Small, late to puberty girl -- what sport?
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Anonymous
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I have an 11 yo girl in 6th grade who loves to compete and who is generally pretty athletic. But she's hit a point where lots of other girls have out grown her and she's reconsidering her sport options, especially as there are more and new options in middle school.
Right now she's 4'6" and about 70 lbs (wears a girls size 8). The pediatrician expects that she'll be late to puberty, starting at 13 or 14 yo, so probably won't sprout until around high school age. And even then she'll likely top out at 5'2" or 3" and ~100 lbs fully grown, if predictions are correct. She's quick-ish, but really seems to excel for her stamina. She won the school 5k for her age group two years in a row without any training (and having never run a 5k other than those events). She backpacked 20 miles this weekend with a significant pack and had absolutely no issues. She's done rec soccer, rec basketball and summer swim team and is a solid contributor, but not a star. But also hasn't put in the work to develop any skills (she's been more of a dabbler to date). She's interested in track and x-country, but other options would be good too. Any suggestions for other sports should she be considering? Crew? Field hockey? Lacrosse? Tennis? Swim? Or do those expect more height/size? |
Anonymous
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She'd be a cox if she does crew. Coxes are great and valuable (and can be recruited) but it depends whether she likes the idea of that.
X-country is the obvious sport, or track. An athletically gifted petite girl with great skills can play field hockey or tennis. I'm less sure about lacrosse or swimming (although of course she can do that for fun if she wants). |
Anonymous
This was me in high school and college. I loved it! But if you enjoy being athletic there aren't a whole lot of opportunities to push yourself physically. The coxswains I knew who really enjoyed physical effort would get irritated by that, actually. Being a coxswain is almost entirely mental and about your ability to multitask effectively, keep a laser focus on about 5 things at once, and judge distances and lines well (especially during the longer fall races). |
Anonymous
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Cross country, dance, cheer
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Anonymous
| XC that’s it |
Anonymous
| I have a similar sized 11 year old who enjoys artistic swimming. She's a reasonably fast swimmer but taller kids are usually faster. She enjoys gymnastics so this was a good combination. |
Anonymous
| That was me. I switched from gymnastics to diving in middle school. I also played field hockey, but I got knocked around a lot and didn't love it. |
Anonymous
| Girls wrestling? The smaller girls do really well against the prepubescent HS boys in the lower weight classes and there are girls programs popping up at lots of colleges. |
Anonymous
Gymnastics |
Anonymous
I think we've missed the dance, cheer, gymnastics route by 11 yo. She's also not really into those activities, as she's pretty competitive. |
Anonymous
If she DID want to try cheer, I don't think it would be too late -- she'd be a great flyer! XC, track, crew, diving ... all good ideas! |
Anonymous
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Cross country is the obvious choice here.
Tennis can also be an option. |
Anonymous
| Cautionary tale ... is her diet OK? Some kids are just small, and that's fine, but I know a girl who was diagnosed with anorexia around that age. She'd been flying under the radar, getting praised for being so athletic and tiny, and ultimately, people realized she had a problem. |
Anonymous
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I think she should do what she enjoys.
I have a just turned 12yo. She currrntky does rec soccer and rec basketball. She’s going to try girls flag football too, it’s a 6 week skills clinic. They don’t need to be on a track for HS or college they just need to enjoy it and be getting exercise and fresh air. |
Anonymous
| Whatever she likes. I was small and hit puberty late and played soccer and did quite well. |