I thought this was going to be about smug A team parents

Anonymous wrote:Embrace his attitude! Don't be a stiff! Have some fun! Challenge him to nutmeg attackers until they lose their cool and get carded, ask him to execute a 360 move or Neymar flick in his own box, have him do a rainbow as soon as he wins the ball or a scorpion kick clearance during the corner kick. The game does not have to be boring! See how much he can get away with before his coach starts to notice.

bet him $10 he cant do it!

You may not be able to pull him off the field, but you can have him sit out the next game. Even better, make him sit On the bench with the team. If the coach is any good he’ll support you.

Embrace his attitude! Don't be a stiff! Have some fun! Challenge him to nutmeg attackers until they lose their cool and get carded, ask him to execute a 360 move or Neymar flick in his own box, have him do a rainbow as soon as he wins the ball or a scorpion kick clearance during the corner kick. The game does not have to be boring! See how much he can get away with before his coach starts to notice.

Kudos to you, OP. I played high level growing up and knew players like you describe (don't we all)? They desperately needed someone to set them straight, and you shouldn't always place everything on the coach.

Some of the best athletes I knew were ones with parents like you; that held them accountable both for their aptitude and attitude. Others, parents would ignore when they halfassed it on defense or didn't both covering for a teammate's mistake, as long as they played well on offense. Those players never seemed to hit their potential. Many could have been great, and topped out at merely good.

You can’t pull him of the field, but I understand the urge.

You can talk to him about your expectations for his attitude before the game. I am assuming he is young, so you could try a reward for good effort/attitude or punishment for bad effort/attitude.

My daughter is young and I noticed she was standing back and waiting for breakaways so she could get goals with little actual effort, so we rewarded good defense and now she plays more evenly.

My son is older and sometimes has attitude, but I mainly ignore it. I do set expectations that I expect him to make a good effort regardless of his position or how the team is doing though. After games I always comment on his effort during the game to make this the highest priority (the only thing you can control is your own attitude).

Not from you. Has to be from the coach. If the coach is not doing anything about it, then the coach doesn't really care to play the role of child psychologist. Some kids have personality quirks that are just maturity issues that they have to grow out of.

Our DS is talented, loves soccer but has a TERRIBLE attitude. His academy has them in rotation for non showcase games and when he plays full back he simply quits. I want to drag him off the field to give someone who wants to play more time. Today the only effort he showed was to taunt the other team with his offensive skills (while playing defense) and eventually pass up field. He has talent, but terrible team player. Is this my job to fix or can the coach do it? So far the coaches seem to give a pass for his offense skill; but I hate to say it I wish his team would code red his ass and get him in check.

Is there any way to fix a shitty attitude and non-team play?

Love my boy, hate his soccer persona.