This is really common. When I was in high school our coach insisted on playing his sons on the varsity team when they really couldn't hang with the JV bench-warmers. Almost cost us a state title until a bunch of us refused to play if he didn't play the game to win, which meant his kids sat throughout the entire post-season run. My BIL coaches high school bball and he says that "influential" parents and others are always pressuring him to let their kids on the team or to play them more than is warranted. I helped coach a couple of high school teams and we had the same pressure. One coach I worked with caved and I told him I wouldn't work with him anymore if he did. The other one stood firm but caught all kinds of hell from the principal. It can get ugly. I am sure it isn't in every single school on every single team but it is more common than people might think.
