Volleyball Etiquette

My daughter just started playing for her 7th-grade, Junior High volleyball team. She's relatively new to the game. She's been taking lessons for about 7 months and will be trying out for club for the first time this month. She has absolutely fallen in love with the game.

The sad part is that her Junior High team is very "clicky" and most of her teammates have completely shunned my daughter. It's gotten so bad she no longer wants to go to practice.

We are trying to rack our brains as to why my daughter has been selected as the odd girl out.

I don't think the reason they dislike her is based on skills. My daughter plays libero. While she isn't the strongest on the team, she is one of the higher-performing, consistent players. Her coaches are surprised at her skill level and game knowledge considering she is a beginner.

The club she takes lessons from is one of the area's more expensive, competitive ones. At this club, there is a heavy emphasis on "team spirit" and being very vocal about cheering your teammates on.

My daughter takes that seriously. She is very vocal and always cheers loudly for her teammates. She says she feels them "side eyeing" her at games and practice when she cheers them on.

Could this be a reason they can't stand her? These other girls play club so shouldn't they be familiar with that etiquette? They don't seem to take the Junior High team very seriously. During games, they often goof off on the court and it appears their attitude is like "whatever". Maybe they think my daughter is a "geek" for taking it more seriously?

I told my daughter she might want to "dial back the enthusiasm" a bit, but she insists that it is proper Volleyball team etiquette.

That might not be the reason she is being shunned. But I was curious if other clubs take "cheering" as seriously. My daughter is taking this social rejection hard and I'm taking it worse. I want to help her through this and continue her passion for the game. I'm at a complete loss on how to help her get through this.

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