In the first game, my daughter played 7 minutes. The coach's daughter played 20 minutes. In the second game, my daughter played 10 minutes. The coach's daughter again played 20 minutes.

Having coached rec soccer over the years, I know that it is hard to make playing time perfectly even. But the coach played my daughter merely 17 minutes across two games, while her own daughter played 40 minutes. This type of asymmetry of minutes cannot be a mistake. It was intentional. BTW, these minute counts are close to accurate because I turned on a minute counter about 5 minutes into the 1st game because I sensed that something odd was happening.

Question to rec b-ball coaches: does rec b-ball typically aim for equal minutes? We follow this approach in soccer, but I'd like to understand what is the norm for b-ball.

2nd question -- if this is indeed atypical behavior, how best can I handle it? Or is this an issue that my daughter needs to take care of on her own? She is 11 years old.

Lastly, I should add that my daughter is a good player. She is significantly more skillful than the coach's daughter who has both poor dribbling and shooting skills. I don't think skill level should be a consideration with respect to allocating minutes in a rec league -- but if it were, then the coach would have to keep her own daughter on the bench for most of the game.

At very young ages yes. As kids get older, winning starts to enter into the equation and coaches are more likely to follow league rules regarding playing time than ensuring equal time. 11 is borderline. 5 is way too many for 3 on 3 25 minute games. 15 minutes is basically no playing time. When my kids do one off tournaments, just sign up with two friends and don't have a sub.

OP here. This is a summer rec league. There are no tournaments. Rosters are often 7 or 8 kids because attendance is sporadic. Normally, about 50% of a roster shows up for a game. So coaches have to deal with situations in which there are 5 or 6 kids available for a game. Now, this isn't that hard. I've filled in as a coach in prior years and I have had no trouble allocating minutes evenly across players. To be clearly, my question has nothing to do with roster size -- rather, how do you allocate minutes in a friendly rec league? This league attracts kids from a variety of sports. Most play b-ball as a 2nd or 3rd sport. In this type of league, what would be a proper minute-allocation approach for a coach to follow? In my view, the only approach that makes sense is to aim for equal minutes per player.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My daughter's main sport is soccer, but she plays rec b-ball in the summer and winter.

We have always had a good experience with coaches with respect to playing time -- not necessarily with respect to teaching skills, but with respect to giving each player equal playing time.

However, this past weekend we had our first bad experience. My daughter is on a new summer 3v3 team and knows neither the coach nor the players. There were 5 players available for the game. Games are 25 minutes, so, in theory, each player should have played about 3/5 * 25 = 15 minutes. In the first game, my daughter played 7 minutes. The coach's daughter played 20 minutes. In the second game, my daughter played 10 minutes. The coach's daughter again played 20 minutes.

Having coached rec soccer over the years, I know that it is hard to make playing time perfectly even. But the coach played my daughter merely 17 minutes across two games, while her own daughter played 40 minutes. This type of asymmetry of minutes cannot be a mistake. It was intentional. BTW, these minute counts are close to accurate because I turned on a minute counter about 5 minutes into the 1st game because I sensed that something odd was happening.

Question to rec b-ball coaches: does rec b-ball typically aim for equal minutes? We follow this approach in soccer, but I'd like to understand what is the norm for b-ball.

2nd question -- if this is indeed atypical behavior, how best can I handle it? Or is this an issue that my daughter needs to take care of on her own? She is 11 years old.

Lastly, I should add that my daughter is a good player. She is significantly more skillful than the coach's daughter who has both poor dribbling and shooting skills. I don't think skill level should be a consideration with respect to allocating minutes in a rec league -- but if it were, then the coach would have to keep her own daughter on the bench for most of the game.

At very young ages yes. As kids get older, winning starts to enter into the equation and coaches are more likely to follow league rules regarding playing time than ensuring equal time. 11 is borderline. 5 is way too many for 3 on 3 25 minute games. 15 minutes is basically no playing time. When my kids do one off tournaments, just sign up with two friends and don't have a sub.

