I am a coach and a parent. I am currently coaching flag football and in our league at our age level (5-7), we try to give each kid the same amount of playing time. I know that at the older levels, that isn't the case. Each kid will play, but not necessarily the same amount of time. It's up to the coaches to decide who they want to play and for how long.

Have you spoken to the coaches about it? Is there a rule about playing time? Does your son care about not playing?

I only ask those questions because I know coaches in the upper age levels are always talking about how a parent complained because their child was only in the game for one play. The book they hand out to parents in the beginning of the year clearly says that each kid will get in the game at some point, but playing time is up to the coaches. Often, the child doesn't even care. It's the parents who care.

However, if there is a rule, I would point it out to the coach. She/he could have lost track of kids or something like that. It's possible that it was a mistake. See what they have to say about it.