Posted on April 9, 2010: How do I handle the coach segregating our team?
A Responsible Sports Fan suggested the following Scenario Question:
My 10 year old daughter's travel soccer coach split her team of 18 into a core team of 10 and the other 8 rotate out of half of the games. If they are not rostered for a game they are asked to stand with the spectators and cannot sit on the bench with their "team.” The team is essentially split based on the coach’s discretion into the top 10 core players and the bottom 8 rotational players. My daughter was very upset by this. I feel that this creates a defined segregation within the team and has caused severe blows to the 8 girls who didn't make the core team who play every game. How do you as a parent handle this when the soccer board says they have to support their coaches’ decisions and this prevented the team from cutting 3 players who would have not had another option for playing soccer in our town?
Dear Sandy,
Your situation elicits ideas from me on multiple levels. #1 - In principle I don't like the idea of one team having two distinct classes of players - some who get to suit up for every game and others who do not. I realize it's allowing more girls to take part in soccer to some extent, but in my opinion this set-up is actually making the experience worse for all 18 players, where the experience could be good for 15 players, if the tough decision to cut three players could be made. (In an ideal world the club would find fulltime room for these three players, as they have no other option in your town, but that may be impossible due to organizational rules that cannot be modified.)
#2 - When players/families signed up to participate in this club and on this team, were they aware of this policy (10 "core" players and eight "rotational" players)? If the players were not aware of this, and were told they made the team, then this feels like a bait and switch, and I'd like to see the Board stand up against it. However, if the players knew how the coaches planned to run the team and signed up for it anyway, then I don't see as much room for them to object to the policy now.
#3 - The parents can certainly give the coaches and Board feedback so future seasons can be handled differently, even if things cannot be changed for this season.
#4 - Anything and everything the coaches/parents can do to help the rotational players still feel they are a part of the team should be done. This might include having the non-uniform players keep statistics during games. Perhaps they are responsible for watching the other team and reporting back to the rest of the team about something. This way they will still feel valued, even if they are not part of the "core."
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