OP here. This is a summer rec league. There are no tournaments. Rosters are often 7 or 8 kids because attendance is sporadic. Normally, about 50% of a roster shows up for a game. So coaches have to deal with situations in which there are 5 or 6 kids available for a game. Now, this isn't that hard. I've filled in as a coach in prior years and I have had no trouble allocating minutes evenly across players. To be clearly, my question has nothing to do with roster size -- rather, how do you allocate minutes in a friendly rec league? This league attracts kids from a variety of sports. Most play b-ball as a 2nd or 3rd sport. In this type of league, what would be a proper minute-allocation approach for a coach to follow? In my view, the only approach that makes sense is to aim for equal minutes per player.

If I'm taking the time to volunteer for that league, my kid is getting what I consider reasonable playing time, and everyone else is slotting in. I'll hit the league rules, but that's about it. If your kid wants to play more, volunteer

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My daughter's main sport is soccer, but she plays rec b-ball in the summer and winter.

We have always had a good experience with coaches with respect to playing time -- not necessarily with respect to teaching skills, but with respect to giving each player equal playing time.

However, this past weekend we had our first bad experience. My daughter is on a new summer 3v3 team and knows neither the coach nor the players. There were 5 players available for the game. Games are 25 minutes, so, in theory, each player should have played about 3/5 * 25 = 15 minutes. In the first game, my daughter played 7 minutes. The coach's daughter played 20 minutes. In the second game, my daughter played 10 minutes. The coach's daughter again played 20 minutes.

Having coached rec soccer over the years, I know that it is hard to make playing time perfectly even. But the coach played my daughter merely 17 minutes across two games, while her own daughter played 40 minutes. This type of asymmetry of minutes cannot be a mistake. It was intentional. BTW, these minute counts are close to accurate because I turned on a minute counter about 5 minutes into the 1st game because I sensed that something odd was happening.

Question to rec b-ball coaches: does rec b-ball typically aim for equal minutes? We follow this approach in soccer, but I'd like to understand what is the norm for b-ball.

2nd question -- if this is indeed atypical behavior, how best can I handle it? Or is this an issue that my daughter needs to take care of on her own? She is 11 years old.

Lastly, I should add that my daughter is a good player. She is significantly more skillful than the coach's daughter who has both poor dribbling and shooting skills. I don't think skill level should be a consideration with respect to allocating minutes in a rec league -- but if it were, then the coach would have to keep her own daughter on the bench for most of the game.

At very young ages yes. As kids get older, winning starts to enter into the equation and coaches are more likely to follow league rules regarding playing time than ensuring equal time. 11 is borderline. 5 is way too many for 3 on 3 25 minute games. 15 minutes is basically no playing time. When my kids do one off tournaments, just sign up with two friends and don't have a sub.

OP here. This is a summer rec league. There are no tournaments. Rosters are often 7 or 8 kids because attendance is sporadic. Normally, about 50% of a roster shows up for a game. So coaches have to deal with situations in which there are 5 or 6 kids available for a game. Now, this isn't that hard. I've filled in as a coach in prior years and I have had no trouble allocating minutes evenly across players. To be clearly, my question has nothing to do with roster size -- rather, how do you allocate minutes in a friendly rec league? This league attracts kids from a variety of sports. Most play b-ball as a 2nd or 3rd sport. In this type of league, what would be a proper minute-allocation approach for a coach to follow? In my view, the only approach that makes sense is to aim for equal minutes per player.

If I'm taking the time to volunteer for that league, my kid is getting what I consider reasonable playing time, and everyone else is slotting in. I'll hit the league rules, but that's about it. If your kid wants to play more, volunteer

OP here. That argument would carry some weight if this league had practices. There are no practices. So the coach is investing no additional time in the team compared to anybody else. In fact, the coach arrived last to the game. The other players were there early and ready to go.

