Soccer for ALL (Not Really)

by Carey
(Aliso Viejo, CA)

My daughter was on a (soccer) team this past fall and spring. Fall was ok. Only one girl gave her a hard time and she had special issues and was taken off the team. The spring session was heartbreaking. She was bullied the whole time, practice and at games. I always told her she needed to go to the coach if telling the girls to leave her alone did not work. She did not want to do this. Her step dad was at one of her games and overheard some of the girls talking. They were saying how slow she was, how bad a player she was. The assistant coaches daughter said that her father said to her, "Do you want to be on a team with a bunch of R's (my daughter) on it?" This was the coach. It was disgusting and hurtful. The coach never admitted to saying it and never apologized. The other girls did apologize and were a lot nicer. What this tells you is that this behavior is learned from the parents. It disgusts me. I want to make sure kids don't have to go through what she did.