Cage I adore your posts and appreciate your experience. Curious as to what you suggest a parent do when daughters teammates are mean. My daughter is shy, new to the team and none of the girls make any effort to include her in on anything. She is not the only one, but the other new girls all came from the same town so they at least know each other. They will ve going back to the travel team they came from after te season, in the meantime We still need to get through 4 more tournaments.
Building team chemistry is one of the most difficult things in coaching - particularly as a thirty or forty something adult trying to mix a group of teenagers. Some suggestions that worked for our girls side:
If the team has a captain, it is her role (although she might not realize it yet) to be the leader of the team on and off the field. Ask the head coach who the most likely leader might be. She should be responsible for integrating all of the new players to your team.
If you are doing away tournaments and the girls are dorming together, ask the coach if the players can be completely jumbled together for one tournament. No better way to break down existing cliques than making the girls find other friends.
Have your daughter invite a couple of teammates to the house after practice - see how many might be interested.
Arrange for a group dinner at one of the tournaments with parents and players alike. This creates a "secure" environment for your daughter and brings the whole team together.
If doing an overnight tournament, offer to take a group a players along with your daughter to a local mall before lights-out.
Those are just a few ideas. BOTC welcomes other suggestions from our readers.
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