I'm trying to get a U12 select/travelling team for my local region, and I've been coaching/playing with the boys for two seasons now. I find that I don't read kids very well. As an example: I presented the end-of-season trophies to one of my kids who had to miss the playoff game (which we lost; if we'd have won he'd have played another game). Now, he's very competitive, or so I thought. But when I went to his house his mother told me how happy she was that he didn't seem to worried about the loss or that his season had ended without him.
I don't want kids to mope around after a loss and be poor sports, but I do want my kids to compete, and care about it. This is a kid I'd hoped would be the backbone of the team and now I'm wondering both about his drive, and how maybe I missed his lack thereof.
I'm going to have tryouts late spring for the subsequent summer tourneys and fall league. How do you determine passion for the game from a couple of two hour sessions when I missed it in a guy I've had all seasons. This season is as much as it is the kids jumping up in level as it is about me doing the same.