At what age is it acceptable to play to win?

[Anonymous]

I’m interested to hear what people say. We are enrolled in a recreation league team. It’s second grade. Majority of kids are 7 and we don’t know any of the other families. Not everyone got a chance with the football and we have had 2 games so far.

[Anonymous]

Wut

[Anonymous]

Everyone should be getting playing time. My kids MS rec league has everyone playing. They still want to win. ( soccer)
I would think Travel would be different but at the rec level everyone plays regardless of age.
You all paid the same for your kid to play and it’s just the right thing to do.

[Anonymous]

At the rec level, especially at younger ages, there are often rules about how many minutes each kid has to play, like each kid needs to play at least half the game.

They do not, however, have rules that everyone has to play every position. The coach is welcome to select the kid or two who is the best goalie and have him there.

[Anonymous]

At rec level- it is always about equal time

[Anonymous]

At rec it's always developmental - even into high school where those rec leagues exist.

Younger kid rec especially it should even be about rotating positions. When that stops depends on the sport and how quickly kids must firm up at certain spots.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At rec it's always developmental - even into high school where those rec leagues exist.

Younger kid rec especially it should even be about rotating positions. When that stops depends on the sport and how quickly kids must firm up at certain spots.

Rec soccer starts being about winning by at least u13. There are tournaments for rec teams and league standings. Then again, by U13, there are so few kids showing up to games that playing time isn't an issue

[Anonymous]

As someone that has coached flag football for almost a decade with my 2 sons and starting in 1st grade through 8th grade. At the lower grades (1-4th) I sent an email to all the parents at the beginning of the season saying during the regular season, every player would carry the ball at least once in the game. In that same email, I said the playoffs (and everyone made the playoffs) are different and not everyone would carry the ball. Everyone would play but not everyone would carry the ball. I've won championships and done pretty well. Some years no so well.

I've had kids tell me they don't want to carry the ball in the game and after the game I spoke with the parents about it. Those parents said they understood.

I've played against teams where they handed the ball off to one kid 18 out of 19 times (and the one time they didn't he was off the field tying his shoes). The kid was really good and they killed us. But, if I was a parent on that team, I'd be livid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Everyone should be getting playing time. My kids MS rec league has everyone playing. They still want to win. ( soccer)
I would think Travel would be different but at the rec level everyone plays regardless of age.
You all paid the same for your kid to play and it’s just the right thing to do.

It isn't playing time but carrying the ball.

[Anonymous]

Minutes in-game is not the same as touches or chances. Varies by sport. In baseball, everyone in the lineup gets to swing, which is the fun part for most kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At rec it's always developmental - even into high school where those rec leagues exist.

Younger kid rec especially it should even be about rotating positions. When that stops depends on the sport and how quickly kids must firm up at certain spots.

Rec soccer starts being about winning by at least u13. There are tournaments for rec teams and league standings. Then again, by U13, there are so few kids showing up to games that playing time isn't an issue

If you're developing right in rec then your team will also as a side-effect win (also true of travel, but maybe moreso in rec where you can't hide your weakest players as easily because there are more stringent fair play rules).

[Anonymous]

Always. That’s the point once you know how to play the game. I’d say with very young kids who need to learn, k, 1st and maybe 2nd, but IME by second at least the boys who hav been playing for years want to win and it’s no fun having kids who have no athletic ability come in a screw up the game.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Always. That’s the point once you know how to play the game. I’d say with very young kids who need to learn, k, 1st and maybe 2nd, but IME by second at least the boys who hav been playing for years want to win and it’s no fun having kids who have no athletic ability come in a screw up the game.

Sheesh. If they're working hard then no, it's fine for kids who aren't natural athletes to get to play rec ball. Sorry. Some of them will go on to surprise you.

If you hate it go pay thousands for one of those teams where they assemble a roster, don't worry about coaching kids up, and just play those kids who pass the coach's eye test. Tell me how that's working out for you in 2 years.

[Anonymous]

Always.

But you do not get to play all the time. Others need to be developed too. And winning should never involve unsportsmanlike behavior.

[Anonymous]

When you say football, do you mean American football or soccer? I'm assuming soccer.

The goal should always be to win but not at the cost of development.

During practices, the goal should be giving every player as many touches as possible and no one should be sitting for an extended period of time.

During games, especially at the rec level and at the lower grade levels, every person should have the opportunity to play. And no one should be pigeon holed into a position and there should be some rotation in positions.

I will say that there's not as much control during games. I've had cases where a parent was furious that some players wouldn't pass to their kid during a win for our team. And also demanded that the team play down to their kid's level. The issue is that their kid wasn't that good and wasn't really able to be part of the play. And even if we did try to make allowances to try to maximize touches during a game, the other team may not give the same benefit. Which was the case where the other team would typically rip the ball away from their kid whenever they got it.

So I might not stress about them not getting the ball during games because maybe the ball or play went their way. But I do expect to see them on the field and also to be given opportunities during practices.