Anonymous
Post 08/02/2025 10:31     Subject: How long do you drive for your kids' sports?
Soccer parent here. We had a son who played, now in college and a DD who is rising U17.

When they were U-Littles, we played with the closest club which was no more than 10 to 15 minutes from our house.

As DS got older, he moved to a different club that doubled our drive time and we pulled over DD over to the same club. It always seemed that there practices never overlapped, so it was divide and conquer.

DD is now driving and her practices are anywhere from 5 minutes to 40 minutes depending on the fields that they are using.

Games if local are 20 minutes to 6 hours if out of town - this is ECNL.
Anonymous
Post 08/01/2025 08:14     Subject: How long do you drive for your kids' sports?
90 minutes for practice 4x per week.

90 minutes to 6 hours for games.
Anonymous
Post 07/31/2025 20:52     Subject: How long do you drive for your kids' sports?
Anonymous wrote:For soccer- families on our team are driving from Waldorf/La Plata/Calvert County to McLean 4 days a week. To me that is insanity


I could only see this if you were on an Academy team (meaning you are on a pro trajectory).

What is in McLean that anyone would drive those distances?
Anonymous
Post 07/31/2025 20:04     Subject: How long do you drive for your kids' sports?
For soccer- families on our team are driving from Waldorf/La Plata/Calvert County to McLean 4 days a week. To me that is insanity
Anonymous
Post 07/31/2025 14:30     Subject: How long do you drive for your kids' sports?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:My DD just turned 10 and has been in competitive gymnastics for 4 years. We just switched to a different gym. Original gym was 35-40 minutes after school and 25-20 minutes on the way back, and we did that 3-4x/week for 4 years. New gym is a slightly shorter drive.

We did not switch for the drive. We switched for the culture. If you have even the tiniest inkling that you don't like the current gym, you should consider a switch. My DD was spending 16 hours/week with coaches and teammates and by the end we realized that her coaches- at a gym that had originally been really modern and positive- had become really negative and were also not great at coaching. And her teammates had followed and were becoming backstabby and unspportive.

The difference in culture at the new gym is shocking- in a good way. If your kid is doing gymnastics, there are so many bad things about the sport and its culture that it is worth the extra time driving to find the most positive place possible.

Also I would love to know where this PP with "all levels in just about every sport within 10 minutes" lives. Find me a place with competitive diving, optionals gymnastics, a summer swim team, and recreational track and field and get back to me with coordinates so I can move there, please. Sounds like a fantasy or some carefully chosen sports.


Not PP, but there are 2 competitive gyms within 10 minutes of my house, 3 summer swim teams within 5 minutes (and if you expand to 15 minutes you can pick up at least 2, maybe 3 more), summer diving within 5 minutes at one of the same pools as the swim team, winter swim/dive within 15 minutes but 10 if you hit the lights just right. Recreational track's closer to 15-20 minutes though. Same with recreational cheer. Competitive cheer can be found at one of the gyms.

In addition I have rec baseball within 10 minutes, multiple rec softball leagues within 10 minutes, travel for both within 15 (depending on field assigned), rec and travel soccer within 15 minutes (depending on field assigned). Rec lacrosse might take a hair over 10 minutes. Rec basketball and volleyball can both be found within 10 minutes, and same for travel volleyball. Travel basketball is a bit further out.

I never thought I lived in a sports mecca, but apparently here we are.


You probably don't live in a sports mecca...but rather just a popular neighborhood close to the city in general. I was PP from Bethesda that essentially posted the same thing, though I am not as familiar with sports like gymnastics or diving.

Only reason I suspect you aren't in a place like Bethesda is because there are probably 10 travel basketball teams (including the very best in the country at the HS level) within 10 miles of where I live.
Anonymous
Post 07/31/2025 13:13     Subject: How long do you drive for your kids' sports?
Anonymous wrote:If she tried it because of friends, can you carpool?

I personally limit to good enough/20 minutes, but would expand that if we could count on a good carpool.

This.

