Coach playing for next year?

In a article I read a coach of a local D1 program was quoted as saying at this point we may choose to sink or swim with the young guys. As the parent of a senior this sort of bothers me. Should a coach really deprive a senior or even a junior of playing time during a losing season just to build for next year now? I almost think they coach owes the older players a chance to play out their careers and finish what they started. It seems as if he is using the losing of games to write off the upper classmen. I mean can't he build the younger guys in the offseason?
Thoughts?

The job of a college coach is to win period. If a freshman can play just as well or better then the coach will play them. Take a look at college ball most programs have freshman that are starters, for example look at Uconn should Calhoun bench the young guys to let the seniors play? I wouldn't hold my breath on that one.

Well let me give you the context a little. The team has been playing it's older players and they have not had much success so far. At game 7-8 of a 18 game season the coach is discussing benching the upper classmen for the underclassmen. I understand that the coaches job is about winning although this is a high school program. Does the coach owe the seniors a chance to play out their senior year or should he play the underclassmen now in an effort to get better for next year or the years upcoming?

I feel that if a coach has gone with the upper classmen for 7- 8 games and it has not worked, then if he has talent at a lower class, he should at least get them more exposure to the Varsity level.
If he sticks with the seniors and they continue to lose, not perform etc, then i would play the younger kids.

Actually my son had a similar situation his senior season. After graduating a strong group the year before they were left with 3 seniors, no juniors and a group of sophomores and freshmen. Before the season started the coach was quoted as saying to the local newspaper “we have to weather this season and look forward to next season.”
WOW throw in the towel before the season started.

Yeah that is what I was getting at. Some seniors who have played 4 years of basketball waited to get their time and just because they are not winning that is taken away? I feel two ways about this. If the team has a chance of winning and making a move in the playoffs this year by all means use the young guys and try to win but to play the young guys to just prepare for next year in expense of the seniors I do not agree with. Your losing, lose with your seniors and allow the practices to help prepare the underclassmen for the upcoming years. I think you owe your seniors a little more than this coach is doing. Just my two cents.

I think that a good coach would be able to satisfy both needs.

I don't think being a senior entitles you to minutes.

A very special team won a title not that long ago. They attributed one very significant win to a senior who barely played. He gave a very moving and motivating speech in the locker room. He made his mark but did not expect minutes that went to better players.

Most coaches tell seniors... you may not get minutes....when they put them on the team if they aren't playing at the highest level. I think that's fair.

Coaches owe the best season to the school and team as long as they do it fairly and within the rules. But no one is entitled to a particular role on the team.

Your in high school by the time your a senior if you not up to par then you have to understand you had your chance and for whatever reason it didn't happen. Besides your most likely an adult age wise so you might as well get used to some failure as a lot of it will come your way when you get into the real world. Plus i'm sure Milford saw a few seniors sitting the bench last year right? And i don't think you would have been posting this at that time right?

Coaches refer to the idea that a senior player thinks they deserve minutes as "senioritis". Many times Seniors, especially those that were coming off the bench as Juniors, or seeing limited minutes, feel they are owed something for time served as a Junior. That it's their time now. That they shouldn't have to work as hard in practice...etc.

Newsflash. Any good coach will put the best team team out there with a chance to win when the season begins. Of course I'm talking about the Varsity level here. At lower levels its a bit different as you're really grooming kids, and seeing what they have to offer in coming years. But as the season progresses, there comes a time where if things are not going as planned, the playoffs are out of the picture, and for all relative purposes, you're back to grooming kids for the next level, or in this case, the next season.

But it doesn't necessarily mean you play underclassman, and not Seniors. Bottom line is you play the kids that deserve to play. The ones that show up to practice and work the hardest. Get on the floor for loose balls. Respect the coach and his/her teammates. Intangibles that don't show up on the stat sheet, because lets face it, at this point your team probably doesn't have a ton of stats. For those players who treat practice like they should (a game), you reward them, and it sets a good example for the younger players the following season.

If your 5 seniors are the hardest working kids day in and day out in the gym on a team that's 0-8...you play them. That kind of action is contagious. I think there needs to be some talent/skill involved (you don't want to lose every game 75-10) but if there's a choice between Player A (Freshman) and Player B (Senior) who are of equal skill level, you don't play the younger kid just to play the younger kid, you play the one that works hardest day in and day out and reward them for their work.

Not sure if all that made sense - but each case is unique. There's really no clear cut answer to your question. You take into effect their grade, work ethic, game performance, practice performance, and many other factors when deciding a rotation on a team that's performed to sub-par expectations and playoffs are out of the picture.

Totally different situations I think. Last years young players had a chance to win in Milford. The situation I am talking about is purely building for next season starting now. I understand the coach owes the team a chance to win now and if that is the young players I have no issue with it. But this situation looks like it is a coach worried more about next years underclassmen than the seniors he kept this year. I just do not know if it is right to sit seniors for the benefit of next years results.

