I'm currently coaching Middle School boys basketball for a very small school. We have a total of about 15 kids dispersed among an A and B Team. When I volunteered, I asked about allowing any 5th graders to play considering that we probably will be short handed. In addition to that, two of our best A players are playing for a club team and will be missing about half of our games. The principal and AD of the school only expressed their concern that allowing a 5th grader to play in the games might be overwhelming to those young players who lack the skill and size. However, I only have one 5th grader on our practice squad and he's a very good ballhandler. I decided to put him in one of the A games to give the starting point guard a rest. This has created an issue with one of the parents who says I need to put the older players in the game first.

The league were playing in, states in their rules that A Team is to be made up of your best players, not necessarily your oldest. While technically, the 5th grader is below the standard grade level (6th - 8th), I as a coach, do not see this as an issue since it isn't giving our team any kind of unfair advantage. Of the 15 players we have, there's about 3 of them that really aren't up to the competitive level that we are playing against.

I'm just wondering what other coaches think about this situation. Should I pull the 5th grader from the team and not play him which will mean our team probably won't be winning too many games, or do I follow along the philosophy of playing my best players?

Steve -

Welcome to the world of coaching and parental issues. This is the 8th grade team?

15 kids and two teams... seems like everyone would be getting a chance to play. The kid you played was a point guard yes? This parent - what position does her son play?

Even though this is middle school ball.... at the 8th grade level you DO coach to win - NOT at all costs but that means playing your best players in certain situations.

Hi Coach,

We're a small parochial school going from preschool all the way up to 8th grade. I think there's only about 10 or less 8th graders for the entire school. We're playing in a league that is typically made up of 6th, 7th and 8th graders. Of those 15 players, there about 3 players who aren't ready for competitive play. For example, when we started practicing, they struggled with just dribbling the ball. However, my thinking going into the season was to keep everyone on the team to make sure we had enough players, as well as hoping to possibly find a 'diamond in the rough' among the lesser skilled players.

The son of the parent who complained is one of the smallest on the team and I'd rank him toward the bottom 5 in terms of skills. He can dribble the ball but often gets himself trapped in a corner and habitually gets rid of the ball without knowing who he's passing to. I work with all the players on their dribbling skills, but some of it comes down to mental errors - not knowing or understanding what they should be doing.

It's really hard to say what I would do in that situation. If playing that kid is what's best for everyone, then play him. If not, well don't.

Bob Bigelow says "The aim for youth sports should be to have fun, get exercise, develop skills, and foster a love for the game." I think that's pretty good.

When I wrote down my goals for a youth team, here's what I cam up with...

I believe the most important things for a youth coach to do are:

1. Make a positive impact by every day teaching and emphasizing teamwork, character, integrity, work ethic, confidence, positive thinking, and helping players learn to love sports and basketball (have fun).

2. Develop players so they can reach their maximize their potential and prepare them for varsity level basketball.

3. Play the right way

Put learning to play basketball ahead of learning my system.

I think if you decide what your true goals are, it will be clear whether you should play the kids or not. And it will be easy for you to justify your action(s) with the parents.

Good luck!!

BTW, you never know who will bloom. I was on C squad in 7th grade and a 5-2 freshman. I stunk when I was young (in fact I was terrible) but things changed dramatically when puberty kicked in and I started practicing a little bit.

Thanks, Jeff.

It's tough trying to manage such varying levels of skill and getting them to play together harmoniously. We spend a good half of the practice, split into halves so that I can work with one group at a time, but towards the end, we scrimmage and I think for some of lessor skilled players, they are feeling overwhelmed.

I have one player who has an incredibly positive attitude, gives 100 percent and is really developing. I can see that he has the potential to really be great. Desire and a good work ethic go a long way, but I know as a coach that I can help foster that desire by making sure the lessor skilled players are having fun and not feeling too overwhelmed.

I agree with Jeff - he has made some great points... and yes, there are always some diamonds in the rough.

I was 4'11 as a freshman and NOT a good player... so obviously I didn't make the team - I felt good making it to the last cut. I ddin't grow until the middle of my junior year so Bball was out for me. But, I DID love the game... played to have fun in the park and at the church and YMCA league.

You are the one that has to make the decisions... IF the kid deserves to play, then play him.. with 15 kids and two teams I would find it hard to think that everyone isn't going to get some playing time. You know your kids better than anyone... parents think about their kids only.

Good luck