You’ve just started out coaching and you’ve been playing your “good” players majority of the time, but your team success hasn’t come just yet. Your gut suggests you need to play the “good” players more, yet you know something is a little off. Could they be part of the reason the teams not gelling? We’re here to show you why the best coaches out there will at times, bench good players.
Why Youth Coaches Bench Good Players? The best youth coaches understand when to bench a good player. Albeit they might be your best, does that player play the right way or how you want them too? Are they disruptive at practice? Are they punctual? What’s the level of commitment? Do they play in the team structure? Are they a good teammate?
Some players are naturally more gifted than others, though as we are playing youth sports, it’s your job to bring out the best of everyone, both on and off the playing arena. This is where your coaching record comes into check and some tough love might be in order. Remember, youth sports is about enjoyment for all and not the amount of wins and losses you accumulate.
This article is for the youth coach who has a good player and wants to know how to make them great. It also provides thoughts on what coaches should be preaching to those good players, some of which are more than x’s & o’s.
Note: Talk To The Parents First
Irrespective of the reason to bench a player, if the decision is disciplinary and that player has been playing regularly prior to it, I can’t stress enough that you must talk with the parents before making that call.
You are coaching youth sports here and one of the biggest issues we see is the relationship between coaches and parents. This post is not for discussing the reasons behind this, though, if parents are informed, your decision to bench the good player will have a much larger impact. An obnoxious parent is the last thing you want and we suggest reading this post on tips to avoid having them.
I can’t say the parent will support your reasoning for the benching, though the chances are much higher versus them driving 60 minutes to the game, to have their son/daughter play minimal to no minutes. The drive back home with an unhappy child and angry parent never bodes well for rational conversation.
Talk with them, explain the reasons for the benching and let them know you still love coaching their child, but there are standards that need to be upheld and you’re doing what you think is best to help the kid become the best they can be!
The Good Player Doesn’t Play The Right Way
I’ve seen it all too often, where a player is rewarded for making a move on the sporting arena that leads to “scoring”. Hey daughter, for every home run you hit, I’ll give you $5. Son, don’t listen to coach about getting back on defense, you need to be scoring more.
This parental influence can lead to their child being a great offensive weapon for your team, though can also be at the detriment of playing the “right way”. Now playing the right way is subjective to the coaches philosophy, so it can vary from coach to coach. Though in this situation, is the player following the instructions on how you want the game to be played? Or are they going about their business with a totally different viewpoint and mindset.
There are too many coaches out there that don’t see the bigger picture or future and may not hold the player to a standard because it’s leading to wins in the short term. However, the best coaches out there will have no problem in putting that player on the bench because that individual player’s performance isn’t helping the others in the team and that type of play will not bring about future success for that person.
As a youth sports coach, your job is to teach the players the fundamentals of the game, in context with being a good teammate on and off the field. A player who is purely focused on a certain aspect of the game, where they will stand out and be rewarded, doesn’t support your cause.
The Good Player is Disruptive
You are running a practice session and your good player decides he doesn’t like the drill. He starts to roll his eyes and not give 100% effort. Next, he starts mucking around with one of his teammates in the line, causing you to place a hold on the drill to tell him off.
If this was a player who was still developing, would you stand for this behavior? Or because you don’t want to upset one of your good players, you turn a blind eye and move on?
The best coaches out there will hold the good player to a standard and showcase that this disruptive behavior is unacceptable. This could come in the form of a penalty at practice should the indiscretion be minor. However, if it’s continual, you may need to bench the player for the next game.
Disruptive behavior doesn’t serve the coach or players any good. You’re all giving up your free time to be there and stopping everyone from having fun and learning defeats that purpose.
Set your requirements and standards for practice and games prior to the commencement of the season and hold everyone accountable to it, no matter what the skill level.
Related post: What Makes a Bad Youth Sports Coach? How to Not Become One
The Good Player Doesn’t Showcase a High Level of Commitment
Is your good player also someone who consistently practices at a high level? Do they always come on time? Are they engaged? Do they ask questions? Do they push the other players to get better?
In youth sports, you’ll find some good players just have natural talent. They could pick up any sport and most likely be one of the best players within the team or sports arena. And this may help your team in the short term, though that will only take the good player so far.
I found a great article on how you can gauge how committed an athlete really is. Now albeit it makes some great points, depending on the age of the player you are coaching, some of the factors might be out of their control. They can’t drive themselves to practice so being regularly late could be a parental issue. They also can’t easily make it to practices which “aren’t mandatory” if their parents don’t deem attendance necessary.
So as coach, before making a decision to bench a player based on level of commitment, look into what commitment factors the player themselves control. What’s their attitude and effort each day? Are they striving to get better at their deficiencies? How committed are they to things that require no skills on the sporting arena?
The Good Player Isn’t Coachable
Is the player coachable? I’ve never coached college level basketball, however, I’ve coached a number of athletes who’ve gone to have very successful college basketball careers. The no.1 question I would always get asked from a respective college coach had nothing to do with x’s and o’s or how good the player was. It was always… Is the player coachable?
The term coachable can have different meanings to different people. I always took it as does the player listen to instruction and do what he can in the context of the team environment? And I was always honest… I’ve told a number of college coaches along the way that player xx might be our best guy, but I believe player yy will be just as good and much better for your program as a whole. This goes back to my earlier point, of playing the right way.
Coaches want players they can trust. They want to know that a player can follow instructions and have their back, no matter what the situation. Albeit not sport-related, check out the below video on performance vs trust. It shows you how the US Navy Seals, one of the most high-pressure teams around, go about selecting the types of players they want on their teams.
It might be worth showing your player this video before placing them on the bench, though if they still don’t quite understand, then some time on the sidelines might be the next best thing.
The Good Player Is Not a Great Teammate
Do you talk about your team culture before the start of the season? What is it that you constitute being a great teammate? Is it helping someone up when they fall down? Is it giving a high five when someone else has success? Is it constant encouragement when sitting on the bench? Is it putting your arm around your teammate having a bad day?
Teaching players how to properly behave in all situations of sport is just as important as coaching game strategy.
Source
Does your good player, albeit thinking he’s going to play, support your team first culture? I have seen too many times in youth sport where the good players on the team didn’t feel like they had to be that good teammate and fit into the culture. It was always someone else’s fault when a mistake was made. They very rarely got excited about someone else’s success, as they became threatened due to that person potentially taking their spot.
To be a good player, you typically have a touch of arrogance. I don’t know why, but that added confidence when things get heated typically helps them stand out. Coaches should never try and squash this. It needs to be embraced. However, it’s important to separate that the level of arrogance or confidence in the players ability and can never be accepted as a reason for not being a good teammate.
Let the good player know a successful team is made up of many factors, culture being at its core. When you do get benched, and if you’re a good coach this will happen, that player needs to not sit and pout with arms folded. He should listen to the coaches reasoning, embrace it, work on it and be on his feet the next possession when a teammate does something great. In doing so, I believe he’ll get his next chance again very soon.
Summary: Why Do Coaches Bench Good Players?
Your job as coach is to place players in a position to succeed in the later years of life, whether that be on the sporting field or not. Holding that player to a standard, even if they are good or your best, ensures they understand why it’s important to follow direction and just because you are “good” at something, doesn’t mean we provide you a leave pass in other areas.
When you have good players all pulling in the same direction, listening to the coaches instruction and enjoying what they do, is when you’ll find the most success with your coaching.
Why did you bench a good player at one point?
What were the lessons you and the player learnt from it?
Cheers,
Daniel
