Do most kids niche down to 1 sport by middle school?

[Anonymous]

Most athletes at our HS plays 2-3 sports at school (different seasons.) Some okay travel for their primary sport, some give up travel by HS.

[Anonymous]

Depending on which high school she goes to girls typically don’t need to do this. My dd plays travel in one sport but was able to make varsity in 2 additional sports by junior year. But it depends on the school and which sports we’re talking about. It’s more about time management than the athletic side.

Boys yes. But not really until sophomore year of high school…

[Anonymous]

Echoing what pp said about boys vs girls. DD was able to continue playing with her club team for her “primary” sport and then also played for her school teams (primary plus two others). She’s a strong athlete so obviously that helps, but the reality is that the school doesn’t have enough girls each season—or maybe just barely does—so she’s been able to continue to play. She has had to miss some practices for her club team but her primary sport takes a pause during the HS season so it’s not been a big deal.

DS on the other hand has had to give up all but his primary sport now that he’s in HS. He played for his school teams every season, rec basketball in the winter, and “primary” club team year round up through middle school. In HS, however, he needs to continue to train and get face time with the coaches year round if he wants to continue to get playing time on his team. It’s sad honestly, but it’s very much an arms race and our friends’ boys have had similar experiences in different sports at different schools. The only exceptions are 1. Boys who go to very small schools with less competitive athletics or 2. Boys who have something (size, strength, skill wise) that coaches are willing to overlook missed training while they juggle another sport or outside team.

[Anonymous]

DD stayed with her low pressure rec soccer team for years, until she was no longer having fun and missing too many games for her main club sport. There is no need to change if your daughter is happy.

My kid is at a highly competitive school and most kids play one sport year round. It’s not healthy. We constantly remind our kid that this should be fun. She has friends at less competitive high schools that play many sports. Take your daughter’s lead and don’t push her into anything for the goal of only playing in HS. Let her do this for enjoyment.

[Anonymous]

I think she'll be fine for HS field hockey. Some girls try field hockey for the first time in high school. As your DD is already playing and knows the rules of the game she will be in a good place for high school. She might want to do a a few weeks of FH camp the summer before high school starts to get ready, but otherwise she should be good to go.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DD stayed with her low pressure rec soccer team for years, until she was no longer having fun and missing too many games for her main club sport. There is no need to change if your daughter is happy.

My kid is at a highly competitive school and most kids play one sport year round. It’s not healthy. We constantly remind our kid that this should be fun. She has friends at less competitive high schools that play many sports. Take your daughter’s lead and don’t push her into anything for the goal of only playing in HS. Let her do this for enjoyment.

My kid has fun competing at the highest level in one sport. Don't be so quick to say what's healthy because it doesn't work for your kid.

[Anonymous]

We know quite a few online schoolers doing one sport starting in 5th grade

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You are using the word niche incorrectly.

+1. Niche is not a verb.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You are using the word niche incorrectly.

+1. Niche is not a verb.

“Niche down” is a term

For sports “specialize” is the usual verbiage.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We know quite a few online schoolers doing one sport starting in 5th grade

What sport?

[Anonymous]

No, not the best athletes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD stayed with her low pressure rec soccer team for years, until she was no longer having fun and missing too many games for her main club sport. There is no need to change if your daughter is happy.

My kid is at a highly competitive school and most kids play one sport year round. It’s not healthy. We constantly remind our kid that this should be fun. She has friends at less competitive high schools that play many sports. Take your daughter’s lead and don’t push her into anything for the goal of only playing in HS. Let her do this for enjoyment.

My kid has fun competing at the highest level in one sport. Don't be so quick to say what's healthy because it doesn't work for your kid.

You are right. The level of stress that MY kid puts on herself, playing the same one sport all year, to try to be the best, is not healthy. We always try to get her to stop and do less. I see some others in her school or outside of school in club doing the same. There are kids who thrive and manage fine.

But for OP, if her child is happy playing multiple sports there is no reason to jump into this lifestyle now to keep up with the sports Joneses.

[Anonymous]

To answer OP- it depends on the level of play at your child’s high school. Some schools are very competitive to get on varsity, others are not. I would find out more about the HS team, with the caveat that team standings can fluctuate year to year depending on a variety of factors.
My own child- recruited FH player
Elementary- club ice hockey (practice 3x week, games 2x week August to March), FH club (practice 1x week, no games, year round), town rec lacrosse (practice 2x week, game 1x week, spring only)
MS- club ice hockey (same schedule as elementary), FH club (practice 2x week, tournaments only, year round)
HS- varsity ice hockey (starter, practice 4x per week, games 2x per week winter only), club ice hockey (practice 1x per week, game 1x per week August to March), varsity FH (starter, practice 4x per week, games 2x per week, Fall only) club FH (practice 1x per week, tournaments only, year round).


Sounds crazy right? She wouldn’t have had it any other way. I often think that competitive athletes just want to do their thing. If she wasn’t doing that, she’d be bored out of her mind. Plus she volunteered every HS season, all honors/AP level classes, 4.0 UW GPA, attends one of the most rigorous NE Boarding schools. It’s possible to do it all, but the kid has to drive the bus on that otherwise they burn out real fast.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To answer OP- it depends on the level of play at your child’s high school. Some schools are very competitive to get on varsity, others are not. I would find out more about the HS team, with the caveat that team standings can fluctuate year to year depending on a variety of factors.
My own child- recruited FH player
Elementary- club ice hockey (practice 3x week, games 2x week August to March), FH club (practice 1x week, no games, year round), town rec lacrosse (practice 2x week, game 1x week, spring only)
MS- club ice hockey (same schedule as elementary), FH club (practice 2x week, tournaments only, year round)
HS- varsity ice hockey (starter, practice 4x per week, games 2x per week winter only), club ice hockey (practice 1x per week, game 1x per week August to March), varsity FH (starter, practice 4x per week, games 2x per week, Fall only) club FH (practice 1x per week, tournaments only, year round).


Sounds crazy right? She wouldn’t have had it any other way. I often think that competitive athletes just want to do their thing. If she wasn’t doing that, she’d be bored out of her mind. Plus she volunteered every HS season, all honors/AP level classes, 4.0 UW GPA, attends one of the most rigorous NE Boarding schools. It’s possible to do it all, but the kid has to drive the bus on that otherwise they burn out real fast.

Would you mind indicating what FH club this is?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To answer OP- it depends on the level of play at your child’s high school. Some schools are very competitive to get on varsity, others are not. I would find out more about the HS team, with the caveat that team standings can fluctuate year to year depending on a variety of factors.
My own child- recruited FH player
Elementary- club ice hockey (practice 3x week, games 2x week August to March), FH club (practice 1x week, no games, year round), town rec lacrosse (practice 2x week, game 1x week, spring only)
MS- club ice hockey (same schedule as elementary), FH club (practice 2x week, tournaments only, year round)
HS- varsity ice hockey (starter, practice 4x per week, games 2x per week winter only), club ice hockey (practice 1x per week, game 1x per week August to March), varsity FH (starter, practice 4x per week, games 2x per week, Fall only) club FH (practice 1x per week, tournaments only, year round).


Sounds crazy right? She wouldn’t have had it any other way. I often think that competitive athletes just want to do their thing. If she wasn’t doing that, she’d be bored out of her mind. Plus she volunteered every HS season, all honors/AP level classes, 4.0 UW GPA, attends one of the most rigorous NE Boarding schools. It’s possible to do it all, but the kid has to drive the bus on that otherwise they burn out real fast.

Oink