Would you let your child continue with an expensive and time consuming sport if they aren’t any good at it?

[Anonymous]

Said child is 11. Really enjoys sport but honestly is probably the least talented athlete on their team.

We spend a lot of money and time and I don’t see there ever being a pay off. We suggested less competitive option of same sport, child declined and wants to stay on this specific team.

Unfortunately doesn’t seem like him getting cut will happen.

[Anonymous]

Yes if it is fun for the kid and provides exercise and time with friends, it would be worth it to us.

[Anonymous]

If he is really enjoying it (not just saying that) then I’d be inclined to stick it out. My 10 y/o was playing on a highly competitive team and was not getting the playing time, etc we wanted for him. He stuck at it and improved by practicing a ton on his own. He is still not a top top player, but is now a starter and loving the game. Just my experience b/c I def thought about pulling the plug.

[Anonymous]

If they want to play, have fun and it’s not a financial hardship, I’d let them play. My son plays travel soccer and we never imagined he would play in college or there’d be any pay off. He just had fun and it was his favorite thing to do. The thing is that at that age you can’t tell what the future holds. Puberty will change everything. If your child isn’t getting playing time and it feels like a waste for you, look for a new team.

[Anonymous]

I generally support sports as long as the kid is having fun and it’s child led to be doing it - but idk what kind of money or time commitment specifically we are talking about here.

[Anonymous]

How good my kid was wouldn't change how much I was willing to pay for an 11 year old. At 11 my goals for my kid would be exercise, friendship and happiness. It sounds like your kid is getting that.

If at some point the kid isn't happy, that's a totally different decision.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If he is really enjoying it (not just saying that) then I’d be inclined to stick it out. My 10 y/o was playing on a highly competitive team and was not getting the playing time, etc we wanted for him. He stuck at it and improved by practicing a ton on his own. He is still not a top top player, but is now a starter and loving the game. Just my experience b/c I def thought about pulling the plug.

That’s exactly where we’re at. He gets minimal playtime but doesn’t seem too bothered. He loves his team and his team seems to love him. His coach adores him and works with him tons he’s just not… very athletic? Maybe he’ll improve as he enters puberty.

I love that he enjoys it so much but it’s so time consuming. Every weekend we’re traveling and non-stop long practices. We ended up hiring a PT nanny just to juggle it all.

We could join the local non-travel team and I think DS would be able to actually play.

[Anonymous]

If he truly loved it, had a good time, and wanted to go to practices? Absolutely. (Assuming it isn’t a financial hardship). Isn’t that the point of life, to find things that bring us joy?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If he is really enjoying it (not just saying that) then I’d be inclined to stick it out. My 10 y/o was playing on a highly competitive team and was not getting the playing time, etc we wanted for him. He stuck at it and improved by practicing a ton on his own. He is still not a top top player, but is now a starter and loving the game. Just my experience b/c I def thought about pulling the plug.

That’s exactly where we’re at. He gets minimal playtime but doesn’t seem too bothered. He loves his team and his team seems to love him. His coach adores him and works with him tons he’s just not… very athletic? Maybe he’ll improve as he enters puberty.

I love that he enjoys it so much but it’s so time consuming. Every weekend we’re traveling and non-stop long practices. We ended up hiring a PT nanny just to juggle it all.

We could join the local non-travel team and I think DS would be able to actually play.

You have 2 very separate issues.

1) He isn’t playing as much as you want
2) The team requires a huge time commitment

I don’t think it’s fair to make him quit because of #1–thats his decision. But #2? It is absolutely fair to say that driving to tournaments each weekend isn’t possible anymore.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If he is really enjoying it (not just saying that) then I’d be inclined to stick it out. My 10 y/o was playing on a highly competitive team and was not getting the playing time, etc we wanted for him. He stuck at it and improved by practicing a ton on his own. He is still not a top top player, but is now a starter and loving the game. Just my experience b/c I def thought about pulling the plug.

That’s exactly where we’re at. He gets minimal playtime but doesn’t seem too bothered. He loves his team and his team seems to love him. His coach adores him and works with him tons he’s just not… very athletic? Maybe he’ll improve as he enters puberty.

I love that he enjoys it so much but it’s so time consuming. Every weekend we’re traveling and non-stop long practices. We ended up hiring a PT nanny just to juggle it all.

We could join the local non-travel team and I think DS would be able to actually play.

You have 2 very separate issues.

1) He isn’t playing as much as you want
2) The team requires a huge time commitment

I don’t think it’s fair to make him quit because of #1–thats his decision. But #2? It is absolutely fair to say that driving to tournaments each weekend isn’t possible anymore.

Agree 100%. It's not about whether you think he is good enough or not. It's about his enjoyment. But if it is taking up too much of your time (and hiring a nanny is a stretch imo), then that's a legitimate reason to drop an activity.

[Anonymous]

Expensive is relative.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If he is really enjoying it (not just saying that) then I’d be inclined to stick it out. My 10 y/o was playing on a highly competitive team and was not getting the playing time, etc we wanted for him. He stuck at it and improved by practicing a ton on his own. He is still not a top top player, but is now a starter and loving the game. Just my experience b/c I def thought about pulling the plug.

That’s exactly where we’re at. He gets minimal playtime but doesn’t seem too bothered. He loves his team and his team seems to love him. His coach adores him and works with him tons he’s just not… very athletic? Maybe he’ll improve as he enters puberty.

I love that he enjoys it so much but it’s so time consuming. Every weekend we’re traveling and non-stop long practices. We ended up hiring a PT nanny just to juggle it all.

We could join the local non-travel team and I think DS would be able to actually play.

You have 2 very separate issues.

1) He isn’t playing as much as you want
2) The team requires a huge time commitment

I don’t think it’s fair to make him quit because of #1–thats his decision. But #2? It is absolutely fair to say that driving to tournaments each weekend isn’t possible anymore.

Agree 100%. It's not about whether you think he is good enough or not. It's about his enjoyment. But if it is taking up too much of your time (and hiring a nanny is a stretch imo), then that's a legitimate reason to drop an activity.

She’s a college student. We need her to play chauffeur, tutor and errand runner mostly.

His sports schedule isn’t the only reason we hired her, but a major reason for sure.

[Anonymous]

Yes. The point of kids doing extra curriculars is for them to learn something new, make new friends, have fun, etc.

My DD doesn't have the right body type for ballet or gymnastics. She is the worst in her class at gymnastics. But she loves both, so she does both. And I will never ever tell her she's never going to be good at gymnastics. She'll be allowed to do it until she doesn't want to anymore, whether that's at age 9 or age 19.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Said child is 11. Really enjoys sport but honestly is probably the least talented athlete on their team.

We spend a lot of money and time and I don’t see there ever being a pay off. We suggested less competitive option of same sport, child declined and wants to stay on this specific team.

Unfortunately doesn’t seem like him getting cut will happen.

If they enjoy it, its worth it. Get them some coached lessons.

[Anonymous]

Yes, we have a HS student who is the slowest on the team. They do it for fun and exercise. We fully support it. The pay off is life long enjoyment of a sport.