I know that the coach probably means well, and that they are actually short of players in the first place. What I tried to get across to my daughter is that integrity means more than being part of the click. If she is part of the group and has no charecter outside of the click, then I've taught her nothing. I always thought sports was about integrity.
I guess I just have a "old fashioned" way at looking at the world. When a persons word was work more than anything else.