Philosophy of senior playing time

[coachjd]

what are your philosophies on seniors playing time? Do you find a place for each senior to get on the field? If they are a slug, do you still find a place for them?

[brophy]

best players start...but I have to admit, with the Seniors that HAVE put in the time, you feel compelled to give them PT in spot duty. Maybe in an early series or for certain plays.

[coachseven]

We start the best players period. If a senior has paid his dues and works hard we will get him in the game there is always a place to put a deserving player. If a senior is a "slug" they ride the pine and get their PT in practice or in a really big blowout they might get to run into the game just as time runs out.

[runtheball86]

Best players play ...

[groundchuck]

The best players play. Some people say seniors will play harder for you because they have more invested and therefore care more. With the kids I have coached that is not always the case. A senior who has invested time and energy will give you everything. But the senior who is lazy....I can play a younger kid who works harder and haev him another year to boot.

[wildcat]

I guess that I am too much of a softy again! If a senior has put in 4 good years and works hard in the offseason, that guy is going to start if I have anything to say about it. He might not play the whole game and he might get beat out for his position by a younger, better guy, but that senior is going to to at least start the first game.

I have had guys who played WR their junior year start on the OL for us as seniors basically because they were good kids who worked hard and deserved an opportunity.

Now, with that being said, the guys I have NO TIME AT ALL for are guys who come out for football just for their senior year, especially if they think that the team is going to be any good. Those guys, no matter how good of athletes they may be, aren't going to play at all if it is up to me.

[Deleted]

With some of the programs I've been at, during offseason work and summer work, the seniors get first reps and every opportunity to start. But, if an underclassmen is just flat out better, he will have to move to a different spot or accept a backup role.

[blb]

We tell the kids (and parents) that if a senior and an underclassman are even, the underclassman plays. We expect the seniors to be better - a year older, bigger, stronger; they've had more experience, more coaching. If they don't perform like it, they sit. Plus, the underclassman's going to be around another year!

This keeps the seniors from "resting on their laurels" or becoming complacent because they "have it made" simply because of their grade level. And it motivates the younger guys to bust their butts because all they have to do to get on the field is pull even.

We believe this promotes daily competition within the team and concurrently makes us better.

[aztec]

I will try to find a place to play them during a game if they are a good hardworking kid, all are. I let everyone know (to take from John Wooden) that they are like a car. Some guys are the engine and other guys are like the lug nuts. With out the lug nuts the tires some off and the car goes nowhere. Every guy has a role on the team and each roll is important to the sucess of the team. The best players play, but I find places or times to put in a senior that has worked for us.

[knighter]

Senior who has busted his tail for us for 4 years, has a starting spot somewhere, it is up to him to prove he can keep it. Several seniors have had terrific senior seasons when in all reality I fully expected a younger kid to beat him out at some point in time. This works for me. A senior who only goes out as a senior, or played at some point in time, quit, and came back, may, with hard work, become a special teams/role player, or get some mop up time.

[zad]

Gentlemen,

We tell seniors from day one that if they give everything for four years that we will find a place for them, and in taking over a program, I start with that year's seniors. If we have an underclassmen and senior that are even, we play the senior. We expect a lot from our athletes and ask them to do more than many places, so we figure that if they will do everything we ask than that hard work should pay off. What this has done for us is keep kids out and help them buy into to what we are doing. In 15 years of following this philosophy - other than a two-year stretch at the second largest high school in Iowa - we have lost less than 10 kids.

Zad

[Deleted]

We start the 10 best players and because we do, we feel we owe it to them to start the 11th best too.

[airman]

best play regardless of age. srs who are not starters are special teamers. one year kickoff team was made up of 8 sr subs. they took there job very seriously and did well.

one year I took all the slugs and put them on extra point team. not to hard to do extra point duty. put starters on the wings and holder and center. they did fine.

what I am not going to do it play a sr because he is a sr.

i was a sr, played 3string tailback, my greatest glory was in the last game of the sesaosn I had to play. I took a toss sweep for 67 yds to win the confrnce title. i was playing because the other two guys were hurt.

[gamedog]

Would you play a kid who was the mayor's son just because he was the mayor's son?
What about the supt's kid?

You play the best kid and get the rest in when you can. Sometimes they all won't play. If you play someone just to play them then your kids will not respect you and your program will not be as successful as it should be.