Pushing back on your argument -- in the winter b-ball league we have practices, and we have never had a coach who favored his or her child over others. All kids get equal playing time. And this is the approach I use in soccer, even though I'm the coach and I invest significant time in the team. I would not feel comfortable giving my kid more minutes than some other kid who wants to be on the field or the court.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My daughter's main sport is soccer, but she plays rec b-ball in the summer and winter.

We have always had a good experience with coaches with respect to playing time -- not necessarily with respect to teaching skills, but with respect to giving each player equal playing time.

However, this past weekend we had our first bad experience. My daughter is on a new summer 3v3 team and knows neither the coach nor the players. There were 5 players available for the game. Games are 25 minutes, so, in theory, each player should have played about 3/5 * 25 = 15 minutes. In the first game, my daughter played 7 minutes. The coach's daughter played 20 minutes. In the second game, my daughter played 10 minutes. The coach's daughter again played 20 minutes.

Having coached rec soccer over the years, I know that it is hard to make playing time perfectly even. But the coach played my daughter merely 17 minutes across two games, while her own daughter played 40 minutes. This type of asymmetry of minutes cannot be a mistake. It was intentional. BTW, these minute counts are close to accurate because I turned on a minute counter about 5 minutes into the 1st game because I sensed that something odd was happening.

Question to rec b-ball coaches: does rec b-ball typically aim for equal minutes? We follow this approach in soccer, but I'd like to understand what is the norm for b-ball.

2nd question -- if this is indeed atypical behavior, how best can I handle it? Or is this an issue that my daughter needs to take care of on her own? She is 11 years old.

Lastly, I should add that my daughter is a good player. She is significantly more skillful than the coach's daughter who has both poor dribbling and shooting skills. I don't think skill level should be a consideration with respect to allocating minutes in a rec league -- but if it were, then the coach would have to keep her own daughter on the bench for most of the game.

At very young ages yes. As kids get older, winning starts to enter into the equation and coaches are more likely to follow league rules regarding playing time than ensuring equal time. 11 is borderline. 5 is way too many for 3 on 3 25 minute games. 15 minutes is basically no playing time. When my kids do one off tournaments, just sign up with two friends and don't have a sub.

OP here. This is a summer rec league. There are no tournaments. Rosters are often 7 or 8 kids because attendance is sporadic. Normally, about 50% of a roster shows up for a game. So coaches have to deal with situations in which there are 5 or 6 kids available for a game. Now, this isn't that hard. I've filled in as a coach in prior years and I have had no trouble allocating minutes evenly across players. To be clearly, my question has nothing to do with roster size -- rather, how do you allocate minutes in a friendly rec league? This league attracts kids from a variety of sports. Most play b-ball as a 2nd or 3rd sport. In this type of league, what would be a proper minute-allocation approach for a coach to follow? In my view, the only approach that makes sense is to aim for equal minutes per player.

If I'm taking the time to volunteer for that league, my kid is getting what I consider reasonable playing time, and everyone else is slotting in. I'll hit the league rules, but that's about it. If your kid wants to play more, volunteer

OP here. That argument would carry some weight if this league had practices. There are no practices. So the coach is investing no additional time in the team compared to anybody else. In fact, the coach arrived last to the game. The other players were there early and ready to go.

Pushing back on your argument -- in the winter b-ball league we have practices, and we have never had a coach who favored his or her child over others. All kids get equal playing time. And this is the approach I use in soccer, even though I'm the coach and I invest significant time in the team. I would not feel comfortable giving my kid more minutes than some other kid who wants to be on the field or the court.

The it sounds like it would have been really easy for you to coach and every roster would have been that much smaller. 3 on 3 for 25 minutes is already not much play time without a bench. 15 minutes is barely worth going

[Anonymous]

I recommend pointing our your daughter is a stronger player than the coach's daughter and see how that goes over.

[Anonymous]

As had been mentioned look at the league rules on playing time. Not all organizations have requirements on balanced playing time. So I would politely talk to the coach after practice or a game and bring it to their attention. It may have been a honest mistake but if you don’t bring it to their attention they will not know.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My daughter's main sport is soccer, but she plays rec b-ball in the summer and winter.

