Your star player isn’t at practice. Will you play them tomorrow?

You’re a high school coach. Throughout the season, when a student-athlete has missed practice the day before a game, you have not played them in the game the next day. Tomorrow your team plays in the first-round of the league championship. It’s a single elimination format. They have been working hard all year and it’s the program’s first tournament appearance in a decade.

Your star player isn’t at practice. Will you play them tomorrow?

Why or why not?

What information, if any, would you seek to gather before making a decision?

What factors contributed to your decision?

What are the potential negatives, if any, of your decision?