Advice from parents who have kids really into sports

[Anonymous]

So my 11 year old is super into sports. He plays travel baseball, tennis, golf, and classic soccer (used to play travel) in the spring, in the Fall he plays baseball, soccer, and flag football, in the winter, he conditions for baseball and plays basketball and skis. He loves them all and is decent to very good at each sport. However, we are starting to realize we are reaching a breaking point with the time and his energy level, as well as not really focusing is possibly interfering with his ability to perform in certain sports. When asked, he can't seem to decide what he wants to cut out. His grades are good, but could be better I think. Anyway, a long way of saying, what would you do or did you do with a similarly situated child? I played several sports for fun and one seriously, but seriously when I was in school is a bit different than the all year commitments leagues want from you now. All advice appreciated!

Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Travel is a year-long commitment. So maybe one other rec sport a season, understanding that he may not make every practice/game. The big thing for me would be to avoid injury.

[Anonymous]

We do one sport at a time. Grades come first and I feel like we run around too much as it is for one sport per kid plus other extra curriculars. I'm generally opposed to travel sports. Your kid isn't going pro, he likely won't even get an athletic scholarship. I think its more important to set boundaries and provide balance. You're basically telling your son that sports come before grades, he gets whatever he wants, and the family schedule revolves around him. That's not a decision I'd make.

My advice- pick one sport at a time, preferably different sports to avoid injuries from repetetive muscle use.

[Anonymous]

Skiing should be a once in awhile thing. Flag football is a waste of time. He should decide between travel soccer or baseball and stick with basketball in winter.

If he can't decide between soccer or baseball, have him play travel in one and eventual school team in the other.

[Anonymous]

My 10yo son is a good student and also loves sports.

Our schedule is as follows: in the fall, it's soccer. In winter, it's basketball plus baseball conditioning (one hour per week), in the spring it's baseball and he does swim team in the summer. He also swims once per week for an hour during the fall, winter and spring. I honestly don't know how people do more than one sport during baseball season.

[Anonymous]

My 10 yo can only handle one major sport and one minor sport at a time. So travel soccer and tennis lessons once a week (on Friday so it doesn't interfere with homework).

[Anonymous]

Agree with 10:21 - two formal sports at a time only. You want to go shoot baskets in the driveway after dinner or join an impromptu game of street hockey? Sure. But don't think you'll come back inside saying "That was so much fun; I love hockey!" and think we're going to sign you up for twice a week ice hockey.

[Anonymous]

11 is too early to pick one sport. try not to buy into the hype of picking one sport. my kid does the following

swim year round and also neighborhood swim club in summer
travel soccer fall / spring/ summer camps
winter indoor soccer and basketball
music and choir all year but not in summer

they seem to behappy with that and the coaches are trying to convince us to pick one sport saying they won't be successful in al them, so far, doing well in all with out any struggles

[Anonymous]

As far as being on a team, we can only fit in one for my son because he chose a sport that involves four hours day. four or five days a week commitment, 11 months a year. Everything else he does is just in the neighborhood pick up games and activities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As far as being on a team, we can only fit in one for my son because he chose a sport that involves four hours day. four or five days a week commitment, 11 months a year. Everything else he does is just in the neighborhood pick up games and activities.

I'm curious- what sport requires 20 hours a week, year round?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:11 is too early to pick one sport. try not to buy into the hype of picking one sport. my kid does the following

swim year round and also neighborhood swim club in summer
travel soccer fall / spring/ summer camps
winter indoor soccer and basketball
music and choir all year but not in summer

they seem to behappy with that and the coaches are trying to convince us to pick one sport saying they won't be successful in al them, so far, doing well in all with out any struggles

Um, sounds like soccer and summer is year round for your kid. Seems a lot like what your are preaching OP not to do.

[Anonymous]

He is athletic. He will likely make a high school team is something. I wouldn't worry about this until school. Each season have him try out for one sport.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:11 is too early to pick one sport. try not to buy into the hype of picking one sport. my kid does the following

swim year round and also neighborhood swim club in summer
travel soccer fall / spring/ summer camps
winter indoor soccer and basketball
music and choir all year but not in summer

they seem to behappy with that and the coaches are trying to convince us to pick one sport saying they won't be successful in al them, so far, doing well in all with out any struggles

Um, sounds like soccer and summer is year round for your kid. Seems a lot like what your are preaching OP not to do.

it isn't much each sport is 1 to 3 days a week and never more than an hour practice. a good program will not let the kids practice longer than that. If a kid is practicing more hours a week than they are old it is going to lead to injury.

there are several weeks off a year in soccer, winter is only 6 weeks long and only games on weekends, and summer is 1 practice a week that is optional

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:11 is too early to pick one sport. try not to buy into the hype of picking one sport. my kid does the following

swim year round and also neighborhood swim club in summer
travel soccer fall / spring/ summer camps
winter indoor soccer and basketball
music and choir all year but not in summer

they seem to behappy with that and the coaches are trying to convince us to pick one sport saying they won't be successful in al them, so far, doing well in all with out any struggles

Um, sounds like soccer and summer is year round for your kid. Seems a lot like what your are preaching OP not to do.

it isn't much each sport is 1 to 3 days a week and never more than an hour practice. a good program will not let the kids practice longer than that. If a kid is practicing more hours a week than they are old it is going to lead to injury.

there are several weeks off a year in soccer, winter is only 6 weeks long and only games on weekends, and summer is 1 practice a week that is optional

I'm not that PP but its not really a question of whether or not you can handle the schedule. Your son is doing swimming and soccer year-round with small breaks and basketball in the winter. That's similar to the OP's scenario and a bit much for me, personally. We go with one sport at a time. Fall- football, winter- basketball, spring/summer-baseball. Son is weight-training year round three days a week also.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So my 11 year old is super into sports. He plays travel baseball, tennis, golf, and classic soccer (used to play travel) in the spring, in the Fall he plays baseball, soccer, and flag football, in the winter, he conditions for baseball and plays basketball and skis. He loves them all and is decent to very good at each sport. However, we are starting to realize we are reaching a breaking point with the time and his energy level, as well as not really focusing is possibly interfering with his ability to perform in certain sports. When asked, he can't seem to decide what he wants to cut out. His grades are good, but could be better I think. Anyway, a long way of saying, what would you do or did you do with a similarly situated child? I played several sports for fun and one seriously, but seriously when I was in school is a bit different than the all year commitments leagues want from you now. All advice appreciated!

My DC is the same age and also participates in many sports. DC has started narrowing down, mostly by schedule. When we found that DC always chose soccer over swim, when there was a conflict (and as they age there are more and more conflicts), we had a long talk about how DC could still swim for fun, but if DC wasn't going to be able to give the team a good effort it wasn't fair to take a spot someone else might love to have. When we make these shifts, we agree to try it for a year/season and then decide what to do next year/season - nothing is forever. I still think DC has too many sports but I also don't have a problem with an 11 year old wanting to do lots of different things. It's a process.