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Coach, Parent

Why Doesn't My Son Get To Play, Even in Practice?

My son plays middle school football. Our concern is that he and many other kids attend every practice and yet, they find themselves standing around and watching the starting team practice play after play without participating. They aren’t tenured players, but shouldn’t they be supporting the tenured players in practice?

My question is about the respectful thing to do or to say to the coaching staff or organization. In my opinion, it would make sense to practice all levels of the team and not just the A-team. Maybe let the non-A team run plays in a different area to offer a support line to the A-team if they get tired or hurt during a game. Does the coach not really care about a supporting team?

PCA Response by Trainer Levi Nelson, Head HS Football Coach

Thank you so much for your question. You are correct. It would make sense for every member of the team to participate in practice, however, to best answer your question, I would first be interested to learn how many players are on the team, the number of coaches on staff, and the overall practice structure.
The reason I ask is that from my experience most football teams utilize a “team period” that simulates an actual football game (offense vs. defense). During this time at least 22 players are engaged in practice- 11 for offense/defense and 11 more that comprise a “scout team” that serve to simulate the upcoming opponent.

Depending on the formation and/or strategy, a few more players might be kept on hand to serve as key substitutes. From your question, it appears that your son’s team is quite large in size if he, along with many other kids, are standing around and watching during this time.

Unfortunately, on the teams I coach, it is rare to have enough players and coaches to be able to run plays in a different area, so my advice to the coach would be to encourage the other players who are not actively participating to sub in on the scout team or perhaps work on individual skills on the side. However, I would caution the athlete to ask the coach's advice on what skills to work on if he chooses to practice off to the side. Practice does not make perfect, but rather practice leads to improvement. If there is not a coach to supervise and provide corrective feedback, I would advise the athlete to become a mental participant or sub on the scout team. My hope is that the structure of practice includes some individual and group periods where the team is broken down into smaller units, where student-athletes can work on skills related to their position while being coached.

I am sorry to hear about your son's experience and hope I was able to help. As a second goal parent, my advice would be to encourage your son and the other athletes to speak with the coach directly about participating on the scout team before getting involved. I would also suggest that you encourage your son to play with high effort if given the opportunity.

As a coach, I can’t tell you how many athletes I have unintentionally “overlooked” over the years, only to have them stand out on the scout team. These athletes are then given a chance to play with the “A” team. From there, the athlete must know his assignment if he wants to seize his opportunity. If for some reason the coach will still not allow your son to play on the scout team even after he has demonstrated the willingness to play with great effort, then my advice is to set up a call with the coach and express your concerns.

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