Everyone doesn't get time on field

Occasionally, after I write a profile on a team or athlete, I'll get a message on my voice mail. Usually it's anonymous, and usually the voice on the other line in angry. Partially they're angry at me, but mainly they're angry at the coaching staff because their son or daughter isn't getting enough playing time. Sometimes I think their gripes are valid. Some coaches do play favorites because they went to school with a kid's dad or they coached someone since first grade or many other reasons. But often I think there's another, deeper reason why certain youngsters don't see a lot of action in high school sports. It's that they aren't very good. I know this might be a shock to a lot of parents, so let me give you an example. There are 11 players on a football team on offense and defense. Since, in high school, players often play both sides of the ball, there probably aren't 22 positions available to start. But let's assume there are. That means that 22 athletes will start, and maybe another 10 will see significant time as back ups. If there are 65 players on a team, the math shows us that almost half the team is going to spend most of its time on the bench. Part of me has an affinity for these kids, since I was one of them. I wasn't that big growing up, not was I very fast. I wasn't the last player choosen for pickup games, but I certainly wasn't the first. I played youth sports up until high school, played a little but mostly drank ? lot of Qatorade.