Never picked for school team

[kimlek]

My dd is 9 years old (yr5) and a half decent netball player. She goes to all the practice sessions at lunchtime & without fail at the weekly after school sessions. She loves playing sport. She's not amazingly good but she's certainly ok! The thing is, after putting in the effort she's getting quite disheartened that she's never chosen to play against other schools. Even when they have a B team she's overlooked - and without being rude, some of the girls in the B team are VERY obviously B standard!! If it wasn't bothering her then I wouldn't care but she's going on and on about it. Every Friday she comes home saddened because she hasn't been chosen yet again. Am I being unreasonable?

sorry not to have responded earlier - I posted the view that it did not matter if the school Y3 B team lost their football match as long as they all had a go. People felt that was daft.

Just to reiterate - I was talking about primary school children.

I think that at this age if they were effectively consigned to the sporting dustbin, it could put them off sport for life - and I don't think that can be a good thing for any child?

The OP's daughter has done well to keep plugging away, but unless someone actively encourages her, all interest will soon dwindle - and the assewrtion that the PE teachers have been doing their job will fall flat on its face.

I would add netball is a poor sport for school - it's relatively low skill but success is quite dependent on body type. So tell your DD she shouldn't get too despondent if she doesn't make this team. There are better sports out there.

Low skill? Really? I take it you've never watched or played at a high level then?

Being tall with a good reach is helpful for GS GA GK and GD but not at the expense of skill and good game play. For the wings and C nippy people are generally better.

I was below average height at secondary school but I was super leapy and nippy. Made for a good netball player.

Oh, and short-arse GA who whooped my team last weak, I've never seen someone so agile, basically intercepted about 30% of all balls, anywhere due to being very fast and very jumpy and coordinated. And she was a good head shorter than our GD.

Interested to know what sports you DO think are better to play? Hockey? Lacross? Football?

If she enjoys netball get her to join a club.

Brycie, you could not be more wrong in that assertion. I am very experienced in schools sports/team situations. Apart from playing a lot of sport myself, (and i still do) I have 4 sports mad children, who spend every Saturday and Sunday playing competitive sport for school and club, mainly rugby but also football, cricket and hockey. As a teacher i also run one sporting extra curricular activity, and one non sporting but also competitive. In all school events the best kids play on the team, mostly my dc are on the A team, or first 15. Sometimes one has been dropped to the B's. They have approached that by asking the pe teacher what they should do to improve, and working really hard in training, not by expecting less good players should get a go. Club sport is different and there are many clubs that have an everyone gets a go attitude and the the OP should look for one of these to allow her DD to hone her skills in a competitive arena.
Similarly for my teams at school i pick the best kids. The decent ones would soon stop coming if i insisted we put someone who was poor at that skill in the team.

I had this issue with DD, at primary school there was netball and football...DD played a couple of football matches, even scoring but the boys pushy parents objected to her being in the team. She did martial arts to a high level out of school. She was given a bursary to a girls school partially on the basis of her potential in sport. The school played netball, hockey and lacrosse. DD had never played the latter two on starting at the school. She was keen to learn and improve her skills. She didn't expect to get in the A team as her classmates had at least three years of experience and skills, some playing at club, county and above level. I did expect at least some matches at B or C level. The A team frequently played the local state school mainly made up of girls who also didn't have squads of club/county players...they got trounced every time whereas it would have been a match against a B team. She did get one match when some girls were sick and actually played well. The school seemed to want to bask in reflected glory..there is no achievement in fielding only squads from outside school...the achievement is in teaching and inspiring. Surely engaged girls will keep up sport. How many surveys and studies say about teenage girls giving up active sports? Yes, some hate sport but when those who are keen but either less experienced or less able are actively put off that is a failure IMHO.
It is not about prizes for all it is about inspiring, encouraging and taking part at whichever level an individual can achieve. Of course they should field to win in competition but at the appropriate level, county level against novice is ludicrous, when they played other indies with experienced players it was appropriate to field strong teams. My DD was identified as someone with potential but they were not interested in developing the potential and encouraging. That came from out of school time, she didn't play out of school because of other interests she is now a personal trainer and gym instructor
When they are grown up qualities useful to an individual also include determination, persistance and practice to develop themselves.

kimlek have you and your daughter decided what to do?

whois sorry for late response. I missed this. My remark was a bit flippant, but yes, netball is relatively low skill compared with team sports like football and hockey which need better motor skills, greater fitness, and where there is more complexity in tactics and team play. Netball was developed to be a lower skill alternative to basketball for women so it's hardly surprising. Not that being low skill is a terrible thing for a sport, running is relatively low skill but often seen as quite pure.

I was selected for county when I was at school. I couldn't get to training, so I haven't played at that high a level (though the OP is talking about school here so not sure elite is that relevent) but I played a lot of other sports to a similar level and I found netball had the least to offer physically and mentally. Netball has got a lot more competitive since then, maybe I would find it more compelling now. But when I walk past schools here and see girls playing it doesn't look that different and I just can't help wishing they'd ditch it from the curriculum and play something else instead.

I think school sports should be about encouraging participation, bringing all to a certain level of ability.. definitely in orimary I think schools should have an include everyone policy in matches.

There is place for both and matches are the place for the best. It is no wonder that private schools do best in competitive sport. My nephew plays at county level-I doubt whether he would have made it in the state system.