Sports for short boys
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Anonymous
| Fwiw OP and others, I have a crazy tall 10yo and he is the least athletic kid in his class. I see tons of his friends and classmates who are half his size and seem to be great at team sports, especially soccer. I keep trying to keep my son playing something so that he will still have the option if he gets more interested in sports later on, but just wanted to let you know that height isn't all it's cracked up to be. |
Anonymous
Same here. My son's very high level U14 soccer team has a central midfielder who is nowhere close to 5 ft tall and probably weighs 75 lbs at 13. He has always been tiny and has compensated by focusing heavily on skills. He does get pushed around a bit, but is generally able to use his moves and speed to fly by bigger guys. I second others' recommendations to get him to a skills clinic and emphasize the importance of practicing skills at home. If he is committed to putting in the extra practice time, he should start to see success on the field within a year or two no matter the relative size of his opponents. He should also focus on getting on involved with a team or club that emphasizes a possession style of soccer. |
Anonymous
If you don't have a local club available, you could start with jiu jitsu and then he can join the wrestling team in middle school. My kids take a martial arts class that teaches both karate and jiu jitsu and they LOVE jiu jitsu. It's by far their favorite part of the class. |
Anonymous
| Thanks everyone. I know he will have a chance to try out a lot of these sports at camp which is good. To the fencing poster- aren't his short arms a problem with trying to hit the target? I would think his short reach would make it near impossible to score points. To the PPs- I am glad some short kids you know are doing well in team sports like soccer but my son just didn't. Even running at full speed, the other kids ran right past him. The boys on his rec team ranged from appr. 4 inches taller to 7-8 inches taller than him. They were all in his grade too and my son has a March birthday so he wasn't the youngest kid on the team. There is only one rec team in our area and he would have to try out for the travel team (he wouldn't agree to it b/c he knows he isn't any good). I think he just wants to play a sport to fit in and be semi decent at it. I can't blame him. Hopefully, a sport at camp might peak his interest. Thanks all! |
Anonymous
| My small 10 year old boy has done really well with cross country and tennis. |
Anonymous
I am the poster with the 106 wrestler. He did jujitsu when he was young. Beloved it, you fight on the ground. It teaches a lot more than fighting. Love jujitsu. |
Anonymous
+1. Or gymnastics, diving or speed skating. |
Anonymous
It shouldn't be. I trained a lot on my footwork and probably had the best footspeed on my team. Generally, the bigger/taller fencers were a good deal slower, so the fact that they might have a little reach reach on me wasn't a handicap. Also, less height means it's easier to make your opponents miss. FWIW when I competed, the the guy who was winning NCAAs the most was 5'7" and the best fencer in the southeast was 5'6", so being short can be an advantage. |
Anonymous
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What sports or skills does your son enjoy, OP? Maybe start with that. Does he like running? Rough-housing? Throwing a ball? Kicking a ball? Short men are great jockeys, but given that you're looking for something he enjoys now, presumably not a sport he'll do in college or for a living, seems better to focus on what he has fun doing.
FWIW, I've got three boys and if I pushed them into sports that fit their body sizes or skills at certain ages, they might not be as active now as they are One hated all team sports, so I let him be and he found biking and rock climbing on his own in college. My 13-year-old is short, but does great in basketball and soccer -- sure he's not going to be a superstar, but so what? You're only young once. He has fun with his friends and has learned a lot from team sports. My other son plays tons of sports and has always been fast, but I didn't want him anywhere near a track until HS. Now it's a brand new sport to him and he loves it. I think wrestling is sort of like that too -- better saved for HS. Lots of kids do crazy things to make weight limits and that can stunt growth. Contrary to what people think getting in to a sport while you're young does not always infer an advantage. Developing overall athleticism does. |
Anonymous
| Poll: do you think a guy needs to be tall to truly excel at baseball? I mean in high school and beyond. |
Anonymous
| I get what you're saying about what your son wants, OP. But as my husband always reminds me, none of the kids on any team that my kids play on here in Bethesda MD are ever going to be professional basketball players. There's only a minute chance he would ever play with or against someone who is going to be good enough to win a college scholarship. So let him play whatever he enjoys and don't let anyone take it too seriously. |
Anonymous
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DH and his brother are both excellent tennis players. They were top players in high school and one went on to play in college. Both are under 5'7".
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Anonymous
| Op, the kids around you must drink hormone infused milk, bc my almost 10 yr old DS is 53 inches and 55 lbs, and is squarely middle of the pack (he is thinner than most but I think you are more focused on height). Also he is no standout on any sports team but that is a result of him not being very athletic not his size. I agree with the advice to encourage your son to pick a sport and stick with it - play on a team but also do clinics, camps - that will give him the best shot at bring decent at a sport. Who knows what his size will eventually be - why limit him to sports based on his physique at age 8?? |
Anonymous
I know that there is in Montgomery County if that's where you happen to be. |
Anonymous
| gymnastics is great for my 48 inch DS age 10 |