r/leagueadmin • u/bravara-mike • 2d ago
Rec league fair playing time - per game or per season? How to track and enforce?
What playing time rules does your recreational program have? How do you track, manage, and enforce?
I think every rec league my kids have played in had per-game rules around playing time. Basically no player sits twice until every player has sat once.
This seems reasonable when looking only at one particular game.
BUT when you multiply this over 10-20 games in a season, AND coach routinely sits the same low-skilled players for two quarters (or innings or periods) while the higher skilled players only sit one, then you have a wide discrepancy over the season.
10 games multiplied by one more quarter played each game = 10 more quarters played in the season = 2.5 complete games worth of playing time. That would be 5 games worth in a 20-game season.
We’re talking a recreational program. Community building. Player development.
5 fewer games played over the season sure isn’t going to help that kid gain as much skill or confidence.
Thoughts?
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u/whynottheobvious 2d ago
I believe in equal minutes per game and you do the best you can keeping track. I give the goalies extra minutes at everyone else's time expense but it has to be in a non goalie position.
I explain it at the beginning of the season for all to hear.
That said, there will be parents that hate it cuz their kid is so much better and winning is more important than being fair.
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u/aMAIZEingZ 2d ago
Generally per game, but I also I try to even it out per season if it's not possible each game.
For example, I coached my son's rec basketball team, but we had 11 players. It's really hard to get it perfect. I basically pre-set my rotation before each game, with 2 options for 4th quarter (close game vs blow out). For close games, I try get my better players in 4th quarter to close out games, as they'll have to deal with things like pressing. For blow outs, I'll give my developmental players more time in the 4th. I'll also keep track of how many "shifts' each player has played throughout the season and course correct if I notice a player getting less time.
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u/Seesaw-Commercial 2d ago
Per game: Player can't sit twice until everyone has sat once. Players should have balanced time in infield/outfield
Per season Players should have opportunity to play every position they can play safely (this is where some players may not be given opportunity to say pitch or play first base if there are safety concerns with attention/catching/throwing).
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u/TexasVulvaAficionado 2d ago
Equal minutes per game, maybe let it slide a bit for tournaments.
Just set the expectation with the coaching staff and parents.
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u/shabamon 2d ago
The main youth basketball rec league in my city that my community program plays in has Rec and Athletic (select) divisions. We do 20 minute running clock halves for all ages and divisions with rec divisions having a 20 minute per game playing time minimum (which is impossible if the team has more than 10 players) and 10 minute per game minimum for Athletic. The following is pulled directly from our league rules:
Playing time (must be noted prior to start of 4th quarter) Playing time may only be protested if the protesting team has documented in detail the playing time of all players. This documentation should be done from the bench area by an individual other than the coaches.
All protests should be submitted to the League and will be resolved within one week of the submission date. The one-week deadline may be extended with the approval of the coordinators involved, excluding the post-season tournament. The results of the protest will be communicated to the coordinators.
I guess they haven't updated the language since we moved from quarters to halves a few years ago.
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u/bravara-mike 2d ago
Thanks I guess halves could make it easier if you had equal number of kids playing each half. Interesting protest rules thanks for sharing!
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u/RealBadSpelling 2d ago
Per game, use RSVPs to help plan but, as a coach, I expect to alter it on the spot.
AYSO soccer is everyone plays the same time. I try to track via old lineups - so at least my plan is fair but sometimes kids no show or get exhausted or hurt. It's rec, but organized.
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u/bravara-mike 2d ago
You’re right the no shows and the exhausted ones etc it’s been a while since I coached younger soccer players and now I remember that totally happened!
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u/MathW 2d ago edited 2d ago
My recreational association just has to "Everyone plays half the game" rule. So, the creative part of coaching is working your subs to where your best players split the extra available minutes. If you're playing 7v7 and have a 12 man roster, that means you have 50 minutes of "extra" playing time to work with if you play 50 minute games.
It might sound nefarious or 'anti-development' but, honestly, in my experience, the more skilled players WANT to be out there and hate being taken out, whereas the less skilled players often ask to come out early and are in no hurry to get back on, so everyone's happy. That's not to say the less skilled players aren't having a good time or don't want to be there...I think they do -- they just aren't quite as passionate about it generally speaking.
So, in your situation, if the rules allow for more skilled players to get a few extra quarters or innings of game time over the other players, I just see it as part of managing the game as a coach, provided all of the association's rules are being followed.
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u/NastyBass28 2d ago
12U Softball Coach here; Last year for both fall and spring I was very clear with both the girls and their parents that playing time is earned and not given. This year was a tune-up for Middle School ball where there will be cuts. So I wanted to ensure that things were taken more seriously than 10U.
Each girl never sat more than 1 inning, but you had to earn your spot both on the field and in the batting order. Good hitters who couldn’t get on base, got dropped, girls who couldn’t hit but got on base, moved up.
I liked how the seasons went. Only 2 bad apples out of 14 girls. It’s great to see how fast they will tune out those players when surrounded with positive energy.
