How to choose a sport for very athletic kid?

[Anonymous]

^^ meant to write - most likely WONT be earning scholarship money.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would not consider travel/competitive sports until around 5th grade. Until then, I would have my kid play soccer, basketball, and either baseball or lacrosse. I chose those because they tend to be the most social sports that other kids from school play. Swap one of these with gymnastics if he loves it or tennis ior swimming if that interests him. You’ll see what he likes the best.

I have a rising 9th grader whose coaches are talking him being a candidate for college cross country/track. He didn’t run either until 7th grade. He also plays basketball and lacrosse. He didn’t start lacrosse until 4th grade and didn’t start travel until the 6th and is on a highly competitive team.

Sports should be nothing but fun in 2nd grade.

I think this is a good approach. Re gymnastics, it’s great for kids to spend some time on, as it helps them develop balance and coordination, and it’s fun if not too competitive. While I don’t think OP should be thinking of college recruiting just yet, if her kid stays athletically dominant, it’s worth considering that gymnastics and tennis are not very likely to lead to college recruitment compared to several other sports.

And for the people making fun of OP, I understand that a lot of parents are delusional about their kids’ abilities, but there also are athletic phenoms out there. One of my kids started getting comments on his athletic talents when he was playing rec sports in kindergarten. By the time he was in second grade, strangers would approach us after games to talk about how great he was. He’s playing a D1 sport now with a significant athletic scholarship. And also contrary to the narrative you will hear a lot on here and elsewhere, in our experience about one-third of the kids who were standouts on their teams at 10 or 11 we’re also the stars at 18. Just take everything one year at a time and reassess what level and sport based on your kid’s interests and any family factors like time or money.

You have no idea what you’re talking about based on your one little anecdote

[Anonymous]

There is a lot of advice here. I’m no different I suppose. My would be:

1. Take a hard look what your family can do. Set aside what you want to do and focus first and what is possible to do. What can you afford? What can you do time wise? Plan for other activities of course and education. You have to take into account future time demands particularly with other kids.

2. As in pretty much everything - ability grows slowly over time. You don’t sit down at the piano for the first time and play Chopin. Learning and improving take years. But, at young ages we really are just starting. So - no - kindergarten is not a cut off.

3. While not a huge factor at young ages, it is important to think long term and guide kids into activities that they are more likely to be physically suited to undertake. This is a little less impactful for girls than boys, but obviously still exists. A couple obvious examples - if your kid is going to be over 6 feet tall then gymnastics is not going to be a very good competitive sport for them long term. Knowing roughly where your kid will be in terms of size and speed is going to be very helpful in guiding them to sports that they can be comfortable competing in.

4. Do not expect your kid to drive decisions. They get input. But, do not expect a 10 year old to be aware of family finances, time and travel demands of the new job, time demands of siblings etc. Be a parent. We do what we can.

5. Do understand the environment you are in. Look at the likely high school your kids will attend. High school seems a long time away, and it is. But, unless you are considering options to move to an area where the high school has 500 kids what your kid is doing at younger ages has some affects on what your kid can do in high school. There are sports in high school that a rank beginner can participate in and even eventually do well. Some sports don’t even really get started until high school (football and running sports). There are also a good many sports where you have to have been playing for many years to have a chance of making a high school team.

6. Be aware and willing to allow kids to try new sports and switch sports. My daughter played college soccer and played club soccer starting a 9. Over the years she played with many girls who ultimately decided to switch from soccer to other sports that they played in college at a high level (Big10 and SEC). Do not get locked in. As a parent one of your ongoing jobs is to continually assess and advise your kids on available options. They lack the knowledge and experience to do that.

A quick note on college sports having had a daughter who played college soccer for 4 years - it is not a think that works well for very many. For the athletes it is “who you are and what you do”. In a D1 school there is very little time to do anything else. In a D3 school - that holds true for the semester you are playing. The head coach is not your buddy, and may well not even be particularly friendly (even if they like you). They don’t work for you. You work for them. They get paid by having teams do well and obey the rules by not getting into trouble and getting decent grades. Teammates are not unfriendly but if you get cut, get injured and can’t play, or quit - you are no longer competition for playing time. That is a plus for them. My daughter got a starting position early in her Junior year when the girl playing the position got hurt and was out 3 weeks. By then my kid had staked a claim and kept the starting job. While she felt sorry for the person getting hurt, she was happy to get the playing time and prove she could do the job. Thus the not uncommon college athlete revision to the saying - “There’s no I in team”. … “but there are two in playing time.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Let your kid pick what he likes best.

