Hoops

Coaching 'pickle'

If this is under 12s or similar then maybe helping him get to training or games could be beneficial to your team.

If adolescence has set in or older and he has a bad attitude then use him as an impact player off the bench.

On the other side of the coin, I remember a long time ago some rep trial where a kid turned up who then scored 40+ points in a scrimmage without much trouble, 30 points more than anyone else. The kid was a freak.

However, this kid just didn't want to have to train twice a week and play within a formal structured offense. So he never ended up playing rep because the coach couldn't handle a kid who didn't want to follw the system.

How many talents do we lose to that kind of thinking?

463, managing players is just like managing sub-ordinates and when managing poor behaviour or behaviour that is not to the norm, the best way is to "ask for help is solving the problem".

They may have a reason why they are not attending certain trainings etc and a plan to get them on track could be developed. The coach facilitates, not solves the problem. It could be something as simple as parents being unable to transport them due to work, yet a team mate may be able to give them a lift.

Double standards is when a coach permits one player to do one thing, yet when another player does the same thing, they get away with it. If the player in question is not turning up to trainings or games without an adequate explanation nor warning, then the agreed team rules apply.

Had a rule where if you did not train, you did not start and you had reduced minutes.

The starting was very much a prestige and peer pecking order thing, tended to work with both juniors and seniors, but even better with juniors as the parents did not like to be publicly "exposed" for their inability to be responsible parents- the other parents often had no idea who was at training or not - so would ask "why is your child not on ?".\The no-start was non-negotiable - the reduced minutes depended upon the reason for non-attendance - no notice was a very heavy reduction, previously advised family or school commitments often received little or no reduction - as they were stated up front as being more important than basketball.

The first thing to do is raise this behaviour with the child and their parents. FInd out why they are late, or not attending. Are they missing training due to custody issues, school meetings etc. There may be a valid issue that needs to be resolved.

Most decent clubs have a rule that if you don't attend both trainings, then you start on the bench. If this is a known team rule, then enforce it.

When you have a dual standard at a club, the cancer that it spreads is not worth it.

Depends on whether you have a team rule that players must turn up to practice.
If you do, then only play him for a few minutes at the end of each half and explain to everyone why you're doing it (and why they need to turn up). Make sure it doesn't look like you're singling him out, or that it's personal.

If you win, then no problem.

If you lose, then the rest of the team will feel that they would have won if that player had played the whole game, and will be likely to blame him for being so slack.