I’m about to start driving 25-30 mins for soccer for my 13yo in a few weeks.
I’ve carpooled to other stuff but for this one no one lives near us
Anonymous
Post 07/31/2025 13:05     Subject: How long do you drive for your kids' sports?
Depends on traffic, but 25-40 minutes each way.
Anonymous
Post 07/31/2025 13:04     Subject: How long do you drive for your kids' sports?
Anonymous wrote:My DD just turned 10 and has been in competitive gymnastics for 4 years. We just switched to a different gym. Original gym was 35-40 minutes after school and 25-20 minutes on the way back, and we did that 3-4x/week for 4 years. New gym is a slightly shorter drive.

We did not switch for the drive. We switched for the culture. If you have even the tiniest inkling that you don't like the current gym, you should consider a switch. My DD was spending 16 hours/week with coaches and teammates and by the end we realized that her coaches- at a gym that had originally been really modern and positive- had become really negative and were also not great at coaching. And her teammates had followed and were becoming backstabby and unspportive.

The difference in culture at the new gym is shocking- in a good way. If your kid is doing gymnastics, there are so many bad things about the sport and its culture that it is worth the extra time driving to find the most positive place possible.

Also I would love to know where this PP with "all levels in just about every sport within 10 minutes" lives. Find me a place with competitive diving, optionals gymnastics, a summer swim team, and recreational track and field and get back to me with coordinates so I can move there, please. Sounds like a fantasy or some carefully chosen sports.


Not PP, but there are 2 competitive gyms within 10 minutes of my house, 3 summer swim teams within 5 minutes (and if you expand to 15 minutes you can pick up at least 2, maybe 3 more), summer diving within 5 minutes at one of the same pools as the swim team, winter swim/dive within 15 minutes but 10 if you hit the lights just right. Recreational track's closer to 15-20 minutes though. Same with recreational cheer. Competitive cheer can be found at one of the gyms.

In addition I have rec baseball within 10 minutes, multiple rec softball leagues within 10 minutes, travel for both within 15 (depending on field assigned), rec and travel soccer within 15 minutes (depending on field assigned). Rec lacrosse might take a hair over 10 minutes. Rec basketball and volleyball can both be found within 10 minutes, and same for travel volleyball. Travel basketball is a bit further out.

I never thought I lived in a sports mecca, but apparently here we are.
Anonymous
Post 07/30/2025 17:25     Subject: How long do you drive for your kids' sports?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:My daughter is about to turn 15. The last 3 years we drove 35-45 min each way depending on traffic, 3 times per week plus tournaments. Different sport. 2/3 years we had a carpool. Last year was very hard because we didn’t have anyone to carpool with. Even without it, it’s a lot of time in the car.

If you can avoid this at the young ages I would find a place closer to home. It’s one thing for the kids but a lot of the parents. Like many others, I would bring my laptop there and get some work done but everything else in the house feels the strain (laundry, basic cooking, dishes, other kids…)


which sport


Volleyball. For those saying to be a parent, just do it… We do, but you need to balance having a job if you work outside the home and your other kids. Practices get later the older the kids are too. And they still need to get up and go to school. 45 min away is a lot for them and me when some of these get out at 10pm. All of this factors in to where she attends tryouts year to year now.


thats so true boo


And the express lane fees. Don’t forget those. Sometimes the choice is an hour+ in the car or 25 min plus unlimited fees. The cost is real and you don’t always know the practice time at tryouts. This is what the teen years has in store with competitive teams for some sports. Hold off as long as you can.
Anonymous
Post 07/30/2025 11:18     Subject: How long do you drive for your kids' sports?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:My daughter is about to turn 15. The last 3 years we drove 35-45 min each way depending on traffic, 3 times per week plus tournaments. Different sport. 2/3 years we had a carpool. Last year was very hard because we didn’t have anyone to carpool with. Even without it, it’s a lot of time in the car.