Ding ding ding

Don't think about college admissions.

Think about having fun.

If they are as athletic as you say they are, the time will come in a few years when you can start thinking about the right team/training/etc

But in second grade? just choose sports that are fun

[Anonymous]

FWIW, when my daughter was 10, she tried out for some 10u travel softball teams. She made each and every one, and was invited to join 12u for 2 of the clubs.

One of my first questions was "what about other sports?" any club that said they had to commit to one sport was immediately off the table. It's just too much at that age.

I'm not going to deny my kid basketball, or soccer, just because she happens to be gifted at swinging a bat

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is a lot of advice here. I’m no different I suppose. My would be:

1. Take a hard look what your family can do. Set aside what you want to do and focus first and what is possible to do. What can you afford? What can you do time wise? Plan for other activities of course and education. You have to take into account future time demands particularly with other kids.

2. As in pretty much everything - ability grows slowly over time. You don’t sit down at the piano for the first time and play Chopin. Learning and improving take years. But, at young ages we really are just starting. So - no - kindergarten is not a cut off.

3. While not a huge factor at young ages, it is important to think long term and guide kids into activities that they are more likely to be physically suited to undertake. This is a little less impactful for girls than boys, but obviously still exists. A couple obvious examples - if your kid is going to be over 6 feet tall then gymnastics is not going to be a very good competitive sport for them long term. Knowing roughly where your kid will be in terms of size and speed is going to be very helpful in guiding them to sports that they can be comfortable competing in.

4. Do not expect your kid to drive decisions. They get input. But, do not expect a 10 year old to be aware of family finances, time and travel demands of the new job, time demands of siblings etc. Be a parent. We do what we can.

5. Do understand the environment you are in. Look at the likely high school your kids will attend. High school seems a long time away, and it is. But, unless you are considering options to move to an area where the high school has 500 kids what your kid is doing at younger ages has some affects on what your kid can do in high school. There are sports in high school that a rank beginner can participate in and even eventually do well. Some sports don’t even really get started until high school (football and running sports). There are also a good many sports where you have to have been playing for many years to have a chance of making a high school team.

6. Be aware and willing to allow kids to try new sports and switch sports. My daughter played college soccer and played club soccer starting a 9. Over the years she played with many girls who ultimately decided to switch from soccer to other sports that they played in college at a high level (Big10 and SEC). Do not get locked in. As a parent one of your ongoing jobs is to continually assess and advise your kids on available options. They lack the knowledge and experience to do that.

A quick note on college sports having had a daughter who played college soccer for 4 years - it is not a think that works well for very many. For the athletes it is “who you are and what you do”. In a D1 school there is very little time to do anything else. In a D3 school - that holds true for the semester you are playing. The head coach is not your buddy, and may well not even be particularly friendly (even if they like you). They don’t work for you. You work for them. They get paid by having teams do well and obey the rules by not getting into trouble and getting decent grades. Teammates are not unfriendly but if you get cut, get injured and can’t play, or quit - you are no longer competition for playing time. That is a plus for them. My daughter got a starting position early in her Junior year when the girl playing the position got hurt and was out 3 weeks. By then my kid had staked a claim and kept the starting job. While she felt sorry for the person getting hurt, she was happy to get the playing time and prove she could do the job. Thus the not uncommon college athlete revision to the saying - “There’s no I in team”. … “but there are two in playing time.”

This was a great post. But you're wrong about football. If your kid wants to play for the HS team, they need to be in pads in elementary school.

Unless they are the fastest kid in the school, there is just too much of a steep learning curve to the sport. The time to learn the sport is grades 4-6, and then the time to find your true position is 7th and 8th.

