Real-Life Decision Making -- Solution
You tell the mother what you think.
You tell the woman that this punishment will not only be letting the child down, but the team. If the team has practiced plays based on using him, it will be at a disadvantage. There is also the possibility that there may not be enough players present without him. Then the team will have to forfeit the game.
What concerns you most about giving this advice is that it will also be giving this child a mixed message on responsibility. When a child joins a team, he is responsible to that team. By not letting the child play, you are basically making your child act irresponsibly.
By giving any advice at all, though, you are crossing a boundary. You are removing yourself as the primary performance enhancer to this child. You become the discipliner. Do you really want to do that?
Also, you are risking losing any other athletes as clients by involving yourself in something that really isn't what you were hired for. "The quickest way to turn the athletic world against sport mental training is have our representatives confront coaches or interfere in the slightest way," says sport psychologist Joan Ingalls.