I didn't put my bro-in-law on my hockey team, what should I say?

have him relinquish the spot himself.
Depending on his personality, there might be a way to frame it where he thinks it's his own idea.

 

I used to play in a lot of Class A Softball tournaments and was in a similar predicament. One of my best friends was the weakest link on our team. I was the second best player and the coach of the team. 6 of the guys on the team came to me and said either I got rid of my friend or they were all leaving and forming another team. They got tired of him making errors all the time because the guys in that league smoke balls at the weakest link frequently.

I sat down and talked to my friend after a game to tell him that I was contemplating replacing him, he got pissed and left right away. By the time I got home, he had cut up his shirt and hat and thrown them in my front yard. A few weeks later I told him about another team in a D league that I wanted him and I to play on and he agreed to play. He became a more important member in a less competive team and I think he enjoyed it more.

Had another situation where I had two brothers on the team. Both of them were strong players but the older brother had a mouth on him. He was always annoying the other teams and our team by constantly running his mouth. Same scenario, a bunch of players come to me saying they want him gone. I went first to the younger brother to tell him what the team wanted to do and that I know that it meant he would leave with his brother. His reply was, "I want him off the team too and it works out better that you have to tell him". I told the older brother that he was off the team and he got pissed and called me talking about wanting to fight....yada yada. In the end nothing happened and he's cordial even when I see him today.

 

If you're the coach, I assume there are some of the related headaches attributable to coaching (especially dealing with organizational things). That being the case, since you probably do a lot of stuff that no one appreciates, you should be granted a few "coach's discretion" opportunities.

 

At some point, all of us are either going to decide to quit playing or be told we are no longer good enough to be on the team.

 

It's times like these that I ask myself: WWMGD?

Spoiler

What Would Mitchell Goosen Do?



He would probably have a race down Devil's Backbone to determine who would be the members of the team.

That's what I would do. That's what you should do.

 

Tell him your goal is to reach the playoffs.

 

Tell him, "Fine, you're on the team. But you have to buy the beer. Good beer."

 

"I'm still smashing your sister and no you can't be on my hockey team"