5th grade practice ending at 830pm next fall.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, you are going to love it. The late slot is wonderful for that age group. They can come home from school, have some downtime, tackle homework, have dinner. They get to go exercise and spend time with friends without anything hanging over them. It's great.

You can drop off, clean up the day, set up for the next day, all while down one child. Even if it is helping siblings prep for bed, it gives a time block so their is no dawdling. Once the 5th grader is home the day is over. You can relax. Really don't knock it until you try it. We LOVE it.


As a side note, those of you that do not prefer it. Why? and what do you suggest. It is easy to complain but what are your solutions that the teams aren't considering? I am genuinely curious and wondering if I am missing something here. I am sure the organizers would love your feedback too.

I don't like it because it's too late. My kid is in bed by 8:30 and I value his sleep more than playing sports.

What do I suggest? I don't have any realistic suggestions. All of my solutions would cost time, money, and real estate. Therefore, my solution is for my family alone---we don't participate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My 9 year old 3rd grader had travel soccer until 8:30 one day per week this spring--the other practice day was earlier. I didn't love it, but it wasn't a big deal. Almost everything was done before practice--homework, dinner, instrument practice, whatever. Practice ended at 8:30 and was thankfully just up the street so DS went home, showered, got a quick snack and was usually in bed around 9:00 or slightly after. I wouldn't really think twice about it for 5th grader.

+1

We had the same schedule once a week this year for our 9 year old and it only worked because we live close enough that practice ended at 8:30 and she was home, showered and in bed by 9pm. Bus came at 8:50 in the morning so she just slept in a little extra. It wouldn't have been possible if we had a 30 mins commute after practice, but she was only in 3rd grade. Even with a short commute, it would have been a no-brainer schedule for our 5th grader, since dinner and homework could be done before leaving and she doesn't go to bed until 9:15 anyway.

[Anonymous]

My 13 year old (U15 next year) will have soccer practices that end at 9:30ppm next year---30 minutes away. He will only be in 8th grade. That was a deal breaker for us.

Up until then they ended at 8pm.

Both my kids need a lot of sleep. They naturally fall asleep by 9pm. We always aimed for bed time by 8:30. A few night a week it was about 30 minutes later.

I see 14 year olds showing up to start practice at 8pm and I think that is way too late, but it has become the norm in this area. It wasn't when I was a kid. It is a space issue. I don't like it.

[Anonymous]

My boys are wide awake when they get home at 8:45pm from a 90 minute soccer practice. They need to shower. Inevitably, they are hungry again. It's a sh*t show.

When they are 12+ their bodies don't just wind down after intense exercise. It takes a some time for them to wind down.

I hate the late practices.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, you are going to love it. The late slot is wonderful for that age group. They can come home from school, have some downtime, tackle homework, have dinner. They get to go exercise and spend time with friends without anything hanging over them. It's great.

You can drop off, clean up the day, set up for the next day, all while down one child. Even if it is helping siblings prep for bed, it gives a time block so their is no dawdling. Once the 5th grader is home the day is over. You can relax. Really don't knock it until you try it. We LOVE it.


As a side note, those of you that do not prefer it. Why? and what do you suggest. It is easy to complain but what are your solutions that the teams aren't considering? I am genuinely curious and wondering if I am missing something here. I am sure the organizers would love your feedback too.

Posters have already told you, PP: a lot of children don't do well with late activities because they end up curtailing their sleep.

In a more general sense, it is WELL-KNOWN that many children and adults are not getting enough sleep, and it is equally well-known that long-term sleep deprivation stunts growth and critical thinking abilities in children, and increases risks of obesity, high blood pressure, heart disease and death in adults.

So while your children may have done well in such situations, it does not follow that all children will do well. Sleep needs and downtime before sleep vary with each individual.

My suggestion is to move practices earlier, and if that poses a capacity problem, find other locations, and perhaps hold less practices so that each group can practice earlier. Perhaps there could be a selective process, just like for non-sport activities like choir and orchestra. Kids can also choose an after-school activity at school, or do something else.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My 13 year old (U15 next year) will have soccer practices that end at 9:30ppm next year---30 minutes away. He will only be in 8th grade. That was a deal breaker for us.

Up until then they ended at 8pm.

Both my kids need a lot of sleep. They naturally fall asleep by 9pm. We always aimed for bed time by 8:30. A few night a week it was about 30 minutes later.

I see 14 year olds showing up to start practice at 8pm and I think that is way too late, but it has become the norm in this area. It wasn't when I was a kid. It is a space issue. I don't like it.

Ok. So it's a deal breaker for you. If you were in charge. How would you solve the problem. I am really curious. It seems problematic for many families. If I took the issue to the board of soccer gods, what should I say the propsed work around shoud be?

[Anonymous]

It's normal. My daughter has late swim practices, they end at 8pm, she is home close to 9pm. She is 11.

[Anonymous]

I'm another that actually likes the late practice. The worst is the 6 ot 7:30 slot, when they don't want dinner before practice, and then they get home at 8 and just want to inhale crap out of the fridge because they are so hungry. Also the traffic trying to get them to a 6 o'clock practice is terrible -- it takes us 30 minutes to go 3 miles (and then 5-10 minutes to get home from it).
I agree that anything later than 8:45 would be problematic for us, but with an 8:30 end time, we can still be in bed by 9, which is 10.5 hours sleep (ip at 7:30 for a 8:15 a.m. bus).

The problem is not just the field availability, but also coaches -- is it fair to make volunteer coaches take off a half day from work once a week to make a 4:00 practice in the suburbs? My DH has done it, but I don't blame coaches if this doesn't work for them. You can always consider starting a new rec level team and coaching it yourself, on a time schedule that works for you.

[Anonymous]

My 9yo had practices this spring that ended at 8:30, and a couple games that went until 9. He's in bed by 10/10:30 on those nights and then up at 8:15. He's fine, but it does cut into my grown-up time. What time do your kids need to be up, or how much sleep do they need? My DS sleeps 10 hours at the most, and usually 9.

[Anonymous]

make sure homework gets done early.

yes, this is normal.

[Anonymous]

My son is on the late schedule for MCPS. School starts at 9:25am. There is no reason why there can't be practices starting at 8am or even earlier.

Just like the after school practices when parents work, carpools would be established

[Anonymous]

My DS is in middle school and he plays soccer. This year (as it seems every year) they were short on coaches. My DH had coached a few years back and they begged him to coach again. His new job is not flexible, so he gets home by 7:30, grabs a snack, changes, and is out the door to coach. Practice is at 8:30-9:30pm 3x per week. It is the only time he could do. My son is in bed by 10pm, and up by 6pm, so only 8 hours of sleep, which is little. His ideal is about 9 hours, but it is what it is. He is doing well in school, he is eating well, he is growing, he is happy. I think a little less sleep is not big deal. I slept a lot less growing up because my parents worked so early. I was up at 5 every day, and they didn't really have a bedtime for me, so I went to bed whenever I wanted. Obviously this is not ideal, but I was very successful academically and did just fine in life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My son is on the late schedule for MCPS. School starts at 9:25am. There is no reason why there can't be practices starting at 8am or even earlier.

Just like the after school practices when parents work, carpools would be established

Who can coach at this time? Is before care using facilities?

[Anonymous]

Lol, pp, are you volunteering to coach sports practices at 8 am?

[Anonymous]

My kids go to bed around 9:30 and wake up at 8:15 so a practice ending st 8 or 8:30 is fine for us.