Dear Meghan,
I am writing to you because I have been facing a challenge with my 8-year-old son. He is an amazing kid that I adore, and I have been coaching his sports team for the past two seasons. However, during practices, he often turns into a class clown and is disrespectful towards me. Despite my attempts to address this behavior before the start of the season, the first practice was still difficult. It seems that if someone else were coaching, he wouldn’t act this way – he doesn’t listen, interrupts, tries to be funny for his friends, and sometimes purposely does drills incorrectly or slowly. While his behavior isn’t completely out of character, it’s like he’s packing two weeks’ worth of obnoxious behavior into just one hour.
As a coach who enjoys spending time with my son and helping him improve his skills on the field, I am at a loss for how to handle this situation. I want to find a way to address this issue and help him improve his behavior during practices so that we can both enjoy our time together. Your advice or insights would be greatly appreciated as I try to navigate this challenging experience with my son on the sports field. Thank you for your time and consideration.