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As a former player, now having spent over a decade coaching club soccer in North Texas, I've been on both sides of the playing time dilemma.
As a player, you want nothing more than to be on the field - and let me tell you, there's no worse feeling than putting in hours and hours of training during the week, only to find that at game time your first steps onto the pitch won't be until thefinal whistle has blown and you're going to shake hands with the opposing team.
You're angry. You're sad. You're embarrassed. It just… sucks.
Having been in that scene more often than I care to admit, I can feel the emotions start to boil even as I sit here thinking about it years later.
Inevitably, you direct those negative emotions towards the coach. I mean, they're the one who made the decision… right?
They must not know what they're doing. They must not see your true potential. They must not like you. They must not care about you.
Right?
Well, probably not.
Benching a player isn't easy for a coach either. Most soccer coaches at the competitive levels have played at high levels themselves. They know how impactful their decisions can be. They know how much it sucks.
The dilemma is that, while you, the player, are consumed by your individual feelings - the coach has to manage the emotions of every player on the team, while maintaining a balance of decisions that optimize the teams chance for success.
… and sometimes it's just not possible to make everyone happy.
As you work through those negative emotions as a player, it's important to remember that at the end of the day you and your coach share the same goals - to help you and your team succeed.
So, while I'd never claim to have the answers for every individual scenario, I wanted to provide a few tips that I've found useful in managing situations where I wasn't happy with my playing time.
- Communicate with your coach: I can't stress this enough. If you're not getting playing time, it's important to talk to your coach and ask for feedback on your performance. It is their job to be able to articulate, in detail, what areas of your game need to improve. They should also help you outline a training plan for how you can address these areas. Make sure the plan includes regular checkpoints so you can monitor your progress and make adjustments.
To get the most out of these feedback sessions - do your best to suppress your ego, actively listen, take notes, and keep an open mind. It may be hard to hear that "your first touch isn't up to par," and you may disagree, but more likely than not if one coach believes it to be true … others will as well.
Note: for younger players (U15 and below) I recommend a parent be present to help manage the conversation.
- Practice, and then practice more: Again, I cannot stress this enough. After you have discussed your key areas for improvement and established a training plan with your coach (see Tip #1) - GET. AFTER. IT.
As much as I've tried to find one, there's no substitute for putting in the hours on the field. If you're only training during your team sessions and not getting you the results you want, then build time for individual training into your schedule. While I think it's a great idea to work with a private coach outside of your team, I understand that isn't an option for everyone. It doesn't matter. There's an endless amount of free resources available online, just a few clicks away.
- Stay positive and focused: It can be frustrating not getting playing time. However, it's important to stay positive and remember that you have committed to be part of a team. While putting in the effort to improve your individual game - remain focused on being a great teammate, use this time to learn from the sidelines, take note of the positive qualities of the other players, and keep in mind that you are still playing a role in the teams success.
- Be patient: Your soccer career is a long journey, and I am a firm believer that no journey worth taking is easy. As you push yourself to play at higher and higher levels, you will almost certainly find yourself in a position where you're not getting the amount of playing time that you'd like. This doesn't necessarily mean you don't belong. Sometimes it just means you're not ready, yet. Be patient and continue to work through your development process.
- Seek other opportunities: Now, I've been around long enough to know that not every situation can be resolved simply through putting in some extra hours of training and waiting your turn. There are always a number of factors at play, and there's no way a blog article is going to be able to account for them all.
Some teams and some coaches just aren't the right fit for a player.
If you truly feel that you've taken a step back from your emotions, worked through the tips mentioned above, and still feel the situation isn't right for you - I encourage you to seek other opportunities with another team or club.
There are a number of organizations which provide a variety of development approaches and training environments in North Texas. There is definitely a place for you.
