Hi everyone,

I'd really appreciate some advice from coaches who have been in a similar situation.

I've recently taken over an Under 11s team to stop it from folding at a relatively new club that was formed a couple of seasons ago.

We currently have a squad of 12 players. Around 7 or 8 are of a good to high standard, are competitive, and really want to win. The other 4 or 5 are enthusiastic and trying their best, but it's clear they're some way behind the stronger players. I imagine this is a fairly common situation in grassroots football.

We played our first friendly recently. I started with what I felt was our strongest team, and at half-time we were 2-1 up. Before the game, I'd agreed with the opposition manager that we'd play four 20-minute quarters so everyone would get plenty of game time.

Unfortunately, when half-time arrived, the referee announced we were only playing two halves because that's what he'd been told. It turned out the opposition manager hadn't passed on what we'd agreed. That left me with a difficult decision. I'd already planned to rotate heavily, so I played the remaining boys for the second half. We ended up losing 4-2.

That result itself isn't the issue. My dilemma is how to manage the team going forward.

We're constantly told that results don't matter at this age because it's still non-competitive football. But in reality, the children make it competitive. The stronger players want to win, they know when the team's performance drops, and I worry that constantly weakening the team to ensure equal game time could knock their confidence and eventually lead to them leaving when league football becomes FA-sanctioned and fully competitive.

On the other hand, I don't want to upset or discourage the weaker players. Every one of them deserves the opportunity to develop, and personally I hate the idea of asking any child to leave. However, I also have a responsibility to the team as a whole and to the players who are ready to compete.

Has anyone been through this? How did you find the right balance between player development, equal opportunities, keeping stronger players challenged, and doing what's best for the team in the long term?

I'd genuinely appreciate any honest advice or experience