you should be getting much more playing time because you are way better than the athletes he has playing in front of you. First, you may be absolutely right-on about the coach and his faulty assessment of you, i.e. Let’s really take an honest and closer look at your situation. You’re still stuck on the sidelines collecting cobwebs and a ton of resentment. However you want to explain this situation and the coach’s decisions, your predicament doesn’t change. He has favorites on the squad and no matter what you do to try to get his attention he will not take his eyes off of his small band of “special” players. Or perhaps the coach is simply unfair and biased. How can you possibly explain this terrible wrong? The coach has to be either blind as a bat or perhaps totally incompetent to not see the obvious, that YOU are THE MAN and should be out there getting the job done. However, if you can’t learn to cope with sitting on the bench, if you can’t learn to master the negative emotions and disruptive thoughts that are such a natural part of this humbling and frustrating experience, then you’ll be missing a valuable opportunity to grow and improve both as an athlete and a person.Īsk most athletes whether they think that they’re getting enough playing time and the answer will almost always be a resounding, “No Way!” As an athlete, as far as you’re concerned there is a grave injustice being done here that you find yourself miserably camped out on the bench collecting splinters while other, in your opinion, “less-worthy” teammates are taking your spot and getting all the limelight. It’s a truly rare athlete that is able to consistently and effectively handle the heartache, disappointment and frustration that goes along with getting limited playing time. At every level and in every sport, athletes continually struggle with the amount of time they spend watching the action instead of being in the action making it happen. There is no more emotionally charged issue than this one in sports. So how much playing time are you really getting? And, if you’re not getting enough, do you think that the situation is fair? Do you think the coach is giving PT to some of your less talented or less deserving teammates who you’re convinced should not be playing in front of you? “You know, I should be playing a whole lot more! – Harnessing the frustration of limited PT” PARENTS’ CORNER – “Dealing with a child who gets limited playing time”ĬOACH’S OFFICE – “Handling your role players effectively”ĭR. In this issue of The Mental Toughness Newsletter we will examine the wonderful world of Playing Time and all the misery and heartache it brings to athletes and their parents, not to mention the coaches who dole it out.ĪTHLETES’ LOCKER – “You know, I should be playing a whole lot more! – Harnessing the frustration of limited PT” It’s as if you’ve got this big, ugly and smelly, 2-ton troll sitting squarely on your shoulders weighing you down no matter where you go. You feel totally miserable, resentful and ripped off. You stop caring about school and about life. Your self-confidence flies south for the season. Your motivation to improve does a disappearing act. However, should you be unlucky enough to come up empty, to let that “golden ticket” slip through your fingers, suddenly everything in your life takes on a dark pall. Everything looks and feels terrific and you’re on top of the world. You’re willing to do almost anything to get it and when you do, your world is brightened with wondrous possibility and opportunity. Playing Time is like that golden ticket in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Many players who do get it feel like they can never get enough of it. Every athlete wants PT, yet only a select few will actually consistently achieve it. Playing Time can make or break your season, not to mention your athletic career. Those two very magical and powerful words that can bring you great joy or misery, that can leave you beaming or in tears.

Playall instead of seasonplay