Homeschooled son and social issues

[Anonymous]

I need some perspective on this. I'm quite upset and it's not because I haven't had to deal with a little of this over the 15 years I've been homeschooling my kids.

My 15 year old son has been on a travel soccer team for about 3 years. He has always had to deal with some cliquish behavior from the other kids, but loved soccer and decided to stick it out and deal with it. Lately, for the past year or so, the boys have gotten more and more aggressive about the taunting, teasing, derogatory remarks about him being homeschooled. They have gotten more vicious, and the coaches have lately decided it would be funny to join in on the fun.

Some of the comments are " I heard your teacher is HOT!". " Do you have a girlfriend that you met in class?" "Larlo, are you going to do homeschool College too haha?". I bet you are one of those crazy anti vaxers because all homeschoolers are like that. Do you even believe in vaccines? " From the coach: " everyone is playing high school soccer in the fall, right? Oh, right, except for Larlo...he's playing for his school team haha" These comments are not matter of fact. They are said with a derogatory tone and they all laugh.

These comments are constant. It's not a one off. The coach is the one that usually has some slight sexual overtones to his comments (teacher is hot, etc)


He has said he has no desire to be on the team anymore, as all of the water breaks are filled with this crap and no matter if he laughs it off, ignores it, or tells them to shut up, they continue. I don't blame him. He said he feels humiliated, like a punching bag, like he wouldn't even want to be friends with these kids if they begged him at this point, etc.

He is so talented in soccer, and loves to play more than almost anything else. But he said he no longer loves the game like he used to, and he has lost respect for the coach he used to respect so much and look up to. He has matured into quite a young man, and our long discussion leads me to believe I should support him in this decision.

I would love some objective opinions.

Thanks

[Anonymous]

Find a new club. This one isn’t the right fit for him.

[Anonymous]

Switch teams?

[Anonymous]

Can you talk to the coach?

[Anonymous]

You should post this in the soccer forum.

[Anonymous]

New team!
That coach sounds like a douche and so do the other kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:New team!
That coach sounds like a douche and so do the other kids.

New team and coach. In our ten years of homeschooling we’ve never encountered this. Lots of misconceptions about being allowed to eat candy all day and doing school in pajamas. All of my kids have heard those over the years in very different settings; quite a strange impression to pop up all over the place.

Btw, none of those kids will be playing high-school soccer.