I have 12 girls on my team because I refuse to tell a girl no and no other parents want to help coach. I have set up games for our school myself and raised all the money for uniforms,fees etc. I entered the team in a league (very competitive) and some of my girls are far from ready to be able to compete without just getting mugged they don't stand a chance, I feel comfortable putting 8 of them on the floor without many issue's. I guess I am saying I have advanced girls and beginner girls mixed with 6 minute quarters it is impossible to play all of them and compete without getting pummeled every time. I do realize this is for development that is why I have set up the games outside the league where I make sure all players play. How do I explain to the parents and kids that they will get little to no playing time, or what is your advise- I just concern myself about the girls getting down because they struggle so much in a game with the more advanced players.

These are young kids, they need to play... ok, you have a big group to get them all in the game.

Here is something I did when I was coaching middle school boys. My last year we had a good team, they took a day of practice time away from us, so I scheduled practice type games.

The other coaches and I agreed that we would play 2 extra quarters with the last 7-8 players getting that playing time... and we played that first, so they felt like it wasn't just an afterthought.
(I had 15 players) That made everybody happy, kids got to play, they had my undivided attention and I was still fresh so to speak.

Then we played 4 more quarters with the top players. Get everybody some playing time and everyone will be happy, kids and parents. Good luck and I hope this helps...

AWESOME IDEA!!!! I will do just that coach, yes, I agree with you they all need to play that is how they learn, have fun, and get better.

That was my last year at that level... I went to the high school after that.... it was one of the most fun years for everybody, parents, kids and myself.

Trust me, it took me a long time to learn what was right and what was wrong...... good luck this year.

A story you might enjoy.... since we played a lot of non conference / practice type games... one friend of mine we played a few times..... you might say that we were a little animated LOL

We didn't have a gym so we always played at their place... once the word got around that they were playing our school.... they PACKED the place... we walked in to get dressed and the stands were filled... I asked him whats with this.... he said, they heard who we were playing and they wanted to see the Bud / Sar show..........

Pretty funny, we ended up playing them in the semi finals for the conference ( we won our division for the first time in school history ) and of course since we knew each other so well, it was a close game and fortunately we won..... it WAS a fun year.

Good story

I am a first time coach of 5/6th girls. We too have 12 girls and maybe only 6 or 7 that can actually play. We are in a small division (4 teams). Because of ISAT testing, our season is short - only 5 games. So far we are 2-1 and should make the playoffs. It's too late for us to schedule games outside of our division to let the subs have more playing time.
I am told we are to play to win. My supervisor told the girls on day one that "not all of you will play very many minutes. You are fortunate to even have a coach" (I volunteered becuase they didn't even have a coach last year.)
Last night we were ahead so I put in my subs - mostly in the last quarter. It was horrible. The other team out hustled them, stole the ball and out scored them to the point where I was getting nervous that we might actually lose.
Okay, I realize this is too much information so I'll get to the question.
What do I tell theses girls who are sad that they didn't play that many minutes?
Thanks,
Aimee

I wonder how they would have felt if they lost the game?? I understandd that you are playing to win... and hopefully you gave them that message loud and clear at the beggining of the season. You can tell them that you are sorry that they didn't get to play more, but hopefully they will get more minutes in the next game.
I would also tell them that you want to put them in a situation where they can be successful and have fun.

Suggestion - Maybe you can sub them in 1 or 2 at a time with the starters so you don't lose control of the game?
Just a thought. Next year, schedule a few extra quarters for THE SUBS to play only.

Thank you so much for that response. It's really exactly the message I want to give them. Should I get to coach again next year, I will be sure to find outside teams to play and schedule in those extra quarters!
By the way, I absolutely love your website!
Thanks again,
Aimee

I think the best thing coaches can do is be upfront and communicate at the begining of the season. What is the criteria for playing and what playing time expectations will be? In addition, whenever coaches can schedule "devopmental" games along with "play to win" games it is a bonus. On my son's baseball team a year ago that is how it was handled -- league games for development, tournaments to win. Everybody knew going in what to expect and it worked pretty good. Good luck.