...I experienced it as a kid. Baseball was my thing, and along with some memorable "highs", I had several painful "failures" over the years. One that sticks with me in particular was in the district all-star tournament as a 15-year-old. In the first game of the tournament I had played well and I seem to remember our coach awarding me the "game ball", and I was feeling pretty good about myself. I had pitched several innings, so in the next game, I couldn't pitch and instead came in off the bench late in the game to play second base, which I had never played before (I usually pitched or played SS or 3B). In the final inning, our team had a several run lead and had the opponent down to its final out with a man on first base. I was on edge a bit because I was out of my comfort zone at second base. As fate would have it, the batter hit a ground ball right at me, and as it approached me, the runner on first base passed right in front of me. At first I thought I had missed catching the ball completely and had let it go through my legs. Eventually I realized the ball was in my glove, but panicked and rushed my throw to first base. I threw it in the dirt at the first baseman's feet and it got by him and rolled all the way to the fence along the first base side of the field. I think the runner on first made it to third, and the batter ended up on second base. My memory is fuzzy from that point forward, but one of the next two batters hit the ball to the outfield fence, and we ultimately lost the game. I felt like a total heel (still do when I think about it now, haha) and was inconsolable after the game. I'm not sure my baseball career ever recovered from that, as it really shattered my confidence.

All of that is to say, just be there for your daughter and let her know that you're proud of her no matter what (I'm willing to bet you've already done that). Even the best athletes make mistakes and cost their team sometimes. Knowing that her Dad has her back will help your daughter tune out the disappointment.

Hang in there. Parenting is tough.