Little kids and exposure to different sports

[Anonymous]

hi DCUM. Mother of two here, a kindergartener and one starting pre-K next year. I am trying to figure out how to approach sports with my kids. Neither my husband or I are very athletic, but we both grew up in the South where the only sport that mattered was football. We didn’t have a lot of exposure to what I call the East Coast UMC sports like field hockey, swimming, lacrosse, etc. How should we go about exposing our children to these sports to see if there are any that they like? I really wish there was some kind of camp that would expose them to all the sports while they’re still young and then they could tell me what they like.

[Anonymous]

I think gymnastics is great for all little kids for strength and body awareness. And all kids need to learn to swim.

[Anonymous]

You should put them in swimming because that's a life skill - it's the same reason they should learn to ride a bike.

There ARE camps that do all different sports - it's a general day camp. But I'd start them next season in at least two things so they aren't completely dumfounded at camp.

[Anonymous]

Swimming is a life skill.

Soccer starts early. Lacrosse and field hockey are later elementary school.Volleyball is later too.

Gymnastics is welcoming at the younger ages.

Track is fun for a lot of kids.

[Anonymous]

Everyone should learn to swim. Swim lessons or swim team in the summer.

Try different rec sports and then ask at the end if they like it. Cycle through the obvious. Soccer is the obvious one when they are little. T-ball is accessible when they're little. Basketball starts earlier than it should but does start by early elementary. Agree with gymnastics. Martial arts at young ages.

You'll know pretty quick if your kid is into sports in general. And there is more to life than sports. Music, art, performing arts, scouts. Ask them what they might like and pick something each season.

[Anonymous]

Hands up yes you should learn them all

[Anonymous]

Soccer is the easiest to do a proper rec season at a young age. Agree with above re: gymnastics, that is also a good one to get involved in early, and IMO will have a lot of crossover into basically every other sport.

Depending on where you live, there are also lots of county programs for other sports like basketball at a young age, but the actual seasons may not start until older. We found these county programs fantastic for general interest, as we would do say one sport and one non-sport program per season.

[Anonymous]

When you sign up for summer camp look for sports ones. Its a good low commitment way to try something. If they like it you add it to your list to research for teams.

Look for the local sports club in your area, for example where I live it's FPYC or VYS or BRYC. Look at their websites to see what sports are offered to what ages and at what time of year. Pick one that fits your schedule and give it a try.

It's pretty simple at that age. If they like it you'll learn more about advancing. If they dont like it you try something else the next season.

[Anonymous]

1) sign your kid up for swim lessons. Summer swim is popular among people who join a neighborhood oool.

2) talk to other parents. Ask about sports. Particularly ask people who have older kids. Now that my kids are in upper elementary, I know a lot more about all the local rec sports programs than I did when they were in kindergarten.

3) check the flyers that come home from school.

4) rec sports are often hyper local. A rec soccer team might be primarily made up of kids from one or two elementary schools.

5) play with your kids. Buy a soccer ball or basketball and get outside and mess around.

6) you know your kids best. Try stuff out and see if it’s a good fit. Some kids do a season or two of soccer and are done. Some love it and are committed early. Some kids play to play with friends. All of these are ok. 9 or 10 is absolutely an ok age to try something new.

[Anonymous]

For that age, gymnastics and swimming are the best imo. If one of your kids takes early to a ball sport, that’s fine.

You don’t have to worry about this. It’s mostly from working parents needing childcare, and sports being good for marketing childcare.

[Anonymous]

Agree with PPs. Our rule of thumb was DC had to do one activity each season but could only do the same activity for 2 out of 4 seasons and to keep it manageable we allowed no travel until MS. In the summer, DC had to try a different sport/activity through camp.
DC played soccer they could not do the winter futsal or summer soccer camp this helped expose them to different sports.

[Anonymous]

the fate of ophelia helped us

[Anonymous]

My kids grew up here and never played field hockey or lacrosse, so it's not like you HAVE to do those. Soccer and baseball are far more popular and start at those ages. And I can't say for sure but I don't think the summer camps we sent them to included either of those in their sports samplers: imagine giving a bunch of kindergartners lacrosse sticks.
But if you definitely want to try lacrosse, for instance, see if you can find friends to play on the same team.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For that age, gymnastics and swimming are the best imo. If one of your kids takes early to a ball sport, that’s fine.

You don’t have to worry about this. It’s mostly from working parents needing childcare, and sports being good for marketing childcare.

Agree on gymnastics and swimming. Everyone should learn to swim, and gymnastics is a foundation for every other sport. Stick with gymnastics until your kids (boy or girl) can do a backbend, carwheel, handstand, stretch properly, etc. My 14-year-old still does back bends and handstands when warming up for his hockey games.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For that age, gymnastics and swimming are the best imo. If one of your kids takes early to a ball sport, that’s fine.

You don’t have to worry about this. It’s mostly from working parents needing childcare, and sports being good for marketing childcare.

Agree on gymnastics and swimming. Everyone should learn to swim, and gymnastics is a foundation for every other sport. Stick with gymnastics until your kids (boy or girl) can do a backbend, carwheel, handstand, stretch properly, etc. My 14-year-old still does back bends and handstands when warming up for his hockey games.

I agree with swimming and beginner gymnastics! I'd also throw soccer into the mix since it starts really young and can help kids figure out pretty early if they like or hate team sports and ball sports in general. Another one to consider is tennis lessons at your local rec center. The hand-eye coordination skills are awesome, and it's something they can enjoy their whole life.

Also, definitely see if there are after-school clinics at your elementary school. A lot of schools offer them and they're usually pretty affordable and convenient.

For what it's worth, I exposed both my daughters to a ton of different activities when they were younger, and they eventually BOTH found their way to cheer as their main sport. They also do summer swim team and a super chill sport in the spring: one does field hockey and the other does lax. (I'm from New England BTW)