I'm guessing you haven't watched a lot of kids play or train. I see my coach train kids regularly and tears are just a very normal part of it, even in a non-stressful, no stakes game with the club. No kid ever likes to lose (in sports or even things like playing cards) and when they are young enough tears are just a natural reaction. I think sometimes kids use tears to try to get out of a tough situation (like if they are losing), but my coach doesn't let anyone stop playing just because they are crying. He let's them cry as much as they want, but he won't let them fall on the floor crying if they game isn't finished. They have to play through the tears. And like Cheung said, I think that's the way to build grit and determination in a kid. If you let them give up because they are crying, or because something is unfair, that will teach them some pretty poor life lessons. I think we all agree that this was a crappy situation, but it was handled as best as it could be, and his daughter did an awesome job overcoming it.