Fair question. Yes, he says he wants to be on the competitive teams and will do reps on his own, but never does. There's a say/do gap. It comes down to not wanting to flush Benjamins down the drain if he's not naturally inclined toward self motivation.
Ok, there are a couple of questions that need to be answered here.
1. Does he argue about going to practice/games? This is a dead ringer/ no questions asked for me. You said he will go, but is he excited to go? Does he give you any pushback? Now, a little pushback here and there, duh… that’s a given but if it is regular, I.e, complaining, arguing, etc… rec/competitive all the way. However, if it is happy to go, loves being a part of the team, etc.. move on to…
2. Is he getting better and helping the team get better? Or is he noticeably being passed by by other teammates and becoming a weak link? If it’s the former, let him continue to play and let the high school sort him out and determine his commitment. If it is the latter, definitely start looking to move down but he could still potentially play on to the high school team.
I ask these questions because my son was kind of like yours. He never really put a ton of effort in outside of practice but he has always loved to go to practice, bust his ass while there and play hard no questions asked. Just finished his 2nd year of varsity. Never the star but a great role on a decent team. Been great for him.
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