My daughter is a varsity soccer player that took up lacrosse in December with a private coach. She has done exceptionally well with stick skills in 3 months, is learning rapidly and was consistently the among the fastest players in team try outs. She was confident that she played as well as others and that she would make the team, and all of those trying out with her agreed. She was the only sophomore to try out as a new player, and she was cut from the team while the coach put freshmen girls on who were slower and had far worse skills than her. Some had never picked up a stick before. The comment was... easier to cut now than cut as a junior. The coach knows she had only played for 3 months, abou 10 times, and has no idea what her skills will be like in a year. In cutting her, the coach made it much harder for her to make varisty next year. This wasn't about room on the team... with under 20 players, there is plenty of room on the roster. My daughter will pursue lax outside of school now and do all she can to become a great player, but is devastated. She is a better player than many who got on the team and isn't allowed to be on the team. She can't understand how something so unfair can happen and is just blown away. I've spoken to the school's athletic director who told me that team sports selection is not fair. It's up to the coach and that's that. The better player doesn't always get on. How is behavior like this permitted and justified? I thought sports are supposed to be about building confidence and character, particularly for girls. How do I help my daughter understand this and make sense of this. She earned a place on that team and was denied for reasons that neither she nor i can understand.
