What would you do?

[jenmax4real]

My DD has decided she no longer wants to play soccer. I still have about 4 payments left to pay for the spring season; and I'm not sure how to handle this. Should I ask her to at least finish off the season? Let her quit? Or see if I can stop the remaining payment?

[Swaggalicious]

jenmax4real wrote:My DD has decided she no longer wants to play soccer. I still have about 4 payments left to pay for the spring season; and I'm not sure how to handle this. Should I ask her to at least finish off the season? Let her quit? Or see if I can stop the remaining payment?

Depends on why and what you committed to with the club.

[retiredref]

My oldest played rec soccer except one season of travel. For a couple years he wanted to quit nearly every season, we made him finish out the season and quit after that, but then next season he wondered why we hadn't signed him up again and couldn't wait for soccer to start back up. Not much info in your post, could be different depending on age and level, but I would have a talk and try to see if I could find out what's going on. Is there something with the other players or the coach that's making it a bad experience or is she just tired of it? something like 70% of kids quit soccer between 12 and 15, is she just one of the statistics? Is her coach one of those Rory Dames/Richie Burke types? How long has she been playing? Has she been emphasizing other interests recently? Nobody can give you an answer based on so little information but hopefully you can find out more about what's going on if you talk to her.

Payment-wise if you decide not to play the spring they will have a hard time trying to force those payments out of you whatever your agreement was, however you won't be able to get back any installments you have already made. Their leverage is not releasing your pass so she can't go somewhere else but that doesn't matter if she's quitting.

[jenmax4real]

OP here. She is 14, will be 15 in March. She is coached by a really good group of guys, so its not the coach. During the fall, she would wait until the last minute to get ready for practice, which meant she was late for training. There were a few practices where I saw her sitting on the sidelines during practices and she said she was hurt. Since they were only training during the fall, I didn't pressure her to attend practice as I felt like she was getting tired of the soccer. Now, that spring season is around the corner, instead of her asking when does the season begin, she asked when does it end. She finally came out and said she doesn't have interest in playing anymore. Since soccer was the only sport that she's played, she really doesn't have anything to fall back on.

[C3PO]

If there is an issue with bullying by teammates or similar, I would let my child quit. Otherwise, I would tell them to finish out the season and find something new for next year. It doesn't have to be a serious travel sport. FWIW, my son is not sure he wants to do travel soccer next year. Some days he wants to, some days he doesn't. If he doesn't, he said it will try indoor rock climbing with a friend from school.

[Mucho_vaca]

Our rule is if you quit, you should explore and replace with another activity.
If they quit mid season, I'd ask them to pay towards the cost (like one payment installment), just to be certain they really want to quit.
Then yes, ask the club to stop the remaining payments.

[DMVCoach]

You made a year long commitment to the team. I don't know what her roster is like, but you may likely effect a lot of other girls with this decision. I would encourage her to stick it out, if she doesn't want to come back out for next year then fine - but I would also work with her to find another activity to keep her physically active as part of the deal.

If you really wish to allow her to quit, you can always ask the club for a refund. I would check their policy first, but regardless you can always ask. If you have another kid at the club, you may also be able to transfer the monies to that or future seasons for them.

I wish you both good luck!

[NoYou]

Kids leaving soccer fall into two groups—those who have already found a new interest and those who are having problems with soccer. Of the latter group there are five signs. You might want to scorecard her experience against these.

Negative sports experiences. Research has shown that the following reasons often underlie a decision to drop out:

• Not getting enough playing time.
• Poor relationships with coaches or teammates.
• An overemphasis on winning that creates stress and reduces fun.
• Over-organization, excessive repetition, and regimentation leading to boredom.
• Excessive fear of failure, including frustration or failure to achieve personal or team goals.

[anonimouswon]

jenmax4real wrote:My DD has decided she no longer wants to play soccer. I still have about 4 payments left to pay for the spring season; and I'm not sure how to handle this. Should I ask her to at least finish off the season? Let her quit? Or see if I can stop the remaining payment?

Unless there's a good reason she doesn't want to play have her stick it out as she made a commitment to the team. If she leaves it leaves the team down a player. Even if she didn't start she would still provide some valuable minutes as a sub. But if she really wants out, talk with the club and see if you can get out of the remaining payments.