Participation

[Sportsrube]

A lot of things have been posted about the drop in participation numbers for girls (and some for boys) in HS sports. We had a young lady decide not to come out for VB this fall. When she was approached and asked why she wasn't playing her response was "If I'm not going to be a starter, why bother playing. It's not fair that girls younger than me are gong to be starting on Varsity and I will be playing JV, I'm older than them." How do you fight that mindset? (And, if you know this family, that is her mom talking thru her) My answer to the coaches was "You're better off without her" Sometimes having a player decide not to play is a good thing.

[WalkingStick]

In volleyball, you may not start but you can get on the floor through the rotation...so you are still playing; sometimes I think athletes forget that.

Doesn't sound like a team player and that's an attitude that isn't worth having on the roster

[Flip]

Here is my coach talk if that is one of my players. Ask them why they played when they were younger. They most certainly weren't playing, in many cases through their freshman season, thinking about playing varsity. They played because it was fun. Remind them it can still be fun. In most instances, these kids are still going to get to play sub-varsity. Remind them they can still be part of something, the team.

I was thinking about Rugby girls basketball team. I've heard they have ten seniors. All ten of those girls know they will not get to play, but it's something they've done their whole lives and they want to be part of something special, possibly a state championship.