Exposure to sports?

[Sherry in OH]

How do you decide the sports in which your children participate?

 

For many sports, it seems that if the child does not begin in the elementary grades, if not sooner, the child will not be able to participate later. I do not want to deny my children the opportunity to participate in sports they would truly enjoy. I also cannot afford to take advantage of all the sports available to them.

 

The local Y offers -

pre-k and k: swimming, soccer, t-ball, basketball, and gymnastics

1-6: swimming, soccer, baseball, tennis, golf, volleyball, basketball, martial arts, football, and gymnastics

 

Additional sports are available elsewhere in the community.

 

Do you select 2-3 sports and rotate through them seasonally? Would you encourage your child to try 4 or 5 different sports before choosing 1 or 2 to concentrate on?

 

Outside of classes, my children will have little exposure to sports. My husband and I are not athletic. I am vague on the rules for most team sports. For myself, I prefer hiking, walking, cycling, and cross country skiing to team sports. My husband prefers watching to participating.

[lisamarie]

I classify swimming separately--learning how to swim is an essential life skill and I sign my kids up for at least 1 session a year, probably will be 2 this coming up year.

 

As to sports, I honestly chose the sport that I could stomach. My DS did soccer last year and again this past fall and now my DS and DD are doing soccer this spring. I like soccer, it's fun, it gets the kids used to a team sport and gives them exercise. And it's cheap. Can't beat cheap.:D

 

In a few years, I'm thinking 3rd or 4th grade, I will introduce basketball for anyone interested. My kids are all going to be very tall, so it would be a good sport for them.

 

After that, I'm not sure. If my kids really wanted to play something, I would probably say yes (1-2 sports a year, never overlapping). I would have a hard time with football, golf, hockey, or baseball because of the expense, the need to travel for games, or because they are just plain boring to watch. I would rather claw my eyes out than watch baseball. I would really suffer if my kids decided they wanted to play.

[lllll]

...

[mrs.m]

Usually I only allow them to choose 1 sport by about 1st or 2nd grade. But when they are younger, I want them to get a feel for a couple different ones. My middle DS just decided that he only wants to play softball. He's doing soccer right now too and will finish out the season but I won't sign on again in the fall. DD just does swimming. My youngest just started t-ball but I'll have him try soccer.

 

Do you have an Upward league in your area? They seem to have shorter seasons. They are inexpensive and not too intense. And it seems that they don't overlap schedules like my parks & rec does.

[TX Bluebonnet]

My ds age 7 currently plays soccer in the spring & fall. Swimming lessons all summer and karate year round but it is only one night a week with the occasional tournament on Saturday.

 

For two years he played T-ball in the spring but he wasn't crazy about it and he asked to do soccer both spring & fall instead so we agreed. Soccer is cheaper anyway.

 

He took tennis lessons during the summer for two years but the kids there were really bratty imo & I felt swimming was way more important so we dropped tennis.

 

I signed him up for basketball, he went to one practice and declared that he hated it. Usually we make him give everything a chance but he seemed very sure about it so we let him quit.

 

Now you know my ds's sports history.:D

 

Oh, he keeps asking to play football. Not on my watch.

[Samiam]

We are a very sports-oriented family, and all of my children start team sports as soon as they are old enough to. They can continue those sports as long as they have interest. It's not about winning, it's not about being the best, but it's an activity that gets them out, gets them moving, should be having fun, learning something, making friends, and gaining life long skills. Soccer usually starts around age 4. It's so fun at this age, watching these little ones run crazy around the field. T-ball starts around age 5. Basketball started at age 5. Flag football was about age 8, and tackle football at age 10.

 

None of these seasons overlapped. Our rule is one sport a season. I don't think coaches on rec teams are expecting children to dedicate themselves only to these teams. Most rec teams only practice one night a week. At younger ages, most coaches really focus on teaching fundamentals, so everyone can gain the same experience. Obviously, as with any thing in life, some children will excell, while others will be in the middle and some flounder.

