This year Lona decided to try something different.  She had been frustrated and needed a change of pace.  That is exactly what she got when she decided to join NCA.  There were some big changes that she wasn't counting on and I really think that it was what she needed but not what she expected.  With her previous team she was used to being one of the best. She knew that she wasn't going to be able to change that or be able to be on a higher level team.  This new team though, it was a higher caliber team. They were fast, technical and tough. They practiced for a week and the tournament started right away.  The first game she played maybe 10 minutes for the whole game. It wasn't her usual.  The next game, same or less. There was anger, tears, frustration. She was ready to quit. She didn't know the girls on the team. They didn't pass to her.  She was quiet and withdrawn with her coaches and her teammates.  This was new to her. This wasn't the way it was supposed to be. We tried to be patient while explaining that the team needed to see how she played, to be able to trust her on the field. She needed to catch up to their technical knowledge and toughness.  I have to admit both John and I lost it with her at different times.  I had to remind myself that her lashing out at me wasn't personal but it was a safe way to vent feelings.  I would still love her when she was done, but doing that to teammates would not have the same grace be given to her.  It also hurt when they played her previous team and she wasn't one of the stars like before. On one hand, I get it and I wanted to protect and nurture, coming along side of her .

On the other hand, this will happen more than once and learning to deal appropriately with it now would be better than later.  It's hard when natural lessons come along but oh so worth learning them early rather than making poor decisions when those lessons arrive later.