A Professional Perspective on Playing Time and Parental Petitioning

As a parent, you want your children to have every opportunity to succeed and be happy. As a coach, you want every one of your players to have the most success and fun they each can. But as a coach, you have to make choices about playing time.

Doc Rivers is the current head coach of the Los Angeles Clippers basketball team. He has been a professional basketball coach nearly continuously since 1999, also spending time in the same position with the Orlando Magic and the Boston Celtics.

Like many of you, Rivers has children who play the sport he coaches. One of his children complained of his less-than-expected playing time, and asked his father to call the team coach and lobby for playing time. Rivers declined to intercede, and here’s why…

I believe there is a valuable lesson to learn here. Every coach wants to win. If you want to play more, practice long enough and intensely enough to get better. Much better. That will make it impossible for a coach not to pick you or play you.

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“Embrace your sacrifice. Know that sacrifice develops perseverance, and perseverance fosters character, and character drives us to succeed and be fulfilled.”

The Coach
Jeff Noreman