Maybe the underclass man are working harder in practice, it is tough to speculate I pretty familiar with the situation your talking about and the two Freshman one is the hardest worker and the other is as talented of a Freshman ( though a bit undersized right now) that as come through that school in ten years.

My sophomore year the High School football coach at my school did the same thing they were coming off of back to back titles and 3 in 4 years,with 2 Div one players in that group.
All the Seniors got benched in favor of a few juniors and the kids in my class.( I did not play). The team went on to win back to back titles the next year two years and only gave up 17 points my senior all year with out a single Div 1 player and only one kid went on to play at Colby.

The kids from my class if 94 love the coach the kids from the Class of 92 cant stand him. But that class also did not work that hard.

Chi Kid...

Are you going ONLY on what you read in an article? Because even though I am a media lover... I gotta say... I don't think it fair to characterize much about a coach running his or her program based on an article where much could have been left out to explain context.

Yes I am and I agree may not be the best way to know the entire story but it is all I have lol

I haven't even read the article...link?

I just hope this coach explained his tatics to his players before he released it to the press...he owes the seniors that much.

Totally agree with you 8992.

The coach has a responsibility to build his program to be successful over time. If a coach has a chance, in a rebuilding year, to gain experience for his younger players of the future, he/she'd be crazy not to do that. If a team is rebuilding (not going to make the tournament), and the talent level is even, you play the younger kids all day long. The seniors, although having "put in their time", obviously wouldn't have improved enough over time to keep the team competitive...maybe they lacked the work ethic in the summer...whatever the case...they don't deserve to play the year out. You play the younger kids meaningful minutes to prepare for the upcoming years.

We have totally forgotten what Public High School Sports is about. Public High School sports is NOT about TOMORROW. It is about the NOW. These seniors will never suit up again. If the underclassmen bring nothing better to the table THIS year, then you let the Seniors enjoy the experience. You develop your players in practice and mostly in AAU. Lets not totally forget what Public High School sports is about. It is not College or NFL. Public High School atheletes are largely just kids that wanna play in HS and enjoy the experience. I am glad that some of you were not calling the shots back when I played because we seldom won, I guess seniors would have never played. You need to play the best players you have THIS year, bottom line.

Well my faith has been restored with that last post. I was beginning to believe I was completely alone. Actually I knew I was not alone since I have been given a hard time in conversations in the past when I stated I thought my son should have played varsity as a freshmen. I have been told that the team that year was not that good and was not going to win anything so let the seniors play their senior year out. At the time I really thought that Milford could have made a run if they had played more underclassmen earlier in the year. They actually played some of the younger kids in the playoffs and pushed Stark to a good game in Weare before falling short of getting to UNH. I knew I was biased that year because I knew the players and one was my son but I truly think it is different if you are just building for the future. If you have no chance of winning why not let your seniors enjoy their last days of hoops. The minutes the underclassmen get will hardly make that much of a difference. I think next year is next year this is the seniors time.

SalemBC - You play the best players you have available - that have put forth the effort to play. That's the bottom line. It's not as simple as just playing Freshman because the season is over and you missed the playoffs.

There are very few coaches I've talked to (mostly DI) that would ever bench Seniors in favor of younger players for next year, or play Seniors just because they are Seniors and are owed that. Every player earns their minutes on the court based on many factors that I already mentioned in my previous post.

If my team is out of the playoffs - I'd play a Freshman or Sophomore over a Senior every day of the week if they earned that playing time based on their effort and willingness to compete and win, and the Senior did not. But I'd also switch that around if the Senior is exhibiting those factors...as a teaching point to my future players. Seniors on bad teams have a valuable role on the team and to bastardize them and cast them off is the wrong choice as well. You need to build confidence in a team, and Seniors need to lead by example whether your 8-0 or 0-8. If they dont...you move on without them.

Your assuming the seniors have given up and the freshmen are better players or equally as good. I do not know if that is the case your record now wouldn't be the deciding factor it would be the skill level and effort. I have no insight on any of those but I took the article as if we are going to lose anyway we may as well play the young guys.. I do not think that is acceptable. If all the guys are giving their best effort and losing is a forgone conclusion let the seniors enjoy what they have left.

"to bastardize them and cast them off is the wrong choice as well." Assistant

Bastardize? The Assistant uses one of the biggest words of truculence I've ever seen on The Forum

Tuesday and Friday wrote: Bastardize? The Assistant uses one of the biggest words of truculence I've ever seen on The Forum

For what it's worth, I had to google "Truculence".

I think the word fits the crime of kicking your Seniors to the curb for no other reason than the team stinks. The ones that work hard on and off the court, regardless of class, deserve to help the entire team get better during game time. It can only set a good precedent for those who will be back the following year.

I'm old school. I once saw Howard Cosell use truculent in an interview with Ali when he was getting ready for a fight. That word has been in a recess of my verbal mind ever since.