The Meritocracy of Sport and the Reality of ROOTS

Coach Celli is my friend but he's also a genuinely good guy. No matter how hard he might try, he can only play six players at once. In the NBA, Hall of Fame Coach Chuck Daly said, "every player wants 48 - 48 minutes, 48 shots, 48 million." 

There's not always much difference between the top six or seven players and players 8,9, 10. It might be imperceptible differences in experience, skill, confidence, size, or potential. But it's hard to invest time, emotional energy, and money in a sport and get limited "reward." 

How would I know? I pitched one inning of varsity baseball in two years of walking on to a Division 1 baseball program and threw hundreds of hours of batting practice. In high school basketball, while waiting our 'time' (which need not come), we were the ROOTS - Royal Order of The Splinter (wooden bench). 

There's a natural belief that with experience and age, more playing time will come. That's never a given. Physically gifted and committed young athletes may surpass upperclassmen and earn rotations, roles, and responsibility. Sport is meritocracy. 

Yes, sometimes coaches are monsters, but they're relatively few. I share my thoughts on this on my basketball site. 

When not happy with your role, always address this directly with coaches...in any sport. Ask how you can contribute more to the team and where you need to improve. "Do more to become more; become more to do more."