Letter to a Middle School Coach

Hey Coach D,

I feel I need to reach out tonight because of some concerns I have as a parent.  E is extremely frustrated tonight and I cannot say that I blame him.  He played well tonight in the few minutes he was given, but in general they are so few that there is little opportunity for him to get traction or grow as a player.  There were several opportunities to get other players in the game tonight that were missed considering our lead and it became obvious to me that things were starting to get overly sloppy as players were getting tired because they were being played too much.  

To be perfectly honest, I do not know what message is being sent or what overall goals are being met by playing J for 90 plus percent of every game to the exclusion of others.  From a development stand point I believe it is short sighted to give some players most of the time and leave others on the bench so much at this level.  I have to say that in our basketball experiences through AAU and other communities our school has a reputation for not adequately developing all its players prior to high school which frustrates the program gaining success at that higher level.

Middle school is the time to allow kids to grow and develop their skills under the pressure of game time situations.  I see other schools subbing kids in and out throughout the game much more than we do.  I do not want to see my kid’s love for the game to diminish b/c his hard work is not being rewarded or he is not being given the chance to bloom.  He was gaining confidence through AAU in the Spring and the Summer League and playing extremely well at times, but now I feel he is stalling and not being developed to his full potential which breaks my heart as his father.

I greatly appreciate the time you are spending with our kids and I respect your coaching skills and your character.  I know you cannot make everyone happy all the time in your position, but I just wanted to point out these things as it is directly impacting my son in a way that I feel is not wholly positive and I want to see him succeed.

Respectfully yours,

A