coaches care about winning. Unless you are in a rec league, then maybe Rudy gets in more than one play, but it's more of an Allen Iverson deal...we talkin about practice?
It almost doesn't matter. If you are the most athletic and give your team the best chance to win, you will play no matter what. If you're 5 foot nothin, 100lb nothing, and zero athletic ability, it won't matter if you never miss a practice and are putting in extra work...
I'm sure the sweet spot is somewhere different in each sport, where the natural athlete who doesn't put in the work can be surpassed by the runt who did the work and has more skill. And I think most coaches try to recognize that effort, they really do, but in the end, they want to win, and will play more the players they feel give them the best chance at that.