If you can avoid this at the young ages I would find a place closer to home. It’s one thing for the kids but a lot of the parents. Like many others, I would bring my laptop there and get some work done but everything else in the house feels the strain (laundry, basic cooking, dishes, other kids…)


which sport


Volleyball. For those saying to be a parent, just do it… We do, but you need to balance having a job if you work outside the home and your other kids. Practices get later the older the kids are too. And they still need to get up and go to school. 45 min away is a lot for them and me when some of these get out at 10pm. All of this factors in to where she attends tryouts year to year now.


thats so true boo
Anonymous
Post 07/30/2025 11:02     Subject: How long do you drive for your kids' sports?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:My daughter is about to turn 15. The last 3 years we drove 35-45 min each way depending on traffic, 3 times per week plus tournaments. Different sport. 2/3 years we had a carpool. Last year was very hard because we didn’t have anyone to carpool with. Even without it, it’s a lot of time in the car.

If you can avoid this at the young ages I would find a place closer to home. It’s one thing for the kids but a lot of the parents. Like many others, I would bring my laptop there and get some work done but everything else in the house feels the strain (laundry, basic cooking, dishes, other kids…)


which sport


Volleyball. For those saying to be a parent, just do it… We do, but you need to balance having a job if you work outside the home and your other kids. Practices get later the older the kids are too. And they still need to get up and go to school. 45 min away is a lot for them and me when some of these get out at 10pm. All of this factors in to where she attends tryouts year to year now.
Anonymous
Post 07/29/2025 19:50     Subject: How long do you drive for your kids' sports?
Anonymous wrote:My DD just turned 10 and has been in competitive gymnastics for 4 years. We just switched to a different gym. Original gym was 35-40 minutes after school and 25-20 minutes on the way back, and we did that 3-4x/week for 4 years. New gym is a slightly shorter drive.

We did not switch for the drive. We switched for the culture. If you have even the tiniest inkling that you don't like the current gym, you should consider a switch. My DD was spending 16 hours/week with coaches and teammates and by the end we realized that her coaches- at a gym that had originally been really modern and positive- had become really negative and were also not great at coaching. And her teammates had followed and were becoming backstabby and unspportive.

The difference in culture at the new gym is shocking- in a good way. If your kid is doing gymnastics, there are so many bad things about the sport and its culture that it is worth the extra time driving to find the most positive place possible.

Also I would love to know where this PP with "all levels in just about every sport within 10 minutes" lives. Find me a place with competitive diving, optionals gymnastics, a summer swim team, and recreational track and field and get back to me with coordinates so I can move there, please. Sounds like a fantasy or some carefully chosen sports.


I don’t know gymnastics, but Bethesda has many clubs/teams for summer swim, I don’t know what recreational track and field is…several track and field/running clubs around here…multiple baseball, soccer and lax club teams of different levels. Football if kids want to do that is available reasonably close. There are diving teams but unclear how competitive they are in the grand scheme.

Anonymous
Post 07/29/2025 19:30     Subject: How long do you drive for your kids' sports?
My DD just turned 10 and has been in competitive gymnastics for 4 years. We just switched to a different gym. Original gym was 35-40 minutes after school and 25-20 minutes on the way back, and we did that 3-4x/week for 4 years. New gym is a slightly shorter drive.

We did not switch for the drive. We switched for the culture. If you have even the tiniest inkling that you don't like the current gym, you should consider a switch. My DD was spending 16 hours/week with coaches and teammates and by the end we realized that her coaches- at a gym that had originally been really modern and positive- had become really negative and were also not great at coaching. And her teammates had followed and were becoming backstabby and unspportive.

The difference in culture at the new gym is shocking- in a good way. If your kid is doing gymnastics, there are so many bad things about the sport and its culture that it is worth the extra time driving to find the most positive place possible.

Also I would love to know where this PP with "all levels in just about every sport within 10 minutes" lives. Find me a place with competitive diving, optionals gymnastics, a summer swim team, and recreational track and field and get back to me with coordinates so I can move there, please. Sounds like a fantasy or some carefully chosen sports.
Anonymous
Post 07/29/2025 17:45     Subject: How long do you drive for your kids' sports?
Anonymous wrote:Why even be a parent if you're going to be a lazy one, you know? Lean in!


Or live in an area that has travel teams of all levels in just about every sport within 10 minutes.

Thats the approach we took.
Anonymous
Post 07/29/2025 17:41     Subject: How long do you drive for your kids' sports?
Why even be a parent if you're going to be a lazy one, you know? Lean in!