is baseball the best team sport for non-athletic boys?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone else think it's just sad that a child at the young age of 8 years old can't easily take up a new sport and learn it without feeling embarrassed about his mistakes as he's learning? Sports are just way too competitive for our tastes I guess.

+1 This type of pressure actually discourages lifelong fitness. Also, it sucks the fun out of it for many kids by the time they hit high school (burn out) and dominates the lives of families. Fine for a segment of kids and families, but not great for many others.

[Anonymous]

OP here - tks much for the responses.

sorry for the garbled original post that's so misleading, but he HAS played baseball before - this would be his third year as well - and also soccer, basketball.

his lack of athletic ability was not obvious in the early years, but the last season i felt the gaps between him and the avg kids had gone larger and especially the speed/pace of the games seem to have fazed him for the first time.

those are the reasons why i was wondering about baseball as a better fit, and to really work to improve his game. no he's not a big hitter but doesn't 'strike out' half of the time either so he's quite confident in his batting skills. he actually throws and catches better than he hits but i guess all boys this age think they're going to hit a home run the next at bat ha ha.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:would like to starting having 8-yo DS focus on one team sport to really improve and build confidence and develop love for sport/physical activity. he's large for his age so is slower but stronger too. he likes baseball (but not crazy about it either), does not really prefer one sport to the other. but i think it'd be a good fit for him? thoughts? tks~![/quote



Unless he is athletic and his father (or any male) has been playing wiffle ball with him since he was five he has little chance in succeeding in baseball. Baseball takes more eye - hand coordination that any other sport. He is not going to just show up in the spring and be able to hit a fast ball.

Soccer is probably the way to go for him. It takes very little athletic ability and there is a lot of running. He needs to get out of the house and start running between now and the start of soccer practice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here - tks much for the responses.

sorry for the garbled original post that's so misleading, but he HAS played baseball before - this would be his third year as well - and also soccer, basketball.

his lack of athletic ability was not obvious in the early years, but the last season i felt the gaps between him and the avg kids had gone larger and especially the speed/pace of the games seem to have fazed him for the first time.

those are the reasons why i was wondering about baseball as a better fit, and to really work to improve his game. no he's not a big hitter but doesn't 'strike out' half of the time either so he's quite confident in his batting skills. he actually throws and catches better than he hits but i guess all boys this age think they're going to hit a home run the next at bat ha ha.

Ho
Ok I was the previous poster. If he has played baseball before then he should be ok. At eight they usually start the player/pitch rules so its not going to be coach/pitch or tee ball However on the other end if he is a strikeout machine he is going to lose confidence. Soccer may be the sport for him

[Anonymous]

Try Hockey - I see a lot of kids that aren't super fast runners or are a bit chunky, but are good skaters. You can also be a goalie. It's a lot easier to carry a large body around on skates, then on running shoes.

Also, every sports has a rec league and then higher levels of competition. You just have to find the right level where your son fits. I have never seen kids on a rec hockey team get down on a new skater, either. I have seen it happen with a less talented soccer player several times (and I corrected it if it was in front of me).

I agree with an earlier poster, though. If your son doesn't want to do sports, then don't force it. Try other interests.

[Anonymous]

+1 for hockey, Rockville has a great introductory class

I would do a martial art to learn balance, control and self confidence.

Let him continue with baseball if he likes it and has friends, but middle school get a little crazy and the good kids will move on.

[Anonymous]

But remember by 8 yo, some kids have been skating for 4+ years, so there is a learning curve there as well.

[Anonymous]

I hate that it's so hard for a kid to try a new team sport at age 8 because s/he is already behind!!! My daughter was never interested in soccer or swim team before but now she is begging me to join the teams her peers are on. I don't know what to do -- I don't want to discourage her but she is so far behind her friends who have been on the teams for years. I know winning is not what's important and she can learn from challenges, but she doesn't have the personality to handle repeatedly being the worst at something in a public arena. So sad!

[Anonymous]

Baseball does take athletiscism, and believe me, the other kids will know right away if your son doesn't want to be there.

I second the non-team, team sports. Things like wrestling (although in the non-travel leagues while there's a team, it's all based on individual effort), martial arts (which can turn into a competition team) or even running (cross country or track and field).

Baseball is not an easy sport. And it's boring as hell to watch.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I hate that it's so hard for a kid to try a new team sport at age 8 because s/he is already behind!!! My daughter was never interested in soccer or swim team before but now she is begging me to join the teams her peers are on. I don't know what to do -- I don't want to discourage her but she is so far behind her friends who have been on the teams for years. I know winning is not what's important and she can learn from challenges, but she doesn't have the personality to handle repeatedly being the worst at something in a public arena. So sad!

I hate it too but ( with me having slightly older kids) I say go ahead and let her try. We are in VA but it seems like the really good kids start the travel teams for soccer and the " tryout" year round swim teams around 8-10 so those that are left are still good ( if they have been playing/ swimming a while) but should not be so over- the- top competitive and she could pick it up. Also, may cost money but you can always do a spring break or summer camp to help her get up to speed. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

Baseball is really hard. Catching and hitting are hard.

Soccer is a much better choice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:But remember by 8 yo, some kids have been skating for 4+ years, so there is a learning curve there as well.

True, there is a curve. For hockey, my son took a few 'learn-to-skate' county classes 1 year. Then he did a year of instructional league. Then he played in the house/rec league with full ice games. He also supplemented with lots of free-skate work and some private lessons. Nowadays, most 8-yr olds are not even allowed to skate full ice, they just play multiple 'pick-up' games on a divided ice rink. At age 9, they let the kids into full ice games. If you look at Rockville, though, the have a 'younger' instructional league and an 'older' instructional league. Many kids do still start the sport at age 8 or above as evidenced by the 'older' instructional league.

That all said, not every kid can get through the learning curve. I have one kid that couldn't do it, so this child doesn't play. My other child almost quit, but stuck it out and now is passionate about the sport. It all get's back to what the kid wants to do.

[Anonymous]

OP here - i appreciate all the feedback. i just want to clarify that i was not saying baseball is a sport for non-athletic kids. did that mean that at all. it's just that he's bigger and slower and compare to the other team sports he does baseball has least running involved.

to be frank - i don't understand how soccer would be a better sport for non-athletic kids to succeed. perhaps we define athleticism differently, but to me a slow kid is never athletic.

[Anonymous]

OP here - i appreciate all the feedback. i just want to clarify that i was not saying baseball is a sport for non-athletic kids. did that mean that at all. it's just that he's bigger and slower and compare to the other team sports he does baseball has least running involved.

to be frank - i don't understand how soccer would be a better sport for non-athletic kids to succeed. perhaps we define athleticism differently, but to me a slow kid is never athletic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here - i appreciate all the feedback. i just want to clarify that i was not saying baseball is a sport for non-athletic kids. did that mean that at all. it's just that he's bigger and slower and compare to the other team sports he does baseball has least running involved.

to be frank - i don't understand how soccer would be a better sport for non-athletic kids to succeed. perhaps we define athleticism differently, but to me a slow kid is never athletic.

You don't have to be athletic to play soccer at that age. Its just 10 kids running around chasing the ball. It sounds like he needs to run around.