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Not all teams are large. Some have fewer than 20 kids on them.
Our youngest kids soccer team (age 11) has 16 kids. His coach is very supportive. He does not push the kids to win. He tells the team that he would rather them lose the game and play their positions correctly and practice good sportsmanship. He's all about learning and building skills rather than winning. We really like his attitude. Our son is having a really wonderful experience, and we have seen his confidence and self knowledge grow since playing on the team.
YES...YES...YES. IT IS THE PARENTS LACK OF DISCIPLINE IN THE HOME!!!! That sets the foundation of the behavior of ANY child when they transition into the public arena.
I treat disabled kid in their homes and let me tell you, I spend 2 to 3 WEEKS just disciplining them to behave so I can get to do therapy with them. And it is getting worse with every new decade of kids. I see FIRST hand the family dynamics and the children in the household are beating up the parents. All of the children are falling out on the floor, screaming on the top of their lungs, telling the parents to shut up, pulling up a chair to get into the cabinets to get a bag of chips or candy whenever they want and doing what they want to do; totally ignoring the parents. These kids don't respect their own parents, why would you think they would respect any other adult figure? The older schoolage children just flat out tell the parents what they will or will not do; even using a very calm, polite voice and matter of factly turn a walk away from the parent!!!!
These parents are sending the kids to school to get them out of their hair and then they want to dictate what the "teacher" or in my case the "therapist" should be doing with their child when THEY AS THE PARENT SHOULD BE DOING IT.
I agree with the OP, the puppies were not leash and collar trained by their owners when they were younger. Now you have little bucking brats to deal with.
So, just curious, have you let these parents know they are raising bucking brats? Do they know you think their kids are bucking brats?
Or are you talented enough to hide your true feelings and give these parents a false sense of security in that you care about their disabled children and helping them? Do these parents leave you alone with their kids?
Our youngest kids soccer team (age 11) has 16 kids. His coach is very supportive. He does not push the kids to win. He tells the team that he would rather them lose the game and play their positions correctly and practice good sportsmanship. He's all about learning and building skills rather than winning. We really like his attitude. Our son is having a really wonderful experience, and we have seen his confidence and self knowledge grow since playing on the team.
When our kids played soccer, about that same age, their coach was the same. He was all about teaching the kids to play properly, everyone got to play, if you scored a goal, you moved to defense to give everyone else a chance, etc. They went from U9-U17 without EVER losing a game Our kids only played through the U12 team because we moved. The kids also learned some valuable lessons, especially what it meant to be a TEAM, from that coach. They also have a blast, which is really what it was all about.
*Ducks in anticipation of the flaming balls of poo that will now be thrown regarding how this sort of thing creates the dreaded "high self-esteem society."*
*Ducks in anticipation of the flaming balls of poo that will now be thrown regarding how this sort of thing creates the dreaded "high self-esteem society."*
Oh, I agree, to a point. At young ages, 8, 9, 10 or so, playing sports or being in an activity is all about learning how to play and really shouldn't be focused on winning at all costs. Once kids get into middle school, however, I think that needs to change and that the better kids should play more. I don't think at the middle school age you should cut kids from teams though. By high school, the better kids play, period---my viewpoint as a coach with over 25 years of coaching experience
Again, ALL of these experiences are educational opportunities. Kids learn from good coaches, bad coaches, etc. It might not be math skills they are learning but they are learning LIFE skills and those are equally as important as learning math.
Once kids get into middle school, however, I think that needs to change and that the better kids should play more. I don't think at the middle school age you should cut kids from teams though.
I have to disagree. When there is a hefty fee involved I think its fine to cut middle school kids rather than collect a fee and have the kid sit on the bench. We were on a travel lacrosse team that was intentionally kept small last summer. It was a much better experience for the kids that made the team than another travel lacrosse team that took 30 kids on its roster. The better kids played but the parents of the lesser players wound up basically paying a fee to subsidize the other kids. I was much happier with my son's experience. 17 kids, all of them saw the field. The weaker players were cut.
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Our kids only played through the U12 team because we moved. The kids also learned some valuable lessons, especially what it meant to be a TEAM, from that coach. They also have a blast, which is really what it was all about.
