Reader,
When it comes to youth football, our priority as coaches should be to create environments full of joy, connection, engagement and learning. We want our players to love playing the game, and ultimately, to return next season.
Therefore if we are honest, game day should simply be an extension of the week, giving players a chance to play with their friends and practice what they have worked on with their team.
So, for the vast majority of coaches – the answer to this questions is yes, we should give our players equal playing time.
But there are challenges to delivering on this. The reality is, competition structures, coaches, parents and players themselves often attach added emphasis to game day and the results of it. This focus can hinder equal game time, especially if we operate in an environment where winning is the sole definition of success, particularly by the adults involved.
It is also important to acknowledge that in different contexts, the answer to this question might be different. For example, in a high performance environment (where very few coaches work) game time may need to be earned through application and performance.
We also have the opportunity to support the development of players as people by appreciating that hard work, effort and commitment (and other performance behaviours) can yield rewards like selection or game time.
I have worked in clubs where throughout the year we aimed to provide equal playing time or a minimum number of minutes to all players. We tracked playing time each week. We would then use tournament weeks as opportunities to help players understand that in sport, as they get further along the pathway, sometimes minutes won’t be guaranteed.
With this comes opportunities to be a great teammate, a team player, a supporter of the group with the chance to play more minutes at the next tournament.
However, the caveat for me is that all of these decisions depend entirely on the nature of the programme, the age and stage of the players, the clarity of communication by coaches and clubs, as well as buy-in from the parents and players.
Managing game time is not difficult. Pre-planning your starting team and substitutes and timings is a great way to ensure that on game day, you are clear in your decision making. There are also now apps that can help track minutes of players and worst case, you can write it down in your notebook on the sideline.
Three things to consider.
- Consider pre planning your starting team and planned substitutes. Communicate this to players before the game so they all know where they stand.
- Communicate clearly to players and parents that equal game time is a priority for your club at the start of the year, and then stick to it by tracking minutes. Make equal playing time part of the culture of your team.
- Consider the impact on the player who doesn’t get minutes and what their experience is. This can have a massive impact on players staying in the game.
One thing for you to try this week.
Commit to a planning process each week for deciding on your starting team, substitutes, and timing of substitutions. If you have already written down your starting team for games throughout the year in a document or diary, go back and check how fair you’ve been with your selections and substitutions and consider what you could change going forward.
One critical resource on the topic.
Check out this Q&A discussion by the PDP team which tackles the question, should I give my players equal game time.