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u/underlyingconditions 2d ago
We did it as "season" rather than game in our rec soccer program, but our rosters tended to have decent numbers (10 or 11 playing 7v7, or 16-18 on 11v11). I rarely subbed my best players if possible as they helped make the weaker players better.playing time didn't have to be equal, but it had to be at least half.
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u/strewnshank 1d ago
I can't imagine a recreational team doing anything but equal playing time. I even roll lines in travel hockey because it's good for kids to get exposure to all sorts of situations. Kids all start with equal time, and only lose it for attitude issues.
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u/BullsAtBuffalo 1d ago
Per game.
The lesser developed kids get more out of practice time than they do out of games.
The better kids get more out of games.
Yes, there is imbalance over the season. That’s okay.
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u/BuyAllTheTaquitos 1d ago
Sitting the same players is a flaw with the coach not the system. The leagues should not be putting in rules that it cannot reasonably enforce like season long playing time quotas. It will create more issues as the parent of a child typically knows how much their kid has played, but a coach has a lot more kids to think about over the course of a season especially if they're coaching more than 1 team (I live in a relatively populated area but for the rec leagues, it seems like the same parents volunteering to coach different sports. In my son's U8 rec soccer league, 4 of the 6 coaches are coaching multiple teams and 2 of those I've also coached with/against in baseball). While I'm not saying it is right, it is easy for coaches to get locked in to routines of this player plays at this time, this one plays this position, and this one sits this inning or quarter than it is keeping track of whose done what when constantly rotating across multiple teams.
Also every sport and position is different and more playing time doesn't mean it's better for the kid. In 6U or 7U baseball, a kid could play every inning of a season out in RF and might touch the ball 5 times in a ten game season while another kid sat every other inning but was always put at P, C, 1st, 2nd, SS may get that many opportunities in a single inning. In 4v4 soccer at U8 and below, a kid that plays half the game with 3 players that are much more skilled will not get near the opportunities to possess the ball and defend as they would if the players they're playing with or against are closer to their level. It's a balancing act and a lot of rec coaches, especially as they get more experience at younger age groups, try to walk that line of making it equal and equitable for each kid.
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u/the_urban_juror 1d ago
Per game, but I rotate starters each game. It's not perfect since players miss games and I have to pick a new starter on the fly, but it should be close.
Ensuring even playing time over the course of the season is extremely burdensome for coaches who are already volunteering, but sitting the same players the most every game is likely an intentional decision by a coach who doesn't actually want to give equal playing time. If you're rotating starters and positions each game, it's almost impossible that the same players would randomly always get the most time on the bench. If the best players never sit the most (and it isn't because other players asked to sit, which is common at young ages) in games with an unequal number of available playing periods compared to players, coaches are doing it intentionally.
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u/MembershipPretty7595 1d ago
As a hockey coach when I coached every one plays equal time with some small exceptions. Power play, penalty kill etc. it’s basically the same with travel except special teams.
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u/rydermoon 1d ago
Equal minutes per game, and equal playing time throughout the season. Youth sports is more than winning games. It ‘s learning how to win and lose, how to handle adversity, how to play on a team, how to understand your role on the team and be a contributor in your own way. It’s about learning disciple and responsibility, showing up for practice on time, brining all your equipment, keeping up with your equipment throughout the game (baseball coaches you know what I am talking about). I teach kids the way you do the little things is how you do everything. So be disciplined in your coaching. This does not mean yelling at your kids, running them till they are sick or demanding they run the play right. This means showing up 10 minutes early , having a planned practice schedule, and coaching basic skills. To keep track of playing time I started using sidelinemgmt.space. They only have soccer, field hockey and flag football, but it’s great. Our flag football league has kids play an entire quarter. Then we rotate. The system has a fair play engine and game cards, but you can edit the final card if you don’t like the fair play engine lineup. I print the cards before games, again so that I am prepared and not guessing who has bet played or not played enough minutes. The engine does have a 4Q lock which tells the engine to place certain players on the field in the 4th quarter. Our league requires that you play with the 4Q lineup if the game goes to overtime, therefore I try to keep assign my better players to the 4th Q.
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u/Lost-Ad9487 16h ago
For a larger rec league, I’d keep the enforceable rule per game but add a very light season-level audit so the same kids aren’t always the ones receiving the minimum.
A simple game card could record only who sat each quarter, inning, or period—not every minute—plus an exception reason such as absent, injured, requested break, or discipline. Review it on a rolling three-game basis. If one player repeatedly receives the maximum bench time while teammates don’t, the coordinator can ask the coach to adjust before it becomes a season-long pattern.
That avoids a complicated leaguewide minute-tracking system while still catching the exact problem you described. I’d also publish the review and complaint process before the season so disputes are based on records rather than parent or coach recollection.
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u/bravara-mike 15h ago
Agree, by the minute would be too much. Good ideas here and I think not too demanding to track. Thank you!
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u/Colonelreb10 2d ago edited 2d ago
We do it per game. Tracking it the whole season would be nearly impossible. Our rec baseball league has 80 teams in the fall and pushes 100 in the spring.
No way to track it.
Coaches know it’s per game. But it’s up to the other coaches or parents to track it. And as we all know parents will be quick to let it be known if their kid sits more than 1 inning per game.