IT'S a tough balancing act being a junior sports coach.

Should winning be a priority? Or should all children, regardless of talent, be given a fair go?

This week, a Mildura grandmother wrote me a letter that should strike a chord with every junior coach.

She was angry that her grandson didn't want to play sport anymore after "warming the bench" for six years in junior soccer.

"These kids need to be involved, not made to feel like they're not good enough," she wrote.

"I'm sure it's happening in more sports than just soccer. Let's build these kids up, not make them feel worthless."

The grandmother didn't want to be named, for the kid's sake, but she wrote of her concern for the wider issue of how "not so good" junior sportspeople are treated.

"They're the ones that get to spend the entire game sitting on the bench, otherwise known as bench warmers," she wrote.

"The ones that don't get a go, because the club absolutely has to win the game. The ones that sit there for the whole game, wishing they could have even 10 minutes on the field, the ones that have parents/grandparents getting up early every Sunday to watch their child be demor...