The critical thing is to talk to the kid about what can be expected and when. Let them know when you'll be there and be present when you are. Involve the kid i

The critical thing is to talk to the kid about what can be expected and when. Let them know when you'll be there and be present when you are. Involve the kid in determining when you'll be there if you can. For the times you can't go, talk to the kid about how it went, what was good/bad, etc, taking the kid's lead if they're not feeling like talking about it. I played baseball as a kid, age ~8 - 12. My parents sat me down when I signed up and explained that they could not be there for every game but would be there when they could. If there was a game that I specifically wanted them to attend, to let them know ahead of time. They asked me about every game they couldn't attend, were excited if I was, dropped it if I didn't want to talk about it, etc. There were times I was sad they weren't there (grand slam home run, great plays). There were times when I was happy they weren't there (struck out every at bat on bad pitches, dropped an easy catch, etc). But I knew ahead of time if they'd be there, which was what made it easier for kid-me to understand and deal with. This was how most of the families did it. The other parents got to know the friends of their kids and would cheer for them, too, which made it a friendly environment.