Quote: Held my tongue through 20-odd pages of this because I had nothing particularly useful to say, but I have to ask this question...are we defining what is right and fair by what people are willing to put up with without leaving? Because that opens up a whole world of possibilities.
Coach, I was responding to an analogy that compared this to a DOC taking over a coach's team at the last minute before a state cup game and I said not many coaches would continue to coach under those conditions. I just meant to be saying that if the conditions were that bad, players would be leaving and they are not.
I have coached in several state cups and teams I coached won two. I have added players mid-season but not just before the roster freeze so they could play at the State Cup. But I have taken guest players to tournaments and I think both situations are similiar in that it really depends on how it is handled. Players do not like to have guest players come in and take their playing time unless they see a benefit in it for them and they feel that it is being done fairly. When there is a shortage of players due to injuries or other absences, they are usually happy to have the assistance as long as they don't feel they would get less playing time than they would if their injured/absent teammates were there. So I don't think we should out-and-out comdemn players being added or guest players being used across the board. It is a case-by-case situation that has to be handled by the coach hopefully in a way that is beneficial to all involved.
But I do feel like it is a demand driven situation. If these types of things are being mis-handled to the point of mass disatisfaction, players will leave and either changes will be made or the program will fail to be prosperous.
