Many stories get sent into the site email address info@keepitonthedeck.com weekly and although help is offered in the form of opinion where possible there is still certain stories this site is reluctant to get involved in as the solution offered might well be the wrong one. In this instance parent Patricia Williams has sent across a story pleading for advice which this site is hesitant to offer given the delicate situation. Patricia is a reader of the site content so opinions and advice on offer from any of the coaches on Keepitonthedeck would be very welcome.
Patricia wrote "Hi Keepitonthedeck, I am wondering if you could share my story with the audience on your site please. My son Jake is currently a member of ********* (Club name excluded for legal reasons). Jake is playing in the U12 category but is also eligible to play U11 football. My son has made many friends in his time with his team. Up until last season Jake was a regular in the side, I know it sounds biased coming from a parent but he was one of the teams best performers, many of the other parents also said the same. Recently Tom who was Jake's coach for the past three seasons left the side to move down south with his family. A parent by the name of Tim decided to step up and take charge of the team and all was fine until recently. Tim's son Harry is also a striker just like Jake, the two have often played together in the same team over the years. We are nine games into the current calendar season and Jake has sat on the bench for several games without getting one start and about 12 minutes of game time in total all season long. Jake is always training and has only missed two games this year for family events. (Continued below)
I decided to confront Tim last week about Jake's lack of game time. Tim told me that Jake was struggling physically with U12 football since the side was regraded and suggested that I move him into the U11 team at his own age group, he basically told me that my son wasn't good enough to play at U12 in a roundabout way. Can someone explain to me how my son can be struggling physically when he is getting no game time first of all. Then there is his friends, as much as I would now like to move my son away from this side his friends play for the team, friends he knows since he is 9 years of age. Needless to say Tim's son is a regular in the team this season. I've spoken to the club about the situation and they told me they would speak to Tim but that's not good enough. I think it's completely unfair my son is left on a bench with practically no game time. To cite a physical excuse as the reason not to play Jake is unacceptable. I hope you can share this with your readers and would be grateful for any support".
If anyone would like to offer advice to Patricia please comment on the Facebook share relating to this post and the page will tag her. Thanks for any help or advice people can offer.