Or if they make the robotic team or debate team and have a major competition and are told "soccer is first" run...
In 8th grade, my son joined the local lacrosse league. At the first parents orientation meeting, the head coach declared "The following are not valid excuses for missing practice -- soccer, baseball, football, tennis, track, wrestling..." Some people left without signing up. We stuck with it for a year, even though his inexcusable absences for soccer events relegated him to the B team.
My daughter, on the other hand, joined the girls lacrosse team in 6th grade. They were a much easier group to get along with. The girls supported each other, even to the point that the high school girls volunteered to coach the younger kids. She came to visit us this weekend, and spent a good deal of time with her high school lacrosse buddies.