Attitude or ability? Ds is 14 and has been playing grassroots football for our local club for many years. We’ve seen lots of boys come and go as is the case but I would say ds has always been a committed and valuable member of the team. He is a good footballer and a good sportsman - respectful and courteous to the ref and opposition but not afraid to get stuck in.
However there a couple of his teammates who are very gifted ability wise but absolute little shits on the pitch. They swear, they put in questionable tackles, throw themselves on the floor and cry like babies over the smallest thing, they are abusive to the ref and think nothing of trying to injure others. Just this weekend I’ve seen one of them hurt a member of the opposition quite badly (he needed to be helped off the pitch) and our player was smirking about it. The parents are as bad, never admit any wrongdoing and encourage their kids in this behaviour. Because football is such a big deal to them they often miss training sessions because they play for multiple teams and have clashes.
However they always get loads of game time at the expense of my son and some of the other regulars, and the coaches never admonish their attitude presumably because they are the better players and win games for us. I’m honestly sick of it. I know at this age it is a competitive sport but if you were a coach would you let this sort of thing go even though it gives the team as a whole a poor image? Or would you accept it’s just life when it comes to grassroots?