GW Field Guide // Straight Comparison
Asking for a subtraction vs offering a trade
| Asking for a subtraction | Offering a trade | |
|---|---|---|
| What the head coach hears | "I want less football." He is paid to have them ready Friday, so this is a no. | "You keep what you want and I cover the cost somewhere else." Nothing is taken from him. |
| What it costs him in reps | Reps come off the script. That is the entire ask. | Zero. He keeps the extra padded team period he asked for. |
| What actually comes off the week | Whatever he agrees to cut, which in most buildings is nothing. | Post practice conditioning, which the starters already ran inside the team period. |
| What you have to bring | An opinion and an injury report. | One number: session RPE times practice minutes, collected on a free Google Form 30 minutes after practice, rated individually. |
| Second lever available | None. You already spent the whole ask on the period. | The contact designation. Live to thud to control moves real load without touching one rep or one minute. |
| When it gets asked | Whenever the frustration boils over, which is usually a Thursday of game week. | The planning window. Start of the weekly cycle or the off-season, with the head coach and the athletic trainer in the room. |
| Size of the first ask | Big. Give me Tuesday back. | Small. One ten minute walkthrough block inside a heavy Tuesday, then a bigger one once it works. |
| Cost to run it | Free, and it buys you nothing. | A pencil and a free Google Form. |
The verdictTrade. Every time. A subtraction request makes him choose between his football and your kids, and he will pick his football, because that is his job. A trade makes him choose between two versions of the same practice, and one of them is cheaper. Stop making him say no.