Anonymous wrote:You’re focusing on two things: (lack of) respect for their coaches and teammates, and (lack of) athletic ability. The first is a problem, the second isn’t.
Address the silliness by reminding them about expectations before practice. Stay at practice and help out as needed. Give your coach permission to bench them for a few minutes if they can’t get it together. Have them apologize if their behavior was especially egregious. On the way home, talk about how their choices impacted the experience of their teammates. Rinse and repeat — and take a break from the activity if the behavioral expectations seem beyond them right now.
Not being as good as the others? That’s not an issue you need to worry about right now.
Agree, and actually it's okay to never worry about them being as good as others. I played sports and was not as good as my peers. Stopped playing in HS when it became clear I'd never make varsity of anything. I still developed a lifelong love of sports and exercise, I pursued other things I was much better at, and I learned it's okay to be bad at things.
As an adult, I am still comfortable being bad at things and I actually think it's a great skill. I'm good at things too. It is not kind to expect your kids to excel at every single thing they do.