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Perhaps this has been discussed before. But, what are your thoughts about high school coaches scratching a kid for no obvious reason; and then not communicating anything to the player other than, "keep working hard." To me, at the high school level, it seems inappropriate.

I've seen it happen and I would love to hear the thoughts of others.

bafata88 wrote:Perhaps this has been discussed before. But, what are your thoughts about high school coaches scratching a kid for no obvious reason; and then not communicating anything to the player other than, "keep working hard." To me, at the high school level, it seems inappropriate.

I've seen it happen and I would love to hear the thoughts of others.

Are they dressing a JV kid for the game? The coach may be looking for something on one of the lines. I guess the kid who is getting "scratched" is probably on the way to the JV team if he doesn't pick up his game.

this is more of a term for junior hockey. In high school you're either jv or varsity. If you are scratched altogether, you probably wanna pick a new sport

a lot of times you may see a younger kid that has been playing varsity for a while play a few full jv games in a row because the coaches feel he isnt getting enough ice time or touching the puck enough in the varsity game. its a way to help boost a kids confidence and put him in real game situations without as much on the line.

A couple of times this year I have seen seniors scratched and even a junior scratched [knowing the jr could play in the jv game]; not necessarily to bring up a jv player or two; the decision to scratch seems to be an attempt to motivate; it just seems to me to be inappropriate in high school. Obviously it is used at all higher levels of play.

In high school, if a player is on the team, he should be on the team; let him suit up and sit the bench if he is not deserving to play in that game. And frankly, it is more the lack of communication for the coaches decision to scratch; the "mind game" aspect of the decision. I understand junior and pro coaches doing this, but this is high school here, not junior and not pros. Not many of these kids will reach Tier 1, DI or pro. So maybe they should be allowed to enjoy the experience a little more without the insecurity or embarrassment.

I've seen kids go out on the ice and warm up and then be told to take their jersey and gear off and sit in the stands without explanation. I know it is not that big of a deal, the kids will survive and maybe respond well to it; I was more wondering what others thought. Obviously the lack of response suggests this is not an issue in the minds of many. Let's play hockey eh.

bafata88 wrote:I've seen kids go out on the ice and warm up and then be told to take their jersey and gear off and sit in the stands without explanation. I know it is not that big of a deal, the kids will survive and maybe respond well to it; I was more wondering what others thought. Obviously the lack of response suggests this is not an issue in the minds of many. Let's play hockey eh.

In my experience coaches play the best players and they want to win. If a player is not playing in a game, in my experience the player knows why and it's usually for doing something.

If the player does not know why he is being benched, that's not very good coaching.

Most times the player knows, but the player chooses not to tell the parents. That is not the coaches fault.

Also, lots of kids have a poor attitude by sitting on the bench when they might not play much. It takes a special kid these days to sit on the bench with pride. Most time Mom and Dad complain even when that happens.

The dressing for warm ups and then getting benched is ridiculous if that happens.