[rig]

Bobby Bowden used to talk about the "Booster club son." They would put him on the field in a receiver position and throw away from him. Other times they would let him fly down field and clear out the defense for another route. The "Booster club son" and his father were happy because he was getting PT and would leave the coaches alone.

[kcbazooka]

One of the best things about football is that there are so many positions and situations that a kid can play. If I have a senior that has worked hard he is going to find a pace to play. It may be left tackle on the PAT team, or wing on the kickoff, or third TE is special sets, but I'll find a way to get a senior who deserves it on the field even if he's doesn't have the skills to beat out an underclassmen as a starter.

[realdawg]

Generally, any senior in our program that has been through it for 4 years has the first shot at a starting spot, now that doesnt mean he gets to just keep it, several have lost their jobs to underclassmen before. However, we do our best to find some way to get them on the field.

[eagled]

To me, the year doesn't matter. In Varsity football you have to play the players that give you the best chance to win. If two kids are even, the one who has the most invested in the program in terms of weightroom, time in the program, etc, get the first opportunity to prove themselves. If it comes down to an underclassman and a senior and everything else is totally even, the nod goes to the senior, but it is rare that all the other factors are even.

[wildcat]

gamedog said:

If you play someone just to play them then your kids will not respect you and your program will not be as successful as it should be.

4-year seniors should be the heart and soul of the program. Those are going to be the guys who tell their younger brothers whether or not they had a positive experience with football.

For me, it's about loyalty. If a kid gives me 4 good years and works hard, it is my DUTY to at least give that kid the opportunity to start. Now, maybe he won't keep it and gets beat out. I can't control that. What I CAN control is giving that senior a shot. IMO, I have a much greater chance of losing the respect of players if they think that I am going to screw them when they get to be a senior.

Now, I am not talking about ALL seniors. Just because a guy shows up in August for the start of practice his freshman, sophomore, and junior year does NOT mean he gets a shot. I'll have a senior QB next year who hasn't done a darn thing in the offseason for the last three years. If it is left up to me, that guy will not start a game this year.

But seniors who give me 4 honest years worth of work will ALWAYS get first shot at starting positions.

[gamedog]

Give em a chance, but you have to play the best kids.

[wildcat]

gamedog said:

Give em a chance, but you have to play the best kids.

Good philosophy, gamedog.

[tye2021]

If a kid can show YOU commitment for 4 years you could give him some PT. Maybe he isn't a starter but, depending on the position, he maybe able to provide you with a fresh set of legs. Rotating them in and out of the game at the RIGHT time could give your starter some much needed rest for a couple of plays.

Also if the SR and the underclass man are even I start my Senior. But the underclassman has earned some pt also. The benefit to that is that you can rotate them in and out of the game without weakening your team. Again it depends on the position. If it QB I start my senior but expect his back up to always be ready.

[eagled]

Wildcat, I agree with you. If a kid has given a solid effort for his first 3 year, he deserves a shot to start and we will find some place for him if he doesn't. But usually all things aren't equal. There are always factors that separate them.

We had a kid last year who was 5'7" 145lbs without a lick of athletic ability, but he was all heart. He would do anything for the team. Because of his lack of abililty and speed, we had to play him on the DL. We played him some on special teams and in spot duty on the DL, but his greatest attribute was to teach the younger kids the joy of just playing for the love of the game. He chose to play in JV games so he could have fun playing football. We felt bad that he couldn't start or play regularly for us, but he had a great high school experience and was one of the most valued members of our team.

[Deleted]

And some of those kids don't want to start.

[blb]

Playing time is different than starting. We all say "best players play."

But again, if seniors know they've got a job just because they're "good kids" who've been in the program four years, some of them won't be as hungry. No team has ever been as successful as it could have been unless their seniors had their best years.

And if your underclassmen know this too, some won't make the commitment necessary to compete daily for a job - "Wait 'til next year" attitude.

In short a lot of your team will be complacent and non-competitive. The most successful programs have a lot of kids who have been in the program four years - but they need to be pushed from inside and underneath, too.

[coachveer]

Like many of my fellow coach's I'm a believer in if the Junior and Senior are equal then start the Junior. But I also think that it may be more true with the skilled positions. For some reasons I have found that Senior lineman are more mentally prepared to handle tough situations. That if all be equal in talent an extra year up front lends itself to more stability.

[coachjd]

this has been an excellent thread. Great input coaches, thank you. JD