 

Now here is how it's progressed so far at our house:

 

DS11 is very athletic and into sports. He played soccer a few years when he was younger, played basketball for a few years, but baseball turned out to be his thing. Now he plays baseball almost year round on advance teams, travel teams, etc, except for about 3 months during football season. That also turned out to be his thing, but this past fall was his first year with tackle due to his size (played several years of flag football prior to this). He's not interested in soccer but might come back around to basketball. But yes, at age 11, at this level, baseball has become a bit more competitive. Boys coming in with no experience (there are two on his rec ball team) definately stand apart from those that play on the All-stars, advanced teams, travel teams...etc...BUT those boys are incorporated into the team just the same, and they seem to be having a good time, and hopefully will progress with their skills if they continue to play. They might never be an "All-Star" but that certainly doesn't mean they can't get something out of their participation and have fun doing it.

 

DS7, thus far, has shown NO interest in sports. We signed him up for T-ball, because that's what we do. He didn't really like it, but we asked him to play a second season. We wanted him to really give it a try before deciding it's not for him. We also signed him up for soccer, and again, he didn't like it. Two seasons of baseball, and one season of soccer...not for him. Every season, during sign-ups, we offer him the chance to participate...wanna do soccer, wanna do basketball, wanna do flag football, wanna do swim team? And nope, he doesn't have any interest. So maybe he'll come around, but if not, at least he has basic knowledge of these sports, and in the meantime, he's joined Cub Scouts and enjoys his free time. I know that it's fine if he doesn't choose to do sports. Different for our family, but completely fine.

 

DS4 is just at the age to start signing up. He's seems to be more like his oldest brother, and seems to be very into sports, always wanting to practice etc. So he'll probably start in the fall. He'll be SO excited for his first team sport.

[Rosie_0801]

At this point I plan to have my kids learn to swim. Archery, sword fighting and medieval dancing will be options (when they are old enough) since we are in the SCA. They'd have to make a pretty impressive case for anything else. I'll be schooling them all week. I'm not going to spend my weekends driving them to soccer games and I'm not going to spend my evenings sewing sequins on costumes.

 

Rosie

[Tutor]

Things we took into account when we were helping our children choose sports were:

 

- our limited budget

- our family size (at some point we'd have 4 kids in potentially 4 different sports)

- ability to advance outside of a brick-and-mortar school setting (in case we homeschool through high school)

- scholarship opportunities

- love of the sport

- availability in our area

 

We allow each of our children one sport and one activity per year. Our ds9 tried fencing this year and did not like it and would like to try either archery or baseball instead. However, because he has tried a sport this year he cannot join a new one until next year. If he had chosen to continue fencing, we would have allowed him to. He used to ice skate and loved it, but there is no ice rink in our new town, so he's had a hard time finding something to replace it. I really wish he could continue to skate... he really loved it.

 

Anyway, with those guidelines in mind, our children are involved in the following sports:

 

DD13 - rifle

 

DD11 - fencing

 

DS9 - nothing formal currently

 

DS6 - swimming

 

We require all of our children to take swimming lessons until they pass level one of a Red Cross course. After that, we swim together on a regular basis in the summer. We also all hike together regularly and DD13 and I do workout videos together daily (DD11 and DS9 join us sometimes with this). We also walk or run together weekly.

[WiseOwlKnits]

Swimming is required in our family so it's not a choice. The kids take swim lessons at the local YMCA year-round (we're members).

 

I let them do whatever sports they want - except for football. We live in TX and I can't stomach the football culture here so no football. My only rule is 1 sport at a time. The only sport DD has done is soccer. DS isn't old enough yet, but I get the feeling he'll be the kid who is doing something every season...and that's ok with me. They've also done gymnastics and want to go back to it this fall. DD takes ballet classes as well.

[ondreeuh]

Well, we're not really "into" sports because my kids just haven't shown much interest, and I don't think that serious team sports are a good fit for their personalities or development (so much pressure!). DD is taking a PE elective at the middle school right now. Suddenly she is really pushing herself and enjoying getting faster and stronger. She is interested in swim team but doesn't want to compete, so I'm not sure how that will go.

