<human>: Hi Everyone,

I'm starting to have some difficulty with my son's [7.5 years old] schooling and sports activities as he gets older. Like most parents, I want what's best for him and also want him to be treated fairly. However, I'm starting to find that parents who are the squeaky wheel or who do favors for the teacher or coaches are the ones who have children getting preferential treatment (not fair treatment).

My wife and I are both reserved people; not unfriendly, but not the most social either. We're also very busy and don't necessarily have the time to volunteer at all school events or help the coach during sports practice. I'm afraid this is starting to cause my son to be at a disadvantage. Clearly, the parents who kept score at baseball or were buddy-buddy with the coach had their children play more often than my son even though skill levels were nearly equal. During first grade, the kids who received the highest grades were the ones with parents at the school regularly. My son received no 4's (the scale is [1-4] with 4 being exceeding) on any of his grade cards even though he had an outstanding year and was recommended for gifted testing at the end of the year.

Like I said, I just want what's best for my son and am starting to feel like my busy schedule and reserved nature are starting to be a disadvantage to him. Has anyone experienced this before? How did you overcome it? For example, I know I need to communicate more often with his teacher when 2nd grade starts and try to be buddy-buddy with the coach when soccer season starts. I have to admit this leaves me feeling cheap mentally (why isn't his skill good enough to be treated fairly)?, but it's for the good.  I volunteered at the school twice last year (having to take off work to do so), maybe I need to take off more days this year? Any other advice? Books?

Thanks for reading!

Could you distill the essence of the text into 1-3 sentences?
<bot>: feeling like my reserved nature and busy schedule are starting to be a disadvantage for my son since children who have parents that are actively (or over-actively) involved have an unfair advantage.