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.

Anonymous wrote:Softball

+1 and it is fun into adulthood

Tennis, bike racing, mountain bike racing.

I think you can find "low stress" sports. I recently signed my 9 year old up for a once a week tap class. The studio marketed itself as a "dance for kids who do other thing" - it's once a week and in 10 week session - vs other dance that wants you multiple days and the whole year.

Throw her in 2 or 3 things now and let her lead from there. At her age I did dance and soccer. When I was 13 I dropped soccer, kept dance, and added track. I ran track in college.

swimming
karate
fencing

Usually, sports like baseball/softball, soccer, football, basketball, gymnastics, ice hockey, cheer are sports that kids start young and get competitive in. If your kid is ever interested, there are sports clinics that can prep her on the basics. Also, some schools have no cut policies.

But I think you need to follow her lead--if she's interested in something then pursue it.

golf, rock climbing, kayaking

Anonymous wrote:
We are not into team sports. My 9 year old started ballet. I want him to try yoga as well.
He has a girl friend who started competitive gym at 10, but she had a ballet background.

Boys who are athletic and coordinated can start gymnastics late (up to 10-11 or so) and do well. There isn't a rush to beat puberty like there is for girls. There's a lot the boys can't do until they start developing bigger muscles around puberty.

We are not into team sports. My 9 year old started ballet. I want him to try yoga as well.
He has a girl friend who started competitive gym at 10, but she had a ballet background.

Softball

Tennis?

Also, field hockey.

Track, cross country

If she isn't interested, then don't force it, no matter how talented she is. She can start any sport later in life.

My 9 year old is very athletic and active, but not very focused. She has played a couple of different sports, but isn't so "into" anything that she wants to really commit to practices, etc. I think this is fine -- she's still so young and pretty immature, and I think it's a little surprising that there are so many 8 and 9 years olds that are willing to dedicate themselves seriously to a sport. BUT I do worry that she will be shut out of all the sports by middle school or high school because all the kids have been playing competitively for so long. I was totally not athletic as a kid, so this wasn't an issue for me, and I'm fine with the idea of a kid never being on any sports team. But she's fast and strong and very active, so I do think she'll want to do something, once she gets the maturity to want to focus on something. Are there sports that one can jump into at age 12-14 -- in this area of the country -- where there are a lot of beginners? (And which hopefully do not require a ton of travel or expensive equipment, like horse-riding or something like that...)