Wasting Time and Effort

As I understand it, the park district's boxing program is set up mostly for youths who want to compete.  But when there are kids in the class who can't or don't want to compete, it complicates what I do in terms of coaching.  I understand when the adults in the class say, "I don't want to hit anyone, and I don't want anyone hitting me."  It's easy to present an aerobic boxing program in that instance.  But most kids who sign up for the program expect to fight in the ring.

I've had a couple of kids flake out on me on the day of a boxing show before.  Last year, one kid decided right before the weigh-in that they didn't want to fight.  Another kid went out of town before the show, and didn't bother to tell me.  I barely speak to that kid when I see them (I had taken pains to pre-match them), and thankfully, they are no longer in the boxing class.  Now I've got a kid whose parent and grandparent don't want them to spar nor compete.  However, the kid, not being aware of their relatives' feelings, wants to do both.

Boxing involves giving and taking hits.  I can't change the nature of the sport.  So what does that kid's relatives expect me to do?  Why is the kid still in the program?  "I want them to get exercise and discipline," the parent told me.  But if focus and self-motivation is practically non-existent in a kid to begin with, as it in this situation, keeping them in the class is not going to help.

Other coaches have told me war stories of what drama they had to put up with when parents and guardians didn't want to hear that perhaps their little darlings should be enrolled in different sport.  Yet they need to hear that and respect the coach's observations.  I don't want to waste my time and effort.  I have other kids in the class who actually want to put in the work to do well in competitions. More importantly, the kid's time should not be wasted trying to plug them into an activity that doesn't suit them.