Looking for physical activity for my 11 year old son who recently quit soccer

[Anonymous]

The OP's son reminds me of my 13.5 year old. Not a team sport/ball sport kind of kid.

He really enjoyed trampoline classes at Dynamite in Rockville, although he quit those because we had too many after-school activities and he didn't want to drop other stuff he was involved in.

He is now in his second year of rowing through the Washington Rowing School, which rows out of the waterfront park in Bladensburg on the Anacostia. DS has really blossomed -- he has always loved kayaking, canoeing, etc. and really took to rowing. There is a huge teamwork aspect to rowing sweeps and it's very egalitarian in that rowing sweeps prioritizes everyone working together in unison. The kids can start in middle school (6th grade) and learn to scull (two oars, one boat) as well as row sweeps. The kids also learn to cox.

It's a heck of a time commitment -- we only do twice a week on weekends but during rowing season that's like 4 hours each weekend day, plus regattas which are all-day. But the nice thing is that it's a sport that kids can't start when they're three (unlike soccer or Little League) so they are all starting out at the same level. The team is co-ed and mixed-age which is a great thing in my mind.

[Anonymous]

You can look on the mid-Atlantic Bicycling Racing Association website for local biking clubs/teams (http://www.mabra.org/mabra-clubs.html). I see, for example, that the National Capital Velo club (http://www.ncvc.net) has a junior team. I think 11 is pretty young to join a racing team, unless your kid has some experience. I think it would be good to encourage your kid to ride a lot and even teach them local paths so he can go out with you or friends.