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Is it too late to get serious about soccer by age 8?
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Anonymous
| My nieces & nephews all play soccer (or some sort of sport) - they're not from the area but I would assume it's basically the same everywhere (at least what they're doing sounds similar to what I grew up with). At that age, most kids are just out to learn the game and have fun. As they get older, the teams tend to split off - some that are maybe lower skilled will be in leagues that don't take things very seriously, while kids to are very good will move up competitively. The only time I can think of where skill might be an issue is in high school - but that's a while away! |
Anonymous
| Maybe focus (you and he) on how he can have high self-esteem and not be good at soccer? From your original posting, which may or may not be representative of how things are in general, I wonder if you son is getting the message that not being good = not having fun? I may be totally off but it's worth considering. |
Anonymous
| I am SO GLAD I moved out of NoVa. |
Anonymous
us too! |
Anonymous
|
OP, FWIW, here's what I've observed on my DS U7 CoEd team with 14 kids, all but two played on the same U6 last year:
- five star players, one is a girl - of the five, ALL of them were also stars in U6 - of the five, ALL of them started playing soccer at least one year before Kindergarten, some even earlier - two other players, one boy, one girl, are having sort of a 'break out' year this season and play with higher energy - all seven of the above are fast runners - three of them are on the short side, two avg, two taller - the rest of them can still play but just not into it as much Good luck! |
Anonymous
| OP do you know of any older kids that play soccer that could work with your son in addition to his team practices? Maybe a little extra practice would improve his skills and then he would be more confident in his abilities. |
Anonymous
|
OP, has he tried other sports? Maybe a more individual sport, like swimming, might be more his style. I know a girl who competes at swimming and likes it who is not at all what anyone would call "sporty."
Or maybe something like martial arts would be more up his alley. And if he still loves soccer, it will have helped with balance and coordination. |
Anonymous
|
I'm sorry, I just can't believe that this post is serious. How can anyone respond to this seriously? Can't anyone step back and look at how ridiculous this is -- is it "too late" to get serious at age 8?!
This is a perfect example of helicopter, obsessive parenting. Please, mothers, chill out, let your kids live and enjoy life. You surely must have too much time on your hands, or be a massive worrier. You should be more worried about transferring those qualities to your child, rather than them missing out on athletic superstardom. |
Anonymous
| Too late. Definitely too late. Start painting pottery - NOW!!! |
Anonymous
|
OP: Glad I could provide some fun for some of you. You can pat yourself on the back for how crazy my question was. I am sure you are all perfectly sane parents who never have a single concern cross your minds that may not be entirely warranted.
I am actually relieved to hear most of the opinions expressed here. My question came in large part from a group of parents who were keeping their 6 and 7 year olds out of the Stoddert League because they thought it was very competitive and there was no point if kids hadn't already been playing for a while and were good. Given my kid is pretty rotten at the game, I wondered whether I was setting him up for self-esteem issues. I have noticed that there are a number of kids that aren't that great but DS is truly at the bottom of the pile at the moment. But he loves it, and I think I am hearing that that is fine as long as he doesn't care. |
Anonymous
U6/7/8 soccer should be able having fun. find another league if one doesn't fit your needs. U9 is when travel soccer begins and is a different story. still unclear how old your son is tho... |
Anonymous
Wow. I hope I never become this obsessive about my kid's soccer at this age. |
Anonymous
|
Sometimes the kids that are great at 8 turn out not to be as good at 12 even 15.
As with all sports, being successful is ability, attitude and if your body type fits the sport. In HS, you need to be a certain size to play soccer, baseball etc. My DS loves swim team but will never be a great swimmer. He is too big and does not and will never have the right body type. Yet he loves being part of the summer swim team at our pool. Encourage trying as many things as possible. There are always opportunities at every level to play sports. He may never be a travel player but he can still enjoy the game. |
Anonymous
i know i need to get a life... 
check out the 'obsessed with U7 soccer' thread i started in the Older Kids and Teenagers forum: http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/127963.page |
Anonymous
Good Lord, she said he was 8 EIGHT. My son is 9 and just having fun with it. The coach is this very encouraging, forgiving sort guy (in spite of being a type A lawyer the rest of the time) and we are just grateful and happy for the comraderie the team has conferred on our son. OP I slammed you with the "put him to slepp , comment. Sorry. But really, Stoddert is great. If your kid feels uncertain try a team with kids from another school. Life is too short to stress about this sort of thing. |