Editor:

Another freshman volleyball game goes by and another few hours spent watching my daughter be nothing more than a seat in the chairs. She gets home from a trip to Riverton and tells me she never played.

I watch this girl go in an hour early every day to make sure that her grades are not just up to standard but closely reaching all A’s. She has never missed a practice and she puts her heart and soul into the sport.

I hear from other parents how their children never play and how they are frustrated as well.

Do I continue to watch my daughter get frustrated or tell her that sports life in Evanston will always be about favorites and never about talent? Do I just realize the coach has chosen who he wants to play chosen and not teach during practice?

See, I could answer those questions for myself very easily. I participated in competitive martial arts most of my juvenile life. The difference these days is what the school asks in return.

I get a letter telling me that a parent needs to volunteer for the concession stand; the letter says that I must provide a cooler so the kids can have snacks during away games. I get letters about camps that cost anywhere from $50 to $400. And most likely, if a child misses those camps they won’t even be considered for tryouts

How many other parents can relate to the anger I feel when I am asked for more money just to see my child sit out another game.

Concerning this athletic department and their finances, I pay my property taxes every year. Most of the parents own homes and do the same. It is not my fault that the school district obviously doesn’t know how to manage money or policy regarding this matter.

It is also not my daughter’s fault or any other player’s fault that after a work day all a parent wants to do is sit and watch their child play a game they put their hearts and souls into. Once again I ask how many parents feel this same way?

The reality is that life isn’t fair and there will always be better players than others, but at the same time if you are only going to play the same six kids, then maybe during tryouts you should cut the team down that small instead of getting children’s hopes up.

Is there discrimination against certain kids? I hope not but when I hear that a coach yelled at a girl, saying she is not coachable, why is she still a starting player on the team?

The best thing that these kids could do is walk out of the sport. Hand in their jerseys next practice and tell the coach, “If I am not going to play at all, then I don’t want to waste my time at practice.”

But how do you explain that to a 14-year-old? How do you tell a child to give up on her passion because someone will always hold her down? I told my daughter she has two choices; either quit or be comfortable being a bench warmer.

Patrick Ballinger

Evanston