Exactly.

Again development versus winning a game. Everyone would like to have both on parallel upward trajectories.
A choice usually has to be made. And sometimes, more often than people want to admit, the other team is simply better.

EVERY coach worth salt should be rotating players.

I agree. My son is a U12, and has played no position other than left or right back this year - ever. He starts and stays in for most of the game, but he never gets to try any other position. We asked the coach why at our mid-term evaluation and he said he doesn't have any other kids who are good at defense. My answer to that is that they either need to 1) develop someone else to become adequate at it or 2) expand the roster.

Anonymous wrote:This thread started out great but then went to total BS after about page 2. The distinction between rec and travel for playing time the first few years of travel should not exist. They are kids developing and they signed up to play not to sit on the bench. If you're a coach and you don't want to play all your players don't have them on your team. You don't take a 10 year-old on your team and then tell them they're not good enough to play. Some of these people on here are disgusting and have absolutely no business being around children.

Everyone acts as though the kid did not practice all week. Yes, minutes matter but so does practice. So does committing to get better and the parents need to recognize that it is a process and it takes time. Playing time in travel is not a guarantee, you must know that going into a travel team. You are free to disagree with the minutes and you May have your own philosophy regarding playing time but it must be the same as the coach.

The choices now are:
Take ownership and talk with the coach about what the player needs to do to earn more playing time.

Seek out a coach next year who plays everyone half a game no matter how much or how little they work in practice.

And if you do leave to find a coach who agrees with you, you will have wasted an opportunity to find out what weaknesses your kid can improve upon. You will have denied your kid the opportunity to truly develop.

This thread started out great but then went to total BS after about page 2. The distinction between rec and travel for playing time the first few years of travel should not exist. They are kids developing and they signed up to play not to sit on the bench. If you're a coach and you don't want to play all your players don't have them on your team. You don't take a 10 year-old on your team and then tell them they're not good enough to play. Some of these people on here are disgusting and have absolutely no business being around children.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At every age. At every level. A kid should get at least half a game playing time. The only exceptions would be: (1) injury or health concern (kid is sick but at the game) (2) discipline issue (broke team rule or had a red card etc). That’s it. No other exceptions. Don’t want to play a kid at least a half? Then don’t take their money. I do know a couple of times where a DA team took a couple of extra subs who might not play much over a weekend but they went for free. And the coaches got them in.

So - if money is being paid and no injury or discipline issues exist - then a coach must play every player, every time, at least half a game at every level. If you have a coach who cant figure out how to do that he/she should not coach.

This how maybe it should be, but it isn't...so there is that. AND I wouldn't even want my kid on a team where he ONLY gets 50% playing time. That means that he's sitting half the game. Find a team/coach that will value your kid. You need to do some legwork though. Attend practices. Talk to parents and coaches. Watch a game.

I agree. The half-game is a minimum that should very often (always) be exceeded, but half-game minimum. Any even half-decent coach can get players into half of each half, but kids can be standing there waiting for a substitution break so it is never an exact thing. If the team is not over stocked with subs then 3/4s of every game should be easy to achieve, say with 16 kids playing 11 v11. No problem. Again -- I have no issue at all if a coach does not take a kid on a team (and the parents' money), because they do not think they are good enough to play half a game at that particular level. That's why you have cuts. But, if you are going to take the $$, then you have to play the kid -- every game, and for at least one-half.

It's an easy rule to follow and provides stress relief for coaches, parents and kids. Yes there will still be issues -- positions being a big one -- but playing time is off the table.

So, if you have a youth team coach that cannot figure out how to get every kid in every game for at least a half -- there are 2 possiblilities: (1) the coach sucks and is too worried about wins/losses, or (2) the club sucks and is too worried about wins/losses. If it is No. 2 -- leave that club asap. If it is No. 1 - have a talk with the coach, and if not corrected asap, then have a talk with the appropriate director for the team. That should take care of it. If it does not -- then you know you are with a club that sucks. Get your money back and leave.

Anonymous wrote:a random coach filling in for another coach could not care less. they are just a warm body on the sideline.

It sucks for the players that worked hard. They play like crap without their coach and somebody that actually knows how they all play—best positions in a tight game, who cracks under pressure, etc.

a random coach filling in for another coach could not care less. they are just a warm body on the sideline.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 11-year old is a starter he plays 90-95% of the game. They think of him as a clutch player. There are 3 subs and they rotate fairly well.

Our Coach had a conflict and another coach that doesn’t coach them filled in for a tournament game. My kid sat on the bench until the final 1 min of first half and then right when he went in the ref blew the whistle for 1/2 time. Why the f@ck sub with 1 min left? Nobody was hurt. They were down and playing like crap with kids that usually play the majority of the game on the bench -as if she forgot about them. I figured it was a mistake and he’d play a good portion of the 2nd half. Nope. It’s cold and raining and they traveled and got a hotel for this shit.

Some coaches legitimately can’t keep track and don’t know wtf is going on or who went in, etc.

now you know how the parents of the 3 subs feel every week

Yeah. It’s no problem at all when he plays 95% of the time all season long. But for one game, you get completely pissed off that your son got limited playing time?

