Soccer is a good one to start with because you can usually find a low key neighborhood team, and because it doesn't require a lot of specialized equipment. Swimming is another good one because it's a useful skill to have.

Beyond that, it's nice to add sports that the adults in the family enjoy. For us that was skating, skiing, and hiking. Or sports that have close by cheap options so you can try a season without a big financial or time commitment.

Since your kid is expressing interest in soccer, go with soccer.

Swimming is a life skill. He needs to know how to swim. It doesn't hurt to look for swim lessons at a place that also offers a swim team so he can transition to that if he wants to.

Ask the parents of his friends what sports or activities they are doing. You'll be able to get personal recommendations that way. He might like gymnastics but hate baseball. I sent my kids to a sports oriented daycamp when they were little. It introduced them to tennis, martial arts, kick ball, soccer, baseball, all sorts of things. Through his friends he might find out about archery and horse back riding.

Look at what your local rec council has to offer, as well as the surrounding rec councils.

Don't try and aim for scholarships. Participate in sports because it's fun and a healthy habit.

Anonymous wrote:lol at scholarship potential. Sorry OP but that is funny. Where do you live? most areas have cheap rec programs for soccer.

Not for OPs DS but apparently scholarship money for women golf is the easiest to get because it the cheapest way to colleges to get into Title IX compliance with recruiting and funding female athletes. I only know this because my niece is a competitive golfer at age 10 before my sister knew this but her coaches have all said the same thing.

Try a variety of sports, a different one each season. Delay year-round specialization as long as possible. I'd start with Fall soccer, winter basketball, spring baseball, summer swimming.

Soccer is good (we did Soccer Super stars and I thought it was very well run for little kids).
Gymnastics are popular too. Lots of people do Silver Stars in Silver Spring.
Also, some of the crossfit gyms have little kid crossfit. My almost 4 year old LOVES it. Its lot of games,jumping, balancing and running. It is pricey though. There is a drop in class at Petworth Crossfit on Tuesdays at 4:30 for 3-5 year olds.

if the kid hasn't expressed an interest yet, try a few things out.

think about sports the kid can play anywhere, like basketball. And everyone plays soccer so that too.

I think basketball, swimming, and tennis are good because I wish I had played them.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So, my oldest is 4 and probably still has some time before starting sport activities. I grew up without playing any sports, which was common for the area of the US I grew up (rural). I would like to enroll in DS in sports and want him to experience several different kinds of sports during elementary school and maybe settle on one or two later down the road. When should I enroll him? And for what sport? Right now, he is interested in soccer. What are some other sports that are good for kids to try? Something with scholarship potential (swimming? tennis?) or that can be useful later on down the road (golf? maybe when he gets older?) would be good. Ofcourse he will pick whatever sports he wants to try and continue with whichever ones he enjoys, but I do want to give him some options.

If you saved the amount of money you invested in private instruction and the like, you could pay for college in 14 years, so don't do this to chase a scholarship. Do it only if kiddo likes it.

+100. If you have the money to blow, pay for all the lessons the kid wants. There are lots of fun adult leagues that are fun. I know lots of 40 year olds still playing soccer and tennis. Hell I know 60 and 70 y/os playing tennis.

If you can't afford to pay for your dc's college, do not count on sports as a way to get there. I know so many parents who have spent more than the cost of their kids college years who regret it. Op take advantage to ask any parents of college age kids who were active on travel teams about the financial aspects.

lol at scholarship potential. Sorry OP but that is funny. Where do you live? most areas have cheap rec programs for soccer.

Anonymous wrote:So, my oldest is 4 and probably still has some time before starting sport activities. I grew up without playing any sports, which was common for the area of the US I grew up (rural). I would like to enroll in DS in sports and want him to experience several different kinds of sports during elementary school and maybe settle on one or two later down the road. When should I enroll him? And for what sport? Right now, he is interested in soccer. What are some other sports that are good for kids to try? Something with scholarship potential (swimming? tennis?) or that can be useful later on down the road (golf? maybe when he gets older?) would be good. Ofcourse he will pick whatever sports he wants to try and continue with whichever ones he enjoys, but I do want to give him some options.

Yes, you are very new to this. The probability of any kid getting scholarship money for any sport is amazingly small.

Just sign your kid up for a sport you think he'd have fun playing. You are WAY overthinking this.

Anonymous wrote:So, my oldest is 4 and probably still has some time before starting sport activities. I grew up without playing any sports, which was common for the area of the US I grew up (rural). I would like to enroll in DS in sports and want him to experience several different kinds of sports during elementary school and maybe settle on one or two later down the road. When should I enroll him? And for what sport? Right now, he is interested in soccer. What are some other sports that are good for kids to try? Something with scholarship potential (swimming? tennis?) or that can be useful later on down the road (golf? maybe when he gets older?) would be good. Ofcourse he will pick whatever sports he wants to try and continue with whichever ones he enjoys, but I do want to give him some options.

If you saved the amount of money you invested in private instruction and the like, you could pay for college in 14 years, so don't do this to chase a scholarship. Do it only if kiddo likes it.

you do realize they have a better chance of a full ride academically than in sports...............

Do not sign your kid up for sports because of scholarship potential. I know someone who did this and I feel sorry for their kid. They will most likely spend more trying to get them the scholarship than the potential scholarship itself. Start with soccer and keep it simple.

Where do you live, OP? For now, you could see what your county (or city) has to offer in terms of rec classes. We tried a bunch of sports (soccer, basketball, t-ball, tumbling, lacrosse) before my daughter went to elementary. Then we joined a soccer team through the county with other kids from her school - it's been a nice way to get to know the other families better. We considered doing softball in the spring but in our county, soccer and softball are both two season sports. (there is basketball in the winter.) You might want to put some swimming lessons in the mix, too, for pool safety.

Our county offers tennis lessons too, but we haven't tried them yet. You can look into golf at the local golf courses like East Potomac Park or Oak Marr. Or hockey at the local ice rinks, like Kettler.

So, my oldest is 4 and probably still has some time before starting sport activities. I grew up without playing any sports, which was common for the area of the US I grew up (rural). I would like to enroll in DS in sports and want him to experience several different kinds of sports during elementary school and maybe settle on one or two later down the road. When should I enroll him? And for what sport? Right now, he is interested in soccer. What are some other sports that are good for kids to try? Something with scholarship potential (swimming? tennis?) or that can be useful later on down the road (golf? maybe when he gets older?) would be good. Ofcourse he will pick whatever sports he wants to try and continue with whichever ones he enjoys, but I do want to give him some options.