First, let's consider some background. Experimentally, if you hand out ceramic mugs to a group of people, they mentally assign some value to them, let's say five dollars. If you ask a group of non-owners how much those mugs are worth, they assign a different, lower value, perhaps three dollars. Ownership confers value in and of itself. Psychologists call this ENDOWMENT BIAS. This is fundamental and universal among people; it's how we're wired.
Jump back to youth sports and you make the connection...you're not talking about some cheap mug, you're talking about MY CHILD. I call this the PRIME DIRECTIVE, i.e. nobody cares about MY CHILD as much as we, the parents do. We see our children through a different lens and understandably advocate for them. Legendary coach Don Meyer said it differently, every parent would rather see their child be ALL-STATE than have their team win the STATE CHAMPIONSHIP.
The late Al Maguire, former Marquette coach and broadcaster told a story about a parent who was lobbying for playing time for his son. Maguire said, "you're an insurance salesman, right? You don't know anything about basketball, so don't tell me how to coach." A Middlesex League coach whom I know told me he got a cell call during the FIRST quarter of the FIRST game asking why the parent's child wasn't playing. Really.
In high school, parents pay user fees or "participation fees." Participation fees help defray but don't completely pay for travel, uniforms, custodian and other costs. But user fees don't "buy" playing time. Still, I suspect that most coaches feel pressure to play everyone. Whether they acknowledge that, I don't know.
Former Celtics' coach Kevin Eastman says, "you are responsible for your paycheck." Translation, 'minutes' and all the perquisites that accompany them are not equal. That's true in the NBA and to a lesser degree in Little League. Coaches should explain their philosophy and parents should have the opportunity for feedback. That doesn't mean they will always agree.
Substituting players is the part of coaching I like least. If you substitute in groups (full substitution), you disrupt the flow and players also don't necessarily play with other 'stronger' players. If you have 12 players and 32 x 5 (160 minutes), then you can average only 13 minutes. That's not a lot. Should you have fewer (on average 'better') players or more players to facilitate development?
Two critical points:
- If a player is unhappy with her 'minutes' then she can ask 'what can I do to increase my role?'
- No player or parent can ever say, "I (or my child) is better than "Mary Jones." That discussion just can't happen. Coaches can't discuss other players relative to your child.