Reply to Friend is upset because her kid was cut from a team and mine made it

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I don't know where else to put this because it's sports-related, but really more interpersonal.
My HS freshman made a team, and my friend's son was cut. The family has had serious issues over the years (sibling died by suicide during COVID), and my friend is upset that her son's situation was not taken into account when cuts were made.
I obviously feel terribly about her son, but I don't see a connection between this tragedy and the baseball team. She will often approach teachers, coaches, etc. and ask for her child to be given special consideration. 
My child worked very hard for the team. She is very upset that he's on the team and her kid isn't and even wants me to talk to the coach about finding a place for her son, which I really cannot do. I don't know the coach. I don't know how to handle this with kindness beyond saying firmly I am sorry but this is not something I can do, which will roil the waters more. Any ideas on how to thread this gracefully? We are no longer in DC area; we live in a fairly large town where tons of kids try out for teams and many are cut.[/quote]

You can hold compassion for what that family has been through while still recognizing that HS sports can’t really be structured around individual family circumstances. It also sounds like your friend may be trying to “make everything okay” for her surviving son after an unimaginable loss, which is very understandable, but a roster spot can’t really fill that role.

High school baseball, in particular, is tough because the pipeline is so big. Many kids play LL (or similar), many more play travel, and that can create an expectation that if you’ve always played, you’ll make the HS team. But rosters are often surprisingly small, and a lot of hardworking, deserving kids get cut every year. It’s painful, but it’s also a normal part of competitive school sports.

It also gets tricky when we suggest that hardship should factor into roster decisions. Most families and kids are carrying something, even if it isn’t visible. Coaches aren’t equipped (and shouldn’t be asked) to weigh life trauma against athletic readiness.

[b]Interpersonally, I’d stay very simple, kind, and firm:
“I’m so sorry he’s hurting and I can’t imagine how hard things have been for your family. I really don’t have any role or connection with the team, and I can’t advocate with the coach. I hope he finds a place to keep playing.”[/b]

Then gently redirect. You’re not responsible for solving this, and getting involved would likely create more strain for everyone, including your own child. In the long run, normalizing that setbacks like cuts are part of growing up (even when life has already been unfair) is probably the kindest path.[/quote]

This, 1000%.  And the bolded about 60 million! [/quote]

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