First off, my dd played for one of the top female coaches in the world and he said, "I play the best players so we win and no practice is required to start and play the whole game." We had one player that was the best at the time and her parents both worked 60 hours a week and lived one hour away. She came to practice when she could but on Saturdays and Sundays, she was at the games because the parents weren't slaves on the weekend. My kid had another coach that told everyone, "you miss practice, you sit. I dont care if your MJ, you miss one of MY practices, you dont play, period!!!!" That is fair too but I bet you this bro. If I offered Coach Hard Nose $10K to win that one game, I bet you he brings his best to that game, regardless of who was or not at practice that week. I can see both side of the argument being right and wrong. It all depends on the truthful reasons of each player and coach. Frankly, I want to win the match. Practice is just practice. I want to win the game and not be some coach teaching a life lesson with $10K on the line. The lesson is, "win the match."