Reading Coach May's post made me think. I've posted this before, maybe more than once...
I was talked into coaching the Legion team many years ago. We had tryouts and had to get to an 18 man roster.
My youngest son was one of those trying out. He was a sophomore in High School at that time. I cut him! He understood! He was 16 years old at the time and not one of the top 18 players trying out.IMO
There's more.... At age 22 he was playing in front of 50,000 fans in the Major Leagues.
Bad coaching? Good coaching? Politics?
Wonder if it hadn't been my own son if someone would have thought politics were involved?
Anyway, politics exist in most everything. Coaches sometimes like one kid more than another for many different reasons. I think it is best to be one of those they like a lot. Coaches tend to like all kids who work hard and have a good attitude. They also tend to favor (when coming to playing time) those who are the most talented.
Then there are a few who just don't do the right thing. Coaches are just like players and umpires... some are good, some are bad, they are not all the same. The sooner one realizes that, the better prepared one will be.