Anyone have a kid who never did soccer?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid has never been particularly interested in soccer. She's 6. She has several other activities, including dance and swim, that she really enjoys. Everyone does soccer and I'm feeling guilty that we haven't done it. She's also never done a team sport and I feel like that would be useful, but just don't know that soccer is the right option for her -- while she can play, bike, and dance for hours, she gets tired after running for like 5 minutes.

Should we do soccer anyway even though she doesn't have any interest and (I anticipate) won't like it? To get her team sport experience and to stretch her endurance and skill set? Or should we double down on the stuff she already does and really likes?

If your kid never did soccer, did you regret it? Anyone else thinking about skipping it?

Two of my kids never did it. One did it for a season and dropped it.

They are normal happy healthy kids.

[Anonymous]

My kids tried one season back when they were really little (4 maybe?) they hated it and we never went back. They’re 12 and 14 now.

[Anonymous]

We tried soccer but neither DS nor DD were interested. We have not tried any other team sport since (DD does ballet and gymnastics and DS does tennis and martial arts).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Nope. No swim team, either. Mine play baseball for now.

Same for us, two boys 9 and 11. FWIW, I never played a team sport in my life and I turned out ok. My parents had a rule that we had to do something but never forced us to do sports. I always did scouts and a little dance. Sports was not my thing.

[Anonymous]

I’m shocked at how popular kids soccer is given how adult professional soccer is proportionately not nearly as popular as other sports in the US

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I never saw a point to sports. My kids are thin and healthy, and I don't feel like shuttling them around to useless activities. To be honest no childhood activities pay off as an adult, except maybe music if you're really into it (just for fun)

here are the benefits of sports although you don't have to do soccer.

https://solvibrations.org/benefits-of-sports/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I never saw a point to sports. My kids are thin and healthy, and I don't feel like shuttling them around to useless activities. To be honest no childhood activities pay off as an adult, except maybe music if you're really into it (just for fun)

One of my kids got an athletic scholarship to a top 15 university that covered the entire cost of 3 out of 4 years. My eldest met her husband playing pick up soccer in an adult league. We’re pretty happy with the payoff from these childhood activities, though we also think that all sports are beneficial for their own sake.

[Anonymous]

Our almost 10 year old tried soccer for the first time last fall. Then she loved it and wanted to play in the spring / do some soccer camp this summer. We’d kicked the ball around with her here and there, but the interest really came out of the blue. (My husband never played but likes watching it. I played to 8th grade.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’d certainly let her try soccer. My kids aren’t naturally athletic but I love them being outside and running around! Team sports are fun and good for kids. Plus soccer is one of the cheapest activities kids do.

Sign her up and let her try.

+1. I love seeing kids running around outside. I’m another outlier who encourages you to sign her up and see how the fall goes. There really is no reason not to at least expose her to team sports. And again, it’s outside and in the fall weather. There’s no downside to trying.

Some of us value our family's time. YMMV.

OP, she absolutely does not need to play soccer unless *she* asks to.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I never saw a point to sports. My kids are thin and healthy, and I don't feel like shuttling them around to useless activities. To be honest no childhood activities pay off as an adult, except maybe music if you're really into it (just for fun)

here are the benefits of sports although you don't have to do soccer.

https://solvibrations.org/benefits-of-sports/

"Solvibrations dot org?"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I never saw a point to sports. My kids are thin and healthy, and I don't feel like shuttling them around to useless activities. To be honest no childhood activities pay off as an adult, except maybe music if you're really into it (just for fun)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I never saw a point to sports. My kids are thin and healthy, and I don't feel like shuttling them around to useless activities. To be honest no childhood activities pay off as an adult, except maybe music if you're really into it (just for fun)

I’ve seen a bunch of dumb comments on here but this might take the cake

[Anonymous]

My youngest is 16 and never did soccer. He did other sports, but not soccer.
I have no regrets. Soccer is extremely competitive and just look at how Jeff has had to put posting restrictions on the soccer forum here! Glad I'm not involved in that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I never saw a point to sports. My kids are thin and healthy, and I don't feel like shuttling them around to useless activities. To be honest no childhood activities pay off as an adult, except maybe music if you're really into it (just for fun)

This is just not true. My parents forced me to do sports I didn't want to do for most of my childhood. They said I'd thank them someday. As an adult those sports are now my favorite hobbies, and I am thankful I can do them because it keeps me fit and it's been a great way to make friends anywhere I go. The number of opportunities I've had just due to sports are countless. So now I'm making my kid do the same sports, and I'm sure someday it will pay off for him too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My youngest is 16 and never did soccer. He did other sports, but not soccer.
I have no regrets. Soccer is extremely competitive and just look at how Jeff has had to put posting restrictions on the soccer forum here! Glad I'm not involved in that.

Good point. I don’t get the soccer craze for kids. I lump it in with dance and gymnastics and how so many girl moms pick that for their daughters. Terrible culture. Few adults keep up with these activities. In fact many don’t even do these sports after middle school. It’s as if parents are picking sports that they think will make their kid somehow more popular