Anonymous wrote:OP what did your son say? Was he upset? I’m asking because way back when my son played rec I remember something similar and was in a huff and when I asked the coach it was my kid who hadn’t wanted to go in when the coach told him it was his turn to sub in.

OP here, son was not upset. I did not bring it up with him. DS is a very easygoing kid who does not demand attention. he would never say to the coach “send me back in” or “ i don’t want to play”. He sort of just goes with the flow and does as he is told. I think the coach maybe overwhelmed. I will talk to him when I get an opportunity and see what he says. It is possible he just didn’t see that my son basically stood next to him the entire game.

OP what did your son say? Was he upset? I’m asking because way back when my son played rec I remember something similar and was in a huff and when I asked the coach it was my kid who hadn’t wanted to go in when the coach told him it was his turn to sub in.

give Larlo more than 5 minutes!!!

We talkin bout Rec
not ncsl
but Rec
not EDP
not ecnl
We talkin bout rec

All read in my AI voice.

That is totally unacceptable for MSI rec. Even Classic, at that age.

If it was literally 5 minutes, that is pretty crazy.

I coach house in VYS, and one thing I have run into is players not wanting to go in the game. If I ask or tell them repeatedly to go in, and they tell me they are too tired or don’t want to, I’m not going to physically make them, especially on a hot day. Make sure your son is voicing that he wants to play.

OP MSI is pretty good as an organization IME so I'd expect they would not be happy to hear that a player got only 5 min. I hope you have success with the coach. Does the coach have an assistant coach and/or enough parent help?

Thank you everyone. I will make sure to bring it up to him.

I would try to nicely reach out to the coach and say something along the lines of “I’m sure it was accidental but I noticed Larlo didn’t get much playing time”. See what happens. My kids have played on lots of teams over the years and the only time I’ve seen such a thing in rec was when the coach was having serious behavioral issues with a player and then the coach alerted the parents ahead. That doesn’t seem to be the case here. Kids should absolutely play 50% in rec at minimum. If the coach isn’t responsive, I would go to MSI and complain.

This is really out of bounds and I say this as a parent of travel soccer players who has watched my kid play 5 mins in a game before. In travel, you earn your playing time, especially with age. It’s no fun to watch a kid play 5 minutes, but that’s a possibility you were aware of when you put your high schooler on a high pressure team.

For a 4th grader in ANY situation (travel or rec) 5 mins in ridiculous, for rec it’s complete not allowed and not in the spirit of rec soccer. If the coach and his kid are so pro, they need to move to travel instead of making kids hate something that’s supposed to be fun.

This sounds like a fun team to be on

MSI requires all Rec. player to play at least 50% of all games.

Email the MSI policy to the coach to remind him. If he doesn’t change the next game, email MSI.

Rec. Soccer is for fun and not for winning. If the coach or players want to win, join MSI Classic (select soccer) or MSI Academy (travel soccer).

Every player is supposed to play 50% of every game in Rec soccer. Start by talking to the coach directly. Chances are the parent coach is overwhelmed with managing players and coaching - you could even offer to help! If it does not get better, email or call the office and have them talk to the coach

My son is in MSI soccer recreational league 4th grade. Second game today and my son and a few other kids (weaker players) played a total of 5 minutes in both games. The coach’s son played the whole first part. I understand that winning is important but so is player development a specially at the recreational level. How should I approach it?