Reply to Quitting a team sports mid-season

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Could you tell me why many think it's not ideal to quit a team sport in the middle of season, even if DC no longer enjoys it? I may not be thinking this straight but[b] there's still more than a month left [/b]and DC is miserable already, and I fear forcing him to continue will kill it for him.  That's the least I want to see happen.[/quote]

More than a month? That's not very long, OP. Five weeks, six weeks? Until the end of the school year, basically? I would talk to DC and say that in the great scheme of things this isn't actually that long, though if it's "midseason" it may feel eternal to him. But I'd tell DC you are asking him to stick it out because it's not that long, realistically, and the rest of the team is depending on him; then assure him that he does not have to do this again, and you and he will do more and better research next time about the commitments involved. Or just say no more two-sport seasons, period. I know a lot of families that have that rule.

You write that you fear forcing him to finish will "kill it for him" but it sounds like his interest is dead already; at this point it's all about whether he can deal long enough for the sake of his friends on the team. If he is going to spend the remaining weeks griping or grousing about it to them, the coach and team won't want him around anyway. But if he's able to tough it out, and not do it with a long face and a lot of complaint--praise him for doing just that and being positive (even if he has to put on an act to be positive; we all have to put on the act at times).

Try to explain it so he can see that the end is in sight and this is unpleasant but doable. See if he can learn to say, "OK, I don't have to love this, but I can power through these last weeks and then I am done." Y

One caveat: If, other than just needing more down time this is somehow affecting him outside the game--if he is having trouble getting schoolwork done due to the commitment you didn't know would be so tough--that's an immediate deal-breaker, to me at least. School comes first. If he is wanting to leave because of other issues such as being picked on or bullied on the team, that also is a deal-breaker. (You don't mention that possibility but it's worth checking in with him: "Is there anything else going on in the team, or in the way the other kids or coach are acting to you, that's behind this?")

In such cases I'd say yes, you can stop right now.

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