Amount of playing time questioned by athletes

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December 1, 2009 • Chad Hoof
Filed under High School, Sports

At the beginning of every sports season, a student athlete must pay a $40 fee in order to participate in games and practices.
The only question is if every athlete gets enough playing time for hard work that they put in and the $40 participation fee they payed.
“I did pay that fee and on top of that all the other stuff; I had to pay for such as the new team shoes and knee pads. The bill really started to add up. So considering all the money we spent for the team and all the hard work I put in, it would have been nice for some more playing time. But through out the season I was really thinking about the $40 plus and the hard work that I contributed, and the playing time that went along with it,” Varsity Volleyball player Jessica McCulloch said.
It’s common to see Juniors or Seniors get upset over an underclassmen starting ahead of them, even under these equal stipulations.
When they’ve been playing the sport for longer and put in equal amount of time in, tensions can rise, or respect is showed for the underclassmen’s skill level and hard work to the sport.
“People weren’t always angry when I started over them, they sometimes got playing time at different positions. I felt I deserved every minute of my playing time because I went to every practice and put a lot of effort into each practice. I didn’t care if I would get my $40 worth of playing time, it’s not about that. I love playing football,” Varsity Football Quarterback Drew Dunkleberger said.
There have always been mixed emotions on this topic, which takes place in virtually all sports seasons.
Some athletes feel they would have handled this situation differently.
“I would have considered that each player payed their fee, in the games and every difficult practice. Also, if I was the coach I would have made every player earn their playing time like everyone else. So if a player was good, they would get more playing time than other people that are worse, goof off in practice, or even skip practice,” Freshman Football Player Adam Knox said.
While some players were discouraged about their amount of playing time; others felt it was the skills they had which determined their amount of playing time.
“I feel I got sufficient playing time for my skills. To put it nicely, I’m not the best player. I got ten to twenty minutes per game and that’s what I deserved,” JV Soccer Player Aaron Martin said.
One thing athletes seem to lose sight of, is that coaches are in games to win them, and not to put in every player on the team and make playing time equal.
That stage of competition was left by Middle School.
To earn a starting spot, or more playing time, it takes work and dedication to the sport.
Even when you’re not the best player on the team, being a part of the team can be a reward in itself.
Teamwork, dedication and various other aspects of being in a sport are all things that students will face now and through the remainder of their lives.
“Working together is important, because there is no ‘I’ in team. I like going out for a sport because it’s fun and we do lots of stuff together. And going places together, like camp, also helps,” Junior Victoria Smithyman said.