Hard Knocks - DYF Mites

This year is a very different year for Caz and his teammates. It all started without their knowledge in the ugly political battle over head coaching this is the dark underbelly of youth sports these days. Since I don't know first hand all the facts, I can 't begin to opine of the circumstances other to say it was a shame the way it went down. The result was that a few of the coaches from last year's staff, myself included (full disclosure), were not welcomed back. There were other battles on two of the other teams. The fall out there is that the coach that had the most complaints and who was the cause of parents banding together to oust that coach, if the Man Behind the Curtain on Caz's team. He's not the head coach, but he might as well be. And while he's actually a nice guy, it's a Jekyll and Hyde show. Anytime he gets within 500 feet of a football field, he becomes Hyde. He has unrealistic expectations of 9 year olds. While the team is big, meaning it has a lot of kids (36), so playing time is hard to come by, it makes no sense that the same 7-8 kids play Offense, Defense, and Special teams. He expects the "non-starters" to learn by watching in practice, also known as osmosis. The second and third stringers get little attention and reps in practice. There's no chance to move up because he concentrates on the first string. So if you make a great play on scout team, it goes unnoticed. And Game Day? Unless, you are the 11 on the field, there's only one coach that pays attention to you. That guy? Last year's head coach. I give him a lot of credit for hanging in there. He could have taken the easy way out and not coached. But he couldn't let his son and the rest just be fed to the wolf.
So no. Not every one of 36 kids is going to get equal playing time. But there is enough talent on that team to start 22 different kids on offense and defense. There is enough talent to get kids on special teams. I realize that this is my personal view but 9 year old youth football is not supposed to be cutthroat like high school football. Meaning you earn your spot and your playing time. The Man Behind the Curtain issued an email when complaints about playing time started saying that some kids were limited in playing time due to safety issues (while a legitimate concern, I think this was still used as a cop out) and for "lack of knowledge of the game". What 9 year old has a comprehensive knowledge of football? Aren't they still learning at that age?
I consider last season a perfect season. The kids were happy. They improved every week. They played as a team. And lastly, they happened to win. I think we had a great coaching staff. We received a lot of compliments as a coaching staff. This season has just been a polar opposite. I am just happy that Caz seems to be having fun for the most part. He sticks with his teammates. I just hope it doesn't sour him on football. I wouldn't blame him if it did.