But...her 11 year old is a clutch player.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At every age. At every level. A kid should get at least half a game playing time. The only exceptions would be: (1) injury or health concern (kid is sick but at the game) (2) discipline issue (broke team rule or had a red card etc). That’s it. No other exceptions. Don’t want to play a kid at least a half? Then don’t take their money. I do know a couple of times where a DA team took a couple of extra subs who might not play much over a weekend but they went for free. And the coaches got them in.

So - if money is being paid and no injury or discipline issues exist - then a coach must play every player, every time, at least half a game at every level. If you have a coach who cant figure out how to do that he/she should not coach.

That is called rec.

LOL u10 travel soccer is all about winning!

The thing is if you are on a travel team under u12 and they do not give every player equal time and rotate them through all the positions the coach is not developing your kid. Watch what happens in a few years.

Exactly. At that age, it's inappropriate and unprofessional.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At every age. At every level. A kid should get at least half a game playing time. The only exceptions would be: (1) injury or health concern (kid is sick but at the game) (2) discipline issue (broke team rule or had a red card etc). That’s it. No other exceptions. Don’t want to play a kid at least a half? Then don’t take their money. I do know a couple of times where a DA team took a couple of extra subs who might not play much over a weekend but they went for free. And the coaches got them in.

So - if money is being paid and no injury or discipline issues exist - then a coach must play every player, every time, at least half a game at every level. If you have a coach who cant figure out how to do that he/she should not coach.

That is called rec.

LOL u10 travel soccer is all about winning!

Find the level of team your kid will get significant minutes. Train and get better.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 11-year old is a starter he plays 90-95% of the game. They think of him as a clutch player. There are 3 subs and they rotate fairly well.

Our Coach had a conflict and another coach that doesn’t coach them filled in for a tournament game. My kid sat on the bench until the final 1 min of first half and then right when he went in the ref blew the whistle for 1/2 time. Why the f@ck sub with 1 min left? Nobody was hurt. They were down and playing like crap with kids that usually play the majority of the game on the bench -as if she forgot about them. I figured it was a mistake and he’d play a good portion of the 2nd half. Nope. It’s cold and raining and they traveled and got a hotel for this shit.

Some coaches legitimately can’t keep track and don’t know wtf is going on or who went in, etc.

now you know how the parents of the 3 subs feel every week

Yeah. It’s no problem at all when he plays 95% of the time all season long. But for one game, you get completely pissed off that your son got limited playing time?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At every age. At every level. A kid should get at least half a game playing time. The only exceptions would be: (1) injury or health concern (kid is sick but at the game) (2) discipline issue (broke team rule or had a red card etc). That’s it. No other exceptions. Don’t want to play a kid at least a half? Then don’t take their money. I do know a couple of times where a DA team took a couple of extra subs who might not play much over a weekend but they went for free. And the coaches got them in.

So - if money is being paid and no injury or discipline issues exist - then a coach must play every player, every time, at least half a game at every level. If you have a coach who cant figure out how to do that he/she should not coach.

That is called rec.

LOL u10 travel soccer is all about winning!

The thing is if you are on a travel team under u12 and they do not give every player equal time and rotate them through all the positions the coach is not developing your kid. Watch what happens in a few years.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At every age. At every level. A kid should get at least half a game playing time. The only exceptions would be: (1) injury or health concern (kid is sick but at the game) (2) discipline issue (broke team rule or had a red card etc). That’s it. No other exceptions. Don’t want to play a kid at least a half? Then don’t take their money. I do know a couple of times where a DA team took a couple of extra subs who might not play much over a weekend but they went for free. And the coaches got them in.

So - if money is being paid and no injury or discipline issues exist - then a coach must play every player, every time, at least half a game at every level. If you have a coach who cant figure out how to do that he/she should not coach.

That is called rec.

LOL u10 travel soccer is all about winning!

Anonymous wrote:At every age. At every level. A kid should get at least half a game playing time. The only exceptions would be: (1) injury or health concern (kid is sick but at the game) (2) discipline issue (broke team rule or had a red card etc). That’s it. No other exceptions. Don’t want to play a kid at least a half? Then don’t take their money. I do know a couple of times where a DA team took a couple of extra subs who might not play much over a weekend but they went for free. And the coaches got them in.

So - if money is being paid and no injury or discipline issues exist - then a coach must play every player, every time, at least half a game at every level. If you have a coach who cant figure out how to do that he/she should not coach.

That is called rec.

Anonymous wrote:My 11-year old is a starter he plays 90-95% of the game. They think of him as a clutch player. There are 3 subs and they rotate fairly well.

Our Coach had a conflict and another coach that doesn’t coach them filled in for a tournament game. My kid sat on the bench until the final 1 min of first half and then right when he went in the ref blew the whistle for 1/2 time. Why the f@ck sub with 1 min left? Nobody was hurt. They were down and playing like crap with kids that usually play the majority of the game on the bench -as if she forgot about them. I figured it was a mistake and he’d play a good portion of the 2nd half. Nope. It’s cold and raining and they traveled and got a hotel for this shit.

Some coaches legitimately can’t keep track and don’t know wtf is going on or who went in, etc.

now you know how the parents of the 3 subs feel every week

Anonymous wrote:Coaches can keep track

If it’s a coach that doesn’t know the kids at all. Never seen them play or nowhere they usually play- they can lose track. They don’t know names. They aren’t looking at the bench.

Yes- coaches can keep track. Not all are good at it.