We have always had a good experience with coaches with respect to playing time -- not necessarily with respect to teaching skills, but with respect to giving each player equal playing time.

However, this past weekend we had our first bad experience. My daughter is on a new summer 3v3 team and knows neither the coach nor the players. There were 5 players available for the game. Games are 25 minutes, so, in theory, each player should have played about 3/5 * 25 = 15 minutes. In the first game, my daughter played 7 minutes. The coach's daughter played 20 minutes. In the second game, my daughter played 10 minutes. The coach's daughter again played 20 minutes.

Having coached rec soccer over the years, I know that it is hard to make playing time perfectly even. But the coach played my daughter merely 17 minutes across two games, while her own daughter played 40 minutes. This type of asymmetry of minutes cannot be a mistake. It was intentional. BTW, these minute counts are close to accurate because I turned on a minute counter about 5 minutes into the 1st game because I sensed that something odd was happening.

Question to rec b-ball coaches: does rec b-ball typically aim for equal minutes? We follow this approach in soccer, but I'd like to understand what is the norm for b-ball.

2nd question -- if this is indeed atypical behavior, how best can I handle it? Or is this an issue that my daughter needs to take care of on her own? She is 11 years old.

Lastly, I should add that my daughter is a good player. She is significantly more skillful than the coach's daughter who has both poor dribbling and shooting skills. I don't think skill level should be a consideration with respect to allocating minutes in a rec league -- but if it were, then the coach would have to keep her own daughter on the bench for most of the game.

At very young ages yes. As kids get older, winning starts to enter into the equation and coaches are more likely to follow league rules regarding playing time than ensuring equal time. 11 is borderline. 5 is way too many for 3 on 3 25 minute games. 15 minutes is basically no playing time. When my kids do one off tournaments, just sign up with two friends and don't have a sub.

OP here. This is a summer rec league. There are no tournaments. Rosters are often 7 or 8 kids because attendance is sporadic. Normally, about 50% of a roster shows up for a game. So coaches have to deal with situations in which there are 5 or 6 kids available for a game. Now, this isn't that hard. I've filled in as a coach in prior years and I have had no trouble allocating minutes evenly across players. To be clearly, my question has nothing to do with roster size -- rather, how do you allocate minutes in a friendly rec league? This league attracts kids from a variety of sports. Most play b-ball as a 2nd or 3rd sport. In this type of league, what would be a proper minute-allocation approach for a coach to follow? In my view, the only approach that makes sense is to aim for equal minutes per player.

If I'm taking the time to volunteer for that league, my kid is getting what I consider reasonable playing time, and everyone else is slotting in. I'll hit the league rules, but that's about it. If your kid wants to play more, volunteer

OP here. That argument would carry some weight if this league had practices. There are no practices. So the coach is investing no additional time in the team compared to anybody else. In fact, the coach arrived last to the game. The other players were there early and ready to go.

Pushing back on your argument -- in the winter b-ball league we have practices, and we have never had a coach who favored his or her child over others. All kids get equal playing time. And this is the approach I use in soccer, even though I'm the coach and I invest significant time in the team. I would not feel comfortable giving my kid more minutes than some other kid who wants to be on the field or the court.

That's not true and you as a coach know it. Sending emails and setting lineups counts for something and doesn't take no time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My daughter's main sport is soccer, but she plays rec b-ball in the summer and winter.

We have always had a good experience with coaches with respect to playing time -- not necessarily with respect to teaching skills, but with respect to giving each player equal playing time.

However, this past weekend we had our first bad experience. My daughter is on a new summer 3v3 team and knows neither the coach nor the players. There were 5 players available for the game. Games are 25 minutes, so, in theory, each player should have played about 3/5 * 25 = 15 minutes. In the first game, my daughter played 7 minutes. The coach's daughter played 20 minutes. In the second game, my daughter played 10 minutes. The coach's daughter again played 20 minutes.