The kids that are starting the JV team as freshman are the ones that played 7u or 8u football with pads on

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would not consider travel/competitive sports until around 5th grade. Until then, I would have my kid play soccer, basketball, and either baseball or lacrosse. I chose those because they tend to be the most social sports that other kids from school play. Swap one of these with gymnastics if he loves it or tennis ior swimming if that interests him. You’ll see what he likes the best.

I have a rising 9th grader whose coaches are talking him being a candidate for college cross country/track. He didn’t run either until 7th grade. He also plays basketball and lacrosse. He didn’t start lacrosse until 4th grade and didn’t start travel until the 6th and is on a highly competitive team.

Sports should be nothing but fun in 2nd grade.

I think this is a good approach. Re gymnastics, it’s great for kids to spend some time on, as it helps them develop balance and coordination, and it’s fun if not too competitive. While I don’t think OP should be thinking of college recruiting just yet, if her kid stays athletically dominant, it’s worth considering that gymnastics and tennis are not very likely to lead to college recruitment compared to several other sports.

And for the people making fun of OP, I understand that a lot of parents are delusional about their kids’ abilities, but there also are athletic phenoms out there. One of my kids started getting comments on his athletic talents when he was playing rec sports in kindergarten. By the time he was in second grade, strangers would approach us after games to talk about how great he was. He’s playing a D1 sport now with a significant athletic scholarship. And also contrary to the narrative you will hear a lot on here and elsewhere, in our experience about one-third of the kids who were standouts on their teams at 10 or 11 we’re also the stars at 18. Just take everything one year at a time and reassess what level and sport based on your kid’s interests and any family factors like time or money.

You have no idea what you’re talking about based on your one little anecdote

Why do you say that? I’ve had more experience with DMV youth sports than most on here and personally know about 20 kids playing college sports at a variety of levels right now. I watched many of them play from the time they were in late elementary. Seems like my experience should be relevant to this thread. If it gives you pleasure to mock me or tell OP she’s delusional, have at it, I guess, but neither of us has any way to know the athletic potential of OP’s child.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'll preface this by saying I'm not athletic and have no clue about sports. But my 2nd grade boy is really sporty and at this point there aren't enough hours in the week to do all of the sports. All things being equal, how do I figure out which sports are most desired for boys for, say,college admissions? For example, he's been invited to be on a competition gymnastics team, but it is a lot of hours per week. He also likes baseball, soccer, wrestling, running. And he seems to enjoy them all equally. How did you help your kid choose, or did you just let them do 2 + hours of sports per day, every day?

The best kids at 8-12 are 99 percent of the time not the best at 17-18 so throw that college admission pipe dream out the window right now

Disagree. The kids that are the best at 17-18 were also athletic and fell anywhere from very good to the best. I've been around youth sports in various capacities and rarely see a college athlete that was a dud as an 8-12 yo. Obviously, there are also plenty of kids that were very good to the best at 8-12 end up at the same place as the kids who were never any good.

OP, my view is let your kid play as many sports as they want and you can afford (both time and money) to support for as long as possible. I don't think any of the sports you listed are early specialization sports. I'm not a big soccer player, but it does seem like a sport that requires a big commitment, but at that age, you should be able to play club soccer + other sports.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here...I guess what I'm asking is whether you just say no to travel sports/competition sports in early elementary? I don't want him to have to "choose" something now when he wants to do a lot of stuff and he really has no idea what the future holds. Did you just say no to competitive teams in elementary and middle school? If he does 12 hrs of gymnastics a week he won't be able to do anything else.

OK, I'll take a crack at this. Gymnastics is the easiest sport to decide about, because boys in gymnastics are outliers. If he is PASSIONATE about it, and understands that 12 hours is a lot for a 2nd grader, I'd let him try it for a couple of years. It makes kids incredibly strong, which would only benefit him if he ultimately picks any or all of the other sports instead.

A boy who STICKS with gymnastics is also more likely than a girl to get a college scholarship, but that is a million miles away from 2nd grade, so you don't have to worry about that now.

As for all the other sports you mentioned, don't worry about running, because soccer is all running, and that's more than enough for a little body. As for the others, one per season. The reason you're getting swept away is that we DO ask kids to specialize too early. If he was invited to be on a travel baseball team, sure you can say no, but then all the kids who say yes progress, and it can be hard to crack in in, say, 5th grade.

