April 14, 2026
The fastest way to get more playing time in soccer is to become the player a coach trusts in the situations they’re worried about. That usually means work rate, reliability, and being useful without the ball — not scoring more goals. I’ve sat on a bench. I’ve also been the one brought on early because the coach knew what he’d get. The difference between those two versions of me had very little to do with talent.
I’m Olly, I play for the Charleston Soccer Club, and I coach younger players around Mount Pleasant. This one’s written for the player, not the parent — though parents, there’s a section for you at the end.
Coaches aren’t picking their favourite players. They’re picking the players they trust to do a specific job for the next twenty minutes. That’s a different question, and it’s good news, because trust is something you can build on purpose.
When a coach looks at the bench thinking about a substitution, they’re asking: who keeps their shape? Who’ll track back? Who won’t lose the ball in a dangerous area? Who’s warmed up and ready right now?
Notice that none of those are “who’s the most skilful”. Skill gets you into the squad. Reliability gets you onto the field.
Not occasionally. Every session. Coaches are watching training far more closely than players think, and they’re building a picture over weeks. First to arrive, first in every sprint, still going in the last ten minutes when everyone else has slowed down.
This is the single most controllable thing on the list and it’s the one most players skip.
Every team has three or four players who can do a stepover. Far fewer can defend properly, track a runner, or take a throw-in quickly and accurately.
Being genuinely good at the things nobody practises makes you useful in a way that’s hard to replace. Defending well is the biggest one — a forward who defends from the front gets picked ahead of a forward who doesn’t, almost every time.
If you’re one of four central midfielders, you’re competing with three people for one or two spots. Learn to cover fullback and suddenly you’re in the conversation for four positions instead of two.
I know it doesn’t feel like the dream. But minutes at right back are still minutes, and players who can cover multiple roles get on the field far more often. Understanding the game broadly is what makes this possible.
Almost nobody at youth level talks on a soccer field, so the players who do stand out immediately. Not shouting — communicating. “Man on.” “Time.” “Switch it.” “I’m here.”
A player who organises the people around them makes the whole team better, and coaches notice within one session.
This sounds obvious and it gets missed constantly. If you’re on the bench: warm up properly before you’re asked, stay warm, watch the game rather than watching your phone or chatting.
When a coach turns around needing someone on in thirty seconds, they pick the player who’s already moving.
This is the one that separates players more than anything else. Sulking on the bench, body language dropping, throwing your bib down — coaches see all of it, and it makes you a risk.
Staying engaged when you’re not playing is genuinely hard, and it’s also the clearest signal you can send about what kind of teammate you are.
At some point you should ask your coach directly. Do it well and it helps enormously. Do it badly and it makes things worse.
How to do it:
That last step is where it pays off. A coach who tells a player to improve their first touch and then watches them stay after training for three weeks doing exactly that will find them minutes. It’s not really about the touch at that point.
If you’re not playing much, you’ve got something the starters don’t: time. Use it.
Honest section. Sometimes you’re doing everything right and still not playing.
Sometimes a coach has a favourite. Sometimes a player’s parent is on the board. Sometimes you’re a September birthday in a squad of Januarys and you’re physically a year behind — that’s real and it evens out.
If you’ve worked hard, asked the question, done what was asked, and given it a full season — then it might genuinely be the wrong team, and moving is a reasonable choice, not a failure. Knowing what coaches look for at tryouts helps a lot when that time comes.
Just be honest with yourself about which situation you’re actually in. Most players who think it’s politics haven’t yet done the six things above for a full season.
Three things, briefly:
Be the hardest worker at training, get good at defending and the unglamorous work, learn a second position, communicate on the field, stay ready on the bench, and ask your coach directly what they need from you. Reliability gets more minutes than flair does.
Yes — but ask “what do I need to work on to get more minutes?” rather than “why am I not playing?”. The first is a question a coach can answer helpfully. Ask at training, not straight after a game.
A full season, provided you’ve genuinely worked and had the conversation. Coaches’ opinions shift more slowly than players expect, and mid-season moves rarely solve anything.
It helps if it targets what your coach has actually asked for. Extra touches build the technical confidence that shows up in games — but the work rate and attitude side is free, and matters just as much.
Usually trust rather than favouritism. Coaches pick players whose performance they can predict. Becoming predictable in a good way is the whole task.
Almost always, at youth level. Minutes are development, and versatile players get picked more often. You can move back to your preferred position later with more experience than the players who refused.
Playing time isn’t given out fairly, but it is earned more often than young players believe. The work rate part is completely in your control, starting at the next session.
If you want help getting sharper on the ball so the technical side isn’t what’s holding you back, get in touch. We’ll build sessions around what your coach has told you to fix.
About Olly: Oliver “Olly” Sovenyhazy is a 15-year-old soccer player with the Charleston Soccer Club and a volunteer with the professional Charleston Battery. Through Olly on the Ball he coaches private, semi-private and small-group sessions for young players across Mount Pleasant and the Charleston area — building confidence through reps, and skills that hold up in real games.
