By Effie Dawson

January 9th, 2008

Examiner

BALTIMORE (Map, News) - In some parents’ perfect world, every youngster on an athletic team would be a contributor. Each would enjoy comparable playing time, share the limelight, advance individual skills and have a role in the team’s success.

And nobody would ever quit a team.

We don’t live in that world, of course. And so quitting has become a familiar part of the athletic experience.

For parents who have long waved the “I didn’t raise a quitter” banner, this is a tough course to maneuver. But it’s not automatically the wrong decision. In many cases, quitting is an appropriate answer for a child involved in an uncomfortable sports situation.  Some coaches —intentionally or not — count on some players quitting. They choose not to cut the players who don’t end up on the field. A small number of coaches may misevaluate a player during tryouts. But in far more instances, coaches thought they were being kind by rostering a player who doesn’t belong

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