My daughters' soccer team needed to field ten players but only had six. Thankfully, we knew ahead of time about the short-handed situation and contacted a team playing the game before us. They jumped at the offer to sub in during a second game for more playing time, and we were able to gather jerseys from the team members who couldn't make it.
In addition to our six, we had seven from the volunteer team, and three from another team. Demand of kids wanting to play far out numbered supply of positions to play. During the transitions between quarters, kids would swarm around our coach, also a substitute for this game, and beg to be put in. He played the role of air traffic controller coordinating who would go where and when.
It's not uncommon to see kids on our team asking to sit a quarter out. My youngest daughter being one of those kids. She likes soccer, but gets nervous and winded during games and prefers the safety of the sidelines.
She was sitting out during the third quarter and said to me, "All these new kids love to play. They make me want to play more." I encouraged her to tell the coach she wanted back in for the fourth quarter. Pushing past her natural introversion, she assertively approached the coach and told him she wanted to go in as a defender. He put her in.
This was a new behavior to see in my daughter, and the change in her environment made it happen. Seed some enthusiasm in your team to get others excited.
