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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Volleyball!  They don't really start until 5th grade.  I know because I have the 9 y.o. who has wanted to do it for two years now.[/quote]
Good call (and great sport). [b]The folks saying tennis have no clue -- huge advantage for early starters.[/b] [/quote]
Given the responses on this thread, it seems like it might be more helpful for OP or others who have the same question to hear about what seems to be the relatively smaller number of sports that might be hard (though by no means impossible for the athletically gifted) to break into later because of the advantage for early starters that PP identified.

PP mentionted tennis.  I'd add soccer, basketball, and hockey, all of which require skills that take a long time to fully develop.[/quote]

The problem with tennis, as many adults have figured out, is that there's a huge learning curve, and since it's not a team sport (normally), you're out there on your own so can't get your bearings while play continues around you. If you can't rally and play games with some level of skill, it's not fun. You just end up chasing balls all over the place. Many kids don't have the attention span to get past the learning-to-rally stage.

Kids' USTA/tournament tennis is no less crazy than other junior sports. Some of the parents are really cut-throat, and I've seen really egregious cheating by kids who appear to be egged on by horrible parents. My kids love tennis, though. One didn't start playing tennis till he was 10 and he now plays tournaments and is on the varsity team at school.

As for high school tennis, there are usually only 7 spots on the team (3 singles players, 2 doubles teams), so even in small schools it can be tough to get a spot. That said, a really good athlete who has some key skills (a soccer or basketball player with good footwork, a squash player with great eye-hand coordination, etc.) can certainly succeed as a tennis player with enough work.

The big upside to tennis is that there are free public courts everywhere, and once you've learned, it's truly a lifetime sport. I know people in their 80s who still play doubles several times a week, and I know several who play in wheelchairs. For that reason alone, it's a great sport to pursue at any age.

For a child starting "late," the best sport is one that he/she really enjoys. Even better if it's one that doesn't cut players in high school, i.e., one that easily supports a large squad: cross country and track are the typical examples.

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