What sports have the best kids, parents, vibe?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Another for Field Hockey.

Especially at the younger and rec levels field hockey is almost uniformly wonderful.

Once you get to the club level with tryouts that result in lots of cuts, parents in all sports start to resemble one another. Everyone is great when their kid will make the team as long as the check clears and everyone gets equal playing time. When 50 girls show up for 15 spots and only 13 of those 15 will really play, things change. I've seen it across multiple sports with multiple kids and it always holds

This is the absolute truth.

Little league is great when the kids are little and whacking a tee. However, the moment they hit 8 or 10-and then All Stars!!!- it’s like the worst of the worst comes out of the parents. It’s not fun. It’s not relaxed.

It happens like clockwork. Totally normal parents become nutty.

The most important thing is what you want to spend your time doing on the weekends with your kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:ISO engaging activities or sports leagues that my 8-year-old daughter might enjoy this fall. She's not particularly interested in soccer, which seems to be the go-to for many of her school friends. Instead, she enjoys playing tennis casually and has shown curiosity about lacrosse. Are there any lesser-known sports or activities that your kids have enjoyed? Maybe something that combines a bit of learning with physical activity?

My girls who didn't enjoy soccer loved softball. If you're looking for learning, softball has a reputation as "the thinking girls' game." At least in northern Virginia I'd say most of the independent softball leagues are superior to most of the little leagues (McLean Little League being the most notable exception, but some of the others seem to be coming along), DC basically only has little league softball, and I don't know about MD.

Like PPs said, you find pretty chill vibes in rec - usually, there are exceptions - but any time there's an escalation in competition it's hit or miss.

[Anonymous]

In my experience, swim team was the worst (top division). The parents were more than unfriendly, downright hostile. My kids quit, but I still see the parents at the pool and avoid them.

AAU boys basketball has had much worse parents than the girls AAU. Both worse in terms of yelling at refs and their own kida than the high school teams, where the parents were so friendly and generally respectful.

So far, rec flag football is the best, both my son and daughter played. I loved going to their games and hanging out in the bleachers.

[Anonymous]

Another vote for Cross Country and track as good, and for baseball as bad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Another vote for Cross Country and track as good, and for baseball as bad.

For sports like cross county , your kid is either faster than the kid next to them or they aren't. There is no grey area or resentment towards coaches not playing them or playing. That alone removes most of the parent drama

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:wrestling

+1
Seeing the little girls and their dads at wrestling matches is pretty cool. Maybe doesn’t seem like it would be, but it is super inclusive and supportive. And women’s wrestling is the fastest growing sport in the country

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:ISO engaging activities or sports leagues that my 8-year-old daughter might enjoy this fall. She's not particularly interested in soccer, which seems to be the go-to for many of her school friends. Instead, she enjoys playing tennis casually and has shown curiosity about lacrosse. Are there any lesser-known sports or activities that your kids have enjoyed? Maybe something that combines a bit of learning with physical activity?

My girls who didn't enjoy soccer loved softball. If you're looking for learning, softball has a reputation as "the thinking girls' game." At least in northern Virginia I'd say most of the independent softball leagues are superior to most of the little leagues (McLean Little League being the most notable exception, but some of the others seem to be coming along), DC basically only has little league softball, and I don't know about MD.

Like PPs said, you find pretty chill vibes in rec - usually, there are exceptions - but any time there's an escalation in competition it's hit or miss.

Agree, and the parents we've encoutered have been lovely, for the most part.

[Anonymous]

Climbing is a really supportive sport and the parents are chill.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Climbing is a really supportive sport and the parents are chill.

That’s not a sport

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Climbing is a really supportive sport and the parents are chill.

That’s not a sport

What?!?! Rock climbing is totally a sport!!!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Every sport has pockets of supportive parents and pockets of intolerable ones.

This. But in general, rec sports have been wonderful for my kids. We do play soccer, but we have the best teams. Laid back parents, nice kids, it's great. One of my kids played on 2 other teams before this one, and one of those was also great and the other was a complete dud (checked out parents, kids barely showing up bc they played higher level soccer somewhere else etc).

So any sport that has a rec team would be my suggestion.

NP. My worst-ever parent experience was on a rec team. I don’t think rec is universally a good experience. My kids liked it but the rec crazy parents are a special kind of crazy.

[Anonymous]

Water polo!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Synchronized swimming. Very girly. Costumes, makeup. Hotels full of girls wearing costumes and makeup. Lots of people performing swimming routines to girl bands and women’s empowerment music. If you like Girl Scouts, you will love synchro!

Is this a joke? My DD did synchro for a while and the kids and parents were terrifying. I live on the west coast so maybe it's different, but most of the girls on the team were first gen East Asian or Eastern European or Russian and their parents were crazy. There was bribery to get private lessons, parent reps sending secret emails so people wouldn't get access to complete practice schedules, and so on. Parents would stand at the side of the pool deck and film 2-3 hour practices and yell at their children after. None of the girls would talk to each other- they just sat there silently before and after practice.

I'm Asian but my child is second generation and my parents were totally uninvolved in my activities so it was shocking.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Another for Field Hockey.

Especially at the younger and rec levels field hockey is almost uniformly wonderful.

Once you get to the club level with tryouts that result in lots of cuts, parents in all sports start to resemble one another. Everyone is great when their kid will make the team as long as the check clears and everyone gets equal playing time. When 50 girls show up for 15 spots and only 13 of those 15 will really play, things change. I've seen it across multiple sports with multiple kids and it always holds

It goes from chit chat to note taking so fast. Yes, parents who I used to think were sort of friendly and tolerable started taking notes during practice and tryouts. My DH and I couldn't handle it so I stand really far away with a decorative book and he goes for long walks.

[Anonymous]

Someone already suggested climbing, but the other suggestion I had for you no one has yet mentioned: fencing