 

My middle son has heart defects that make some sports forbidden, plus he gets very worried when his heart races, so I have never pushed him. My toddler is extremely active and I would love for him to do tumbling or something - he has a lot of energy to channel!

[ElizabethB]

I would go with gymnastics. It builds a lot of different muscles and also develops a strong sense of body control and awareness that transfers well to most sports.

 

After doing gymnastics for 7 years, I was able to make it to Judo Nationals after less than 2 full years of Judo. (I got my butt kicked in Nationals, but I was there! (And, I placed very well in Regionals.) Nationals were in Hawaii, so getting eliminated early had its advantages, although I wasn't trying to get eliminated, I was doing my best to win.)

[missmoe]

I'm going to disagree with the statement that kids need to start early to be able to play later. Perhaps this might be more true in competitive sports such as gymnastics, but I don't think children need to start early to enjoy sports later in life.

 

Recently, in the local paper a teenager accepted to Julliard for dance was featured. She didn't take her first dance class until 10.

 

My oldest son is competing on the local high school tennis team. He took two weeks of lessons when he was 13. He then took a tennis class at the college when he was 14. He won't be heading to the olympics or to college with a scholarship, but he loves competing with this team.

 

My oldest dd swam with the local YMCA team this past season. She's swam a couple of summers now. A few years ago, she wouldn't even get in the deep end of the pool. The team she swims on is a novice team and she loves it. She's not the fastest nor is she the slowest. She most likely wouldn't make the high school team if she tried out, but other options are out there for her.

 

My kids have particapated in sports here and there as the schedules for the different teams worked for us. I'm not saying kids shouldn't participate in sports. I feel that sports can teach important skills, foster friendships, and encourage fitness. I am saying that not participating in sports at a young age should in no way limit kids as they get older. Don't use the pressure that you are making a life long choice for them at the age of 5 or 6 sway your decision for them now.

[Laura Corin]

Swimming is non-negotiable around here. Is there a taster session your child could do for the others? Hobbes went on a holiday course which allowed him to try various sports.

 

Laura

[In The Great White North]

I'm going to disagree with the statement that kids need to start early to be able to play later. Perhaps this might be more true in competitive sports such as gymnastics, but I don't think children need to start early to enjoy sports later in life.

 

:iagree: Australia sent a swimmer to the Olympics who started swimming at 16. About 2/3 of the high school swim team does not swim year round and never has. I sent a senior to the State Championships this year who hadn't swum since he was about 10. Ten swimmers walked on deck the first day and informed me they didn't know how to swim (they were exaggerating - I didn't have to save anyone.) Swimming is a no-cut sport, which means you can start at the high school level. It's unusual to do as well as he did, but you an certainly compete and have fun.

 

BTW, I consider swimming to be a life skill too but Red Cross level 1 isn't nearly enough to save yourself if you fall off a boat, let alone pull your child to safety. My dc are required to complete lifesaving. I don't want any of my grandchildren drowning.

 

Other non-cut sports at our local high school are track (fall, winter and spring), cross country skiing, and crew (which no one starts before high school because it isn't available.)

 

Starting a sport later is not the same as starting "any" sport later. Kids who start later and do well have not been couch potatoes for their first 15 years. If you want dc to be able to play in high school, they need to be getting some sort of exercise all along.

[TravelingChris]

We started our oldest in soccer when he was four because he liked it and we liked it. All the kids have done soccer. We never did softball since none of us was that interested in it nor particularly good at it. My kids are not tall nor good jumpers so no basketball or volleyball.

 

The girls did karate and would like to do it again but I haven't foudn a good place or time.

 

This last summer, the youngest started swim team and dive team and the older daughter started dive. Why? Because it was a very convenient (six doors down) activity and cost very little (90 per girl). They ended up really liking it and will do it again this summer.

