Hi Everyone,
I coach football (as we call it here in England)to a group of 14 & 15
year old boys, and at present we have a squad of 17 players. The
rules of our league state that in an eleven a side match we can only
play 3 substitutes meaning that if all my players were available two
would be unable to play any part in the game. Often, for varous
reasons, we have had players unable to attend matches so this has not
caused problems. However recently I had 16 players turn up so had to
tell one of them he would not be taking part. The player himself
seemed to take it well and I promised him he would be able to take
part in next weeks match. However I did notice that both he and his
parents did leave the game early, and that evening I recieved a very
irrate phone call from his father who told me that they had travelled
some distance to be at the game, and they felt that I should have
contacted them beforehand to let them know that their son was'nt
playing, I realise in an ideal world that it would have been my best
course of action, but more often than not I do not know exactly how
many will turn up to a game, and can never bank on getting a full
turn out. This episode has made me quite upset because previously to
this I have always had excellent relations with my players parents,
and I am now wondering whether I should think about trimming my squad
down, although I would hate to have to do this as all the Boys have
been loyal to me over a long period. Maqybe some of the members have
had similar problems, and if so I would be very grateful for some
advice.