Soccer Bullies

Wow! I really thought the bullying would take a summer vacation, but it really never takes a break does it? The 13 year old goalie on my daughter's class 3 soccer team was taunted by her own teammates today for missing some goals. The goalie decided she wasn't going to be a target of their ridicule and left the team camp and went home.

Her parents are rightfully pissed. I'm pissed that this player was abused by her teammates. I'm also pissed that the entire team was punished for the actions of 3 girls. The three offending girls learn nothing from this common, mislead practice that teachers and coaches resort to on a regular basis. It only gives more power to the bullies. They love to see others suffer by their actions and the teachers only feed into it. It is a practice that must stop.

As I see it, there is no such thing as a goalie who stops 100% of the shots on goal. Not even in the pros! What's more, if the ball got by the goalie, that means that at least 3 other players let the ball get by them first. Soccer is a team sport and negative talk on the field should be banned and every team should have a Zero Tolerance policy on bullying.