You might notice that the parents come to many of the games. Don’t fool yourself — the reason why parents come to watch the games is to see their son or daughter play. As a secondary consideration, parents will tell you it’s nice the team wins, but their number one priority is to see their child participate.

If you keep this simple principle of equal participation in your mind when the game begins, you’ll be on your way to a very successful season — regardless of whether the team wins or loses.

That means not letting the less talented players play in the last quarter when the score is lopsided and the game already decided. Sprinkle in all of your players throughout the game. That way, every youngster will come out of the game knowing — win or lose — they helped contribute to the team’s effort. Now, that’s coaching!

Of course, if only five players can play at a time, and you have as many 12 players on the team, it can be a little confusing as to who has played a lot and who has been on the bench. This is where an assistant coach can be a great help. Before the game, give one of your assistants a chart broken down by quarters with every player listed (see sample game chart on opposite page).

Have your assistant mark down which player is playing and when. It’s your job to get all of them into the rotation.

Sample Game Chart
STING vs. COMETS
PLAYER	1st	2nd	3rd	4th
Samantha	F	X	G	C
Alyssa	F	G	X	F
Trish	G	C	F	X
Michelle	G	F	X	G
Julie	C	X	F	G
Erica	X	G	C	F
Pam	X	F	G	X

Note:
1) There are 7 kids on this particular team — only 5 can play at once. Everybody sits out at least one quarter, except for Pam who sits out two. That means that in the next game, Pam should get to play the entire game in order to make her playing time equal. Every rotation will be different depending on the number of players on the team.

2) Each player rotates through the positions (C = Center, G = Guard, F= Forward). If you can manage this type of rotation it is a great way to get all of your players experience at each position.