What to do when a young kid complains about a sport?

[Anonymous]

OP here. Kid did want to sign up May when they tried out. Keep in mind kid was 7. Then they have to commit to 12 months until next tryout. So yes they committed, but it is a long time.

We probably just need to stick it out until June. It will be a long Spring season...

[Anonymous]

Finish the season. Talk to the coach to see if your son can dial back on practice. If the coach is not willing to support your child, I would pull him out. For an athlete at that age, excessive amount of practice is not going to help to elevate his skills, team cohesion, etc. as other have said, this will only lead to injury and affect his real chance to excel (when he turns 15). 7 years is a long time and anything could happen if he is overtraining during that time.

DD started training 4-5 days a week intensely for her sport (her choice). Didn’t play any other sport. By 14, she was injured. After rounds of physical therapy and various recovery efforts, she is now contemplating quitting the sport which she is nationally ranked. To add to the hurt, she is just beginning the college recruiting process. We have pull her out of the crazy club she was working with and moved to a different coach who focuses on her love of the game, not the over the top expectation. For now, she is happy going to practice 2 nights a week for an hour or so. We have put a lid on the recruiting process. Our goal is for her to never hate her sport.

[Anonymous]

Life is short. I’d pull him. Look at a rec option if he likes the sport; otherwise let him take a break. You’re the one who signed him up 1 there is no way a seven year old knew what he was getting into. This will affect nothing long term. You need to prioritize your kid over whatever vision you had of his athletic success at 8u sports.

[Anonymous]

I have an 8 year old on a travel team. Probably the same sport based on what you have said. This is a tough one because you have the spring season coming up and it's not great for anyone to have a kid who doesn't really want to be out there. The kid is miserable and it affects the team negatively. We signed our 8 year old up based on his level of enthusiasm for the sport and his frustration with rec. I have no delusions that it will lead to college recruiting or anything like that. He never complains about practice and gets upset if we are running late (doesn't want to miss anything -- not worried about getting in trouble over it). He commented the other day that he's looking forward to the spring season. The club we chose is not as intense as some others out there. Winter has been much less practice/more laid back. I can't imagine why a club would ramp up training in the winter for the young kids, when fall and spring are intense enough already. That sounds like a recipe for burnout. My son has still had time for other rec-type sports even in the fall/spring. We would not have signed him up for a team/club that prevented him from doing other activities. Not at this age.

I can tell a couple of the kids on my son's team were signed up because it's something their parents wanted for them. They care more than the kids and it shows. I would talk to the coach so they know what's going on and are ok with your child missing practice or games sometimes if that's what it takes to get through spring, assuming the roster is big enough to handle their absence. If it were my kid I would also expect less playing time in games to come along with that and explain that to my son. Then don't go to tryouts for next year. Go back to rec and/or explore other sports/activities. There's plenty of time to jump back into travel if your son finds himself missing it and wanting to commit more.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have an 8 year old on a travel team. Probably the same sport based on what you have said. This is a tough one because you have the spring season coming up and it's not great for anyone to have a kid who doesn't really want to be out there. The kid is miserable and it affects the team negatively. We signed our 8 year old up based on his level of enthusiasm for the sport and his frustration with rec. I have no delusions that it will lead to college recruiting or anything like that. He never complains about practice and gets upset if we are running late (doesn't want to miss anything -- not worried about getting in trouble over it). He commented the other day that he's looking forward to the spring season. The club we chose is not as intense as some others out there. Winter has been much less practice/more laid back. I can't imagine why a club would ramp up training in the winter for the young kids, when fall and spring are intense enough already. That sounds like a recipe for burnout. My son has still had time for other rec-type sports even in the fall/spring. We would not have signed him up for a team/club that prevented him from doing other activities. Not at this age.

I can tell a couple of the kids on my son's team were signed up because it's something their parents wanted for them. They care more than the kids and it shows. I would talk to the coach so they know what's going on and are ok with your child missing practice or games sometimes if that's what it takes to get through spring, assuming the roster is big enough to handle their absence. If it were my kid I would also expect less playing time in games to come along with that and explain that to my son. Then don't go to tryouts for next year. Go back to rec and/or explore other sports/activities. There's plenty of time to jump back into travel if your son finds himself missing it and wanting to commit more.

PP thinking a little more... if your son is truly miserable and would be happy to no longer be a part of this team at all, then I would actually just pull him from spring assuming they could fill the spot with a kid from another team within the club. Now would be the time to have that conversation so the coach can plan accordingly. You wouldn't get your money back but right now between winter and spring would be a good logical stopping point as opposed to midway through the spring season. Then your son could either sign up for rec or just try something else for spring.

[Anonymous]

You pull him now don’t be silly

[Anonymous]

At age 8, I’d pull my kid and apologize and be honest with the coach (and not ask for or expect $ back). Another kid can fill the spot (and will likely be happy to) and no single child at age 8 is crucial to a team’s success. Lol.

You made a mistake- no big deal. Just fix it now and be done with it. Easier to do before the season ramps up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At age 8, I’d pull my kid and apologize and be honest with the coach (and not ask for or expect $ back). Another kid can fill the spot (and will likely be happy to) and no single child at age 8 is crucial to a team’s success. Lol.

You made a mistake- no big deal. Just fix it now and be done with it. Easier to do before the season ramps up.

This 100% - poor kid but long term it will all be fine if you don't grind their face in their commitment

[Anonymous]

I wouldn’t make him do the spring season. You said it yourself- he was 7 when you talked about the commitment. Sign up for spring rec and just take the loss. If you push and do spring, your kid may really end up not wanting to play again.

[Anonymous]

He was 7 when he made a 12 month commitment. Usually I would say finish a season but if there are others who are willing to take his place, let him stop. There is no benefit to pushing through at this young age. The money is already gone. You are saving both of you time.

My daughter started travel soccer way too soon, in second grade. She went from loving it to similar to your son in the spring. The next year she didn’t want to play at all. She went back to rec two years later and stayed there. She went back to enjoying the game in a less rigorous environment.