But as a parent of older athletes, I will tell you that there is too much bullshit surrounding travel sports for 2nd graders, so I would let him play and dabble for another little while at least.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'll preface this by saying I'm not athletic and have no clue about sports. But my 2nd grade boy is really sporty and at this point there aren't enough hours in the week to do all of the sports. All things being equal, how do I figure out which sports are most desired for boys for, say,college admissions? For example, he's been invited to be on a competition gymnastics team, but it is a lot of hours per week. He also likes baseball, soccer, wrestling, running. And he seems to enjoy them all equally. How did you help your kid choose, or did you just let them do 2 + hours of sports per day, every day?

The best kids at 8-12 are 99 percent of the time not the best at 17-18 so throw that college admission pipe dream out the window right now

Disagree. The kids that are the best at 17-18 were also athletic and fell anywhere from very good to the best. I've been around youth sports in various capacities and rarely see a college athlete that was a dud as an 8-12 yo. Obviously, there are also plenty of kids that were very good to the best at 8-12 end up at the same place as the kids who were never any good.

OP, my view is let your kid play as many sports as they want and you can afford (both time and money) to support for as long as possible. I don't think any of the sports you listed are early specialization sports. I'm not a big soccer player, but it does seem like a sport that requires a big commitment, but at that age, you should be able to play club soccer + other sports.

NP. I see the "not a dud" at 8-12 yo point, and also for many sports size is a big factor and there is the before/after puberty divide. Just reality. I have seen many very athletic kids end up too small to compete in a lot of sports at a more competitive level by 17-18.

But back to the question.

Do what your kid likes. Do what your kid likes. Do what your kid likes. Don't focus on one sport at that age. Get them playing as much stuff as you can.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'll preface this by saying I'm not athletic and have no clue about sports. But my 2nd grade boy is really sporty and at this point there aren't enough hours in the week to do all of the sports. All things being equal, how do I figure out which sports are most desired for boys for, say,college admissions? For example, he's been invited to be on a competition gymnastics team, but it is a lot of hours per week. He also likes baseball, soccer, wrestling, running. And he seems to enjoy them all equally. How did you help your kid choose, or did you just let them do 2 + hours of sports per day, every day?

The best kids at 8-12 are 99 percent of the time not the best at 17-18 so throw that college admission pipe dream out the window right now

Disagree. The kids that are the best at 17-18 were also athletic and fell anywhere from very good to the best. I've been around youth sports in various capacities and rarely see a college athlete that was a dud as an 8-12 yo. Obviously, there are also plenty of kids that were very good to the best at 8-12 end up at the same place as the kids who were never any good.

OP, my view is let your kid play as many sports as they want and you can afford (both time and money) to support for as long as possible. I don't think any of the sports you listed are early specialization sports. I'm not a big soccer player, but it does seem like a sport that requires a big commitment, but at that age, you should be able to play club soccer + other sports.

This is not really true for kids who are taller and take longer to grow into their body and physical coordination. My nephew seemed pretty spastic in elementary years and ended up 6-6 and played D1 basketball. So go figure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'll preface this by saying I'm not athletic and have no clue about sports. But my 2nd grade boy is really sporty and at this point there aren't enough hours in the week to do all of the sports. All things being equal, how do I figure out which sports are most desired for boys for, say,college admissions? For example, he's been invited to be on a competition gymnastics team, but it is a lot of hours per week. He also likes baseball, soccer, wrestling, running. And he seems to enjoy them all equally. How did you help your kid choose, or did you just let them do 2 + hours of sports per day, every day?

The best kids at 8-12 are 99 percent of the time not the best at 17-18 so throw that college admission pipe dream out the window right now

Disagree. The kids that are the best at 17-18 were also athletic and fell anywhere from very good to the best. I've been around youth sports in various capacities and rarely see a college athlete that was a dud as an 8-12 yo. Obviously, there are also plenty of kids that were very good to the best at 8-12 end up at the same place as the kids who were never any good.

