Had s similar issue when I was playing youth soccer.
Coach had a rule that if you did not make it to at least one of three practices during the week....you could not play on Sunday.
We had a history of success under this coach including a 2nd place finish (we were firced to move up a division after 1st 4 games of season 1 and our 4 wins were made into ties for the standings due to dominance) and a championship in season 2.
Early in season this kid missed all three practices one week. He had no excuse for missing the 1st two but was at a church sponsored snow sledding event for practice three.
Coach said he could not play per his rules.
Family complained that he was being discriminated against due to his religious activity (snow sledding.)
League caved to threat of lawsuit and coach would not cave in....
We lost our coach and the team fell apart.
RIP the Spanaway Shinbusters!
That’s a toughie. At my age, it’s pay to play (no political pun intended) so parents can and do gripe about playing time. I get that. Thankfully, at the age I coach, we’ve weeded out all the clover pickers and the kids actually want to be there.
In the case of football, I would cut back playing time if the kid missed too much of the game plan. Or, the league has rules about hitting if you miss two weeks of practice. CCD often conflicts with practices and gets often get hammered with homework. MOST parents get it.
What I would say here, is that it is often times more the fault of the parent than the kid. I try to consider that when I’m thinking about playing time.