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The playing time debate
By Dan Klinkhammer
MYAS Executive Director
In my article last
month (“Rec vs. Traveling”), I apparently hit a nerve
with a few people when I said, “Another thing that both parents and kids need
to remember is that playing on a travel team is a privilege, not a right.
Athletes have to earn a position on the team; they are not entitled
to it.” If my fading memory is correct, we received more requests to reprint
that article than any other in the past.
So as a follow-up to
the rec versus traveling scenario, I thought I’d
address one of the most debated topics in youth sports: playing time. I
recently read an article in a national newsletter addressing the issue of
playing time. In a nutshell, there are two opposing philosophies on this issue.
One side says that kids need to learn that the world is a very competitive
place, and they need to realize they will be competing with the rest of the
world and only the cream rises to the top.
The other side says
these are kids who are still in the process of developing their physical and
mental attributes. You develop much faster playing in real competition as
opposed to riding the bench while more talented players represent your team on
the field or court.
I pride myself as
being something of an “old schooler.” In other words,
I don’t apologize for saying that kids need to earn their way through life. I
don’t apologize for thinking that all of our little “snowflakes” might need a
good kick in the rear from time to time. I don’t apologize for believing that
some parents hurt their children more by “helping” them than if they would let
the kids learn something by failing. I don’t apologize for thinking that some
kids are spoiled rotten. And I don’t apologize for thinking that some parents
are so blinded by their love that they can’t see the forest beyond their little
sapling. So with all of my “stand up for yourself, quit crying, suck it up”
mentality, I was a little surprised when I found myself on the “everybody has
to play” side of the fence. Read on.
Just for the record,
this debate isn’t intended to discuss playing time issues for recreational
players. It has long been standard practice that kids playing in local in-house
programs should be treated equally in every way. In my mind, the only reason to
take playing time away from a rec player is because
they refuse to come to practice.
Today’s debate is
focused on kids playing on travel teams. How much playing time should they be
guaranteed? Should they get equal playing time? Do you play to win or do you
play to develop? How much playing time is enough? How much is too much? What
other factors (besides talent and desire) should determine playing time?
I don’t have enough
time or space here to address all of these questions in great detail, so I’ll
just touch upon the ingredients that swung me over to the side of the fence
that says they all need to play. Once again, I’m trying to simplify this very
complex issue and my answer revolves around the word “
Now that I have
endorsed the concept of everyone getting to play, let me make it perfectly
clear that I did NOT say that everyone on a travel team should get equal
playing time. In my opinion, that’s the big difference between rec and travel ball. Just as I believe that a position on a
travel team must be earned, I also believe that playing time on a travel team
must be earned. However, I don’t think that talent is the only criteria for
establishing who plays a lot and who plays a little. If I were coaching a
travel team today, I’d take into consideration factors other than raw talent,
speed and size to make that determination. I think that desire, dedication,
dependability, attention, attitude and understanding of the game are all
variables that need to be considered when you are trying to determine who plays
and when they play. But the absolute bottom line is that they all need to play
and if you want me to be specific, I’d say that every kid on a travel team
should be playing at least 25% of the time.
Some of the real
hard-line old schoolers will probably scoff at my
suggestion that even the least talented player on the team should be playing at
least 25% of the time. They will always refer back to the notion that the world
is a very competitive place and these kids need to understand they will be in
competition with everyone else once they are turned loose into
the world. While that’s very true, the difference is that when we turn them
loose on the world they will no longer be kids. They will be adults, which is a
big difference from being 12 years old and wondering who you are and what you
are going to grow into.
Kids are going
through a very difficult developmental stage of their life and it’s unfair of
us to treat them like adults knowing they are not fully developed. As youth
sport providers, it is my job and your job to provide these kids with an
environment where they can develop into the best they can be. And nobody
becomes the best they can be by sitting on the bench. It’s just that simple.
Dan’s Tip of the
Day: There are lots of ways to determine playing time and still keep the peace
on your travel team. Here’s one method that seems to work for a lot of teams:
determine which is more important to you - tournament play or league play. Once
that is determined, you can play your “studs” in the more important
competitions and use your weaker players in others. But in the end, everyone is
getting an opportunity to play and everyone is getting an opportunity to see
the game from the sidelines.
Lastly, the playing
time decision should be a team decision, or at the very least the coach
needs to share their philosophy with all the kids and parents. You will all
need to be on the same page no matter what method you use. In my opinion,
the only way to keep them all playing is to let them all play!