Having coached rec soccer over the years, I know that it is hard to make playing time perfectly even. But the coach played my daughter merely 17 minutes across two games, while her own daughter played 40 minutes. This type of asymmetry of minutes cannot be a mistake. It was intentional. BTW, these minute counts are close to accurate because I turned on a minute counter about 5 minutes into the 1st game because I sensed that something odd was happening.

Question to rec b-ball coaches: does rec b-ball typically aim for equal minutes? We follow this approach in soccer, but I'd like to understand what is the norm for b-ball.

2nd question -- if this is indeed atypical behavior, how best can I handle it? Or is this an issue that my daughter needs to take care of on her own? She is 11 years old.

Lastly, I should add that my daughter is a good player. She is significantly more skillful than the coach's daughter who has both poor dribbling and shooting skills. I don't think skill level should be a consideration with respect to allocating minutes in a rec league -- but if it were, then the coach would have to keep her own daughter on the bench for most of the game.

At very young ages yes. As kids get older, winning starts to enter into the equation and coaches are more likely to follow league rules regarding playing time than ensuring equal time. 11 is borderline. 5 is way too many for 3 on 3 25 minute games. 15 minutes is basically no playing time. When my kids do one off tournaments, just sign up with two friends and don't have a sub.

OP here. This is a summer rec league. There are no tournaments. Rosters are often 7 or 8 kids because attendance is sporadic. Normally, about 50% of a roster shows up for a game. So coaches have to deal with situations in which there are 5 or 6 kids available for a game. Now, this isn't that hard. I've filled in as a coach in prior years and I have had no trouble allocating minutes evenly across players. To be clearly, my question has nothing to do with roster size -- rather, how do you allocate minutes in a friendly rec league? This league attracts kids from a variety of sports. Most play b-ball as a 2nd or 3rd sport. In this type of league, what would be a proper minute-allocation approach for a coach to follow? In my view, the only approach that makes sense is to aim for equal minutes per player.

If I'm taking the time to volunteer for that league, my kid is getting what I consider reasonable playing time, and everyone else is slotting in. I'll hit the league rules, but that's about it. If your kid wants to play more, volunteer

OP here. That argument would carry some weight if this league had practices. There are no practices. So the coach is investing no additional time in the team compared to anybody else. In fact, the coach arrived last to the game. The other players were there early and ready to go.

Pushing back on your argument -- in the winter b-ball league we have practices, and we have never had a coach who favored his or her child over others. All kids get equal playing time. And this is the approach I use in soccer, even though I'm the coach and I invest significant time in the team. I would not feel comfortable giving my kid more minutes than some other kid who wants to be on the field or the court.

The it sounds like it would have been really easy for you to coach and every roster would have been that much smaller. 3 on 3 for 25 minutes is already not much play time without a bench. 15 minutes is barely worth going

OP here. No, that wouldn't work in this league. If each roster were just 4 kids, then on average we would have 2 kids showing up for each game. The rosters have to be large due to summer vacations and other activities. A typical kid shows up for just half of the games. But my question isn't related to optimizing the size of the roster. My question is simpler: in a summer rec league, do you aim for equal minutes per player?

[Anonymous]

Assume this is Arlington's summer league? I believe it's supposed to be parity. If it happens again I would have your daughter tell the coach that she really loves to play and would like to get more minutes. If that still doesn't work, I'd email the coach to ask what's up.

[Anonymous]

Every REC league has play time rules. Usually everyone has to play at least half the game,

What do the rules say about playtime?

[Anonymous]

So why didn’t you step up to coach? Then someone else would be holding a stopwatch and not you.
And at 11 years old why are they playing 3 on 3 instead of 5 v 5?

[Anonymous]

Our summer rec league requires coaches to play every kid present at the start of the game two full quarters. So the required play time is half the game. The best players can play the full game or three quarters, depending on how many kids show up for the game.