As some of you may recall, I was appointed head coach of my kid's hockey team. The kids are in 8th and 9th grade. We're a non-travel team, so we're either less skilled in the eyes of the evaluators or the kids/families are less serious about the game.
My general philosophy is that for games, if a kid tries hard, the kid plays. I won't bench or short shift a kid for a lack of skill.
We are in a tournament this weekend. Last night we had our semi-final game. We win, we play for the championship. We lose we play for 3rd or 4th. For the last 5 minutes, I shortened the bench and sat three kids. One of the dads (an assistant coach) is pissed off because his kid was shorted ice time. We scored 3 quick goals and I put those kids back in. His philosophy is all kids play. That we win and lose as a team. I responded that that is my general philosophy for league games, but not for tournament games. I also proposed that he run the bench today. He declined.
We play for the championship this afternoon. I plan to do the same--if it's a close game, I shorten the bench to give us the best chance to win.
What would you do?
Thanks.
My general philosophy is that for games, if a kid tries hard, the kid plays. I won't bench or short shift a kid for a lack of skill.
We are in a tournament this weekend. Last night we had our semi-final game. We win, we play for the championship. We lose we play for 3rd or 4th. For the last 5 minutes, I shortened the bench and sat three kids. One of the dads (an assistant coach) is pissed off because his kid was shorted ice time. We scored 3 quick goals and I put those kids back in. His philosophy is all kids play. That we win and lose as a team. I responded that that is my general philosophy for league games, but not for tournament games. I also proposed that he run the bench today. He declined.
We play for the championship this afternoon. I plan to do the same--if it's a close game, I shorten the bench to give us the best chance to win.
What would you do?
Thanks.