OP, my view is let your kid play as many sports as they want and you can afford (both time and money) to support for as long as possible. I don't think any of the sports you listed are early specialization sports. I'm not a big soccer player, but it does seem like a sport that requires a big commitment, but at that age, you should be able to play club soccer + other sports.

This is not really true for kids who are taller and take longer to grow into their body and physical coordination. My nephew seemed pretty spastic in elementary years and ended up 6-6 and played D1 basketball. So go figure.

I have an athletic 11 yo who is tall, lanky, and spastic due partly to ADHD. Coaches get really frustrated with him and think he's underperforming, but he's genuinely trying his hardest and tells me this. Despite all of this, he's still in the top 50% of a good team (that he keeps barely making), but he's no coach's favorite player right now. Holding on to hope that this will work out like it did for your nephew.

[Anonymous]

If you sign up for more than one team sport in a season, be mindful that you are committing to a team and they expect your DS to show up for practices and games. You can obviously miss an occasional practice or game, but unless you know the culture of your league, do not assume that rec = drop in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'll preface this by saying I'm not athletic and have no clue about sports. But my 2nd grade boy is really sporty and at this point there aren't enough hours in the week to do all of the sports. All things being equal, how do I figure out which sports are most desired for boys for, say,college admissions? For example, he's been invited to be on a competition gymnastics team, but it is a lot of hours per week. He also likes baseball, soccer, wrestling, running. And he seems to enjoy them all equally. How did you help your kid choose, or did you just let them do 2 + hours of sports per day, every day?

The best kids at 8-12 are 99 percent of the time not the best at 17-18 so throw that college admission pipe dream out the window right now

Disagree. The kids that are the best at 17-18 were also athletic and fell anywhere from very good to the best. I've been around youth sports in various capacities and rarely see a college athlete that was a dud as an 8-12 yo. Obviously, there are also plenty of kids that were very good to the best at 8-12 end up at the same place as the kids who were never any good.

OP, my view is let your kid play as many sports as they want and you can afford (both time and money) to support for as long as possible. I don't think any of the sports you listed are early specialization sports. I'm not a big soccer player, but it does seem like a sport that requires a big commitment, but at that age, you should be able to play club soccer + other sports.

This is not really true for kids who are taller and take longer to grow into their body and physical coordination. My nephew seemed pretty spastic in elementary years and ended up 6-6 and played D1 basketball. So go figure.

I don’t get what sport the original poster is talking about? Perhaps gymnastics or soccer but no way in hell football basketball tennis volleyball

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'll preface this by saying I'm not athletic and have no clue about sports. But my 2nd grade boy is really sporty and at this point there aren't enough hours in the week to do all of the sports. All things being equal, how do I figure out which sports are most desired for boys for, say,college admissions? For example, he's been invited to be on a competition gymnastics team, but it is a lot of hours per week. He also likes baseball, soccer, wrestling, running. And he seems to enjoy them all equally. How did you help your kid choose, or did you just let them do 2 + hours of sports per day, every day?

The best kids at 8-12 are 99 percent of the time not the best at 17-18 so throw that college admission pipe dream out the window right now

Disagree. The kids that are the best at 17-18 were also athletic and fell anywhere from very good to the best. I've been around youth sports in various capacities and rarely see a college athlete that was a dud as an 8-12 yo. Obviously, there are also plenty of kids that were very good to the best at 8-12 end up at the same place as the kids who were never any good.

OP, my view is let your kid play as many sports as they want and you can afford (both time and money) to support for as long as possible. I don't think any of the sports you listed are early specialization sports. I'm not a big soccer player, but it does seem like a sport that requires a big commitment, but at that age, you should be able to play club soccer + other sports.

What I have seen is that if you pair a very athletic kid as young as 8 or 9 with an excellent training program, that kid is very likely to end up an excellent, recruitable player by HS age. PP’s are correct that size or other body type variables are limiting factors for some sports, but not for most. I also recognize that it’s no easy feat to find coaches who can both accurately assess athletic ability in younger kids and provide them outstanding training. But for kids lucky enough to have those traits and end up with great training, I’ve noted burnout is much less of a factor. Burnout is definitely a reason why you don’t see some great youth athletes ending up as top players at older ages.