[babysparkler]

We are a soccer-in-the-blood family. Dh and I both play on adult teams, and we also coach 2 of the three kids' teams... 3 next year when my 3 year old starts :tongue_smilie: and we have all 4 kids on teams.

 

We also play tennis as a family (Grandparents consider this the "family sport"), and periodically sign the kids up for tennis lessons when the schedule fits. Swimming lessons in the summer, too.

 

Dd also started horseback riding lessons... does that count as a sport? She has always loved horses, so for her 8th birthday we started her in riding club.

 

At times the kids have shown interest in trying basketball, but that always interferes with the indoor soccer league times, and the kids prefer the soccer league... so we let them play on the basketball courts for fun when we work out at the gym (the gym overlooks the courts).

[Mejane]

We exposed the kids to lots of things early. They tried soccer, baseball (LL), tennis, horse-riding, gymnastics, and karate. None stuck. They both gravitated to dance, daughter at four and son at fourteen. We do swim, kayak, hike, bike and ski as a family.

[Alicia64]

A local homeschool magazine had a GREAT article on this topic. The gist I took from it is that sports need to fit in well with your families' lifestyle.

 

If a sports has a game/practice every weekend and sometimes during the week, it will so eat into family time that it may not be worth it. (That's what we're finding at this very moment.)

 

Secondly, the writer mentioned that the sport "only" takes 6 weeks (or whatever). He then went on to say, "only 6 weeks" is entire season. So if you're doing a sport in the spring -- and the games fall every weekend -- every weekend of your spring is gone for family activities. By the time you're done, you're in summer.

 

I know I'm un-American in thinking this, but the injuries that can happen have to be considered too. I'm really re-thinking whether I want a hard baseball coming at my 7 year old. I work hard to keep his teeth beautiful and I'm not sure that I'd be good with him getting it in the teeth. (Someone, somewhere, will inevitably call me a "bubble mom.")

 

Keep in mind, there are brain surgeons (I've interacted with one) who don't believe we should be taking soccer balls on the head. Just a few years ago, I would have been called a "bubble mom" for saying that I don't want my kid "head butting." Now the brain surgeons are saying it and more people are listening.

 

Just my 2-cents. I'm about to bail on baseball. I hate to do it, but my son just isn't that into it. It's hard, though, because once you've signed up the rest of the team needs your participation (we're on a small team).

 

Guilt.

 

Homeschool tennis is working really well for us. It's once a week, during the week when dh is at work.

 

The boys also really enjoy gymnastics.

 

Having grown up in an athletic family I can tell you: I would have rather done art and played piano, but nobody asked. I think that's the key: staying close to your child to see where their interest is leading.

 

Sorry to ramble!

 

Alley

 

We all need to give sports more thought.

[Orthodox6]

Where I live, certain sports are a racket -- especially soccer. Unless the child begins with a league at age four, s/he never will be accepted and integrated into a team at an older age -- say seven or eight. The child may pay the fees and sign up, sure. But peer-acceptance and training by the coach? No. BTDT.

 

A "Y" program will be much better in this regard. Sadly, no "Y" in our city.

[mich311e]

Our city offers a class called "Itty Bitty Sports" which as been fun for my 5 year old. They learn the basics of soccer, tball, basketball, lacrosse, tennis, etc. He can't decide what he wants to do for sports, neither can we. So this way he gets a nice exposure class and learns some basics like how to throw and catch a baseball. He really loved the tennis class but declined to sign up for tennis only.

 

Swimming is also a requirement and my son does city lessons in the summer.

 

My son would like to do gymnastics(tumbling) but it's so expensive.

[lllll]

...

Edited December 17, 2012 by ksva

[missmoe]

Kathy,

 

Studies are being conducted on the link between depression and concussions. Many drs now believe that there may be a link between concussions suffered while playing football(and I'm sure other sports) in highschool and depresion later in life. A friend of mine has mentioned that kids are having career-ending injuries in highschool. This seems to be the case on the local highschool track team.

[Spy Car]

Pro-team sports.

 

Bill