Advice to a parent around frustration, teamwork, and ball hogging
Hello. I am a parent of a u13 girl who plays both in a club and also on a rec team too. She has been with her rec team for 5 years, but only on a club team since June. She plays 6 days a week between games and practices. She loves soccer, loves running, and loves the excitement of going after the ball.
After every game, be it rec or club, she is angry and frustrated. She often has a list of things she is mad about, but a big one is that she does not think her teammates pass enough either to her or at all. I can see the anger and frustration getting to her during the game. It’s sticking to her and making her lose her drive on the field.
I also think she is right, kids are hogging the ball and they are globing together rather than passing, but I see it as a development problem, not a personal one. They are just not to the point where they know how to work as a team and they need more development as a team.
I’m not a coach and I will not step in or try to manage the coach’s job with the players or my daughter. It’s not my job and I respect the authority of the coaches.
But I also want to affirm my daughter and not dismiss her feeling and observations.
I tell my player to talk to the coach about her concerns and help her with how to have the conversation. I also encourage my player to be assertive, and not aggressive when on the field and with her teammates. She needs to speak up for herself and communicate without being mean or rude. We run though how she might so that too.
My questions are:
Is there more that I can do?
Is this average for this age, both for my player to be frustrated and for other players to be lacking in team skills?
Should we stick with the club or have her try out another team to see how she meshes with them?
Any advice, help, thoughts would be appreciated.