One of the best players on our very good Rec team never played before joining us in 3rd grade. She works hard, is naturally athletic and has excellent instincts. I have girls who have played for five years who are nowhere near as good. That said, it can be tough at this age because they start to play positions- agree that a clinic or camp might be a good idea before the season starts.

Anonymous wrote:soccer is just running after a ball at 8 years old. You don't need any special skills.

Tell that to the ones juggling for a solid 3-6 minutes. That is not chasing.

DS started at 8 and moved to developmental after 2 seasons in rec.

Rec is low key and you simply sign up.

That said, I'd try to sign her up for some winter clinics or early season clinic so she doesn't feel like she's far behind the others on the team. She'll catch up quickly enough, but it's no fun to be the worst one on the team, even if for only half a season.

soccer is just running after a ball at 8 years old. You don't need any special skills.

op here
Thanks all, especially those who mentioned their own kids doing fine after a late start.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Something is really wrong if we think 8 is too late to start playing any sport.

This. I'm sorry, but the person talking about kids reaching their full potential is nuts.

99.9% of us are not raising Simone Biles.

You completely misunderstood the point. Every kid has their potential. Some sports do require a earlier head start than others. Just go and take a 8 year old who has never ice skated to a ice hockey tryout and tell me they are not behind.

Does this mean that they cannot learn to skate and play? No, but will that kid end up as good a hockey player had they learned to skate and play at a younger age? NO. The kids potential is their own. The same kid could have started skating at two years old and they still did not have the potential to play in a high level.

The point is, that at 8 years old, STARTING soccer expect the player to be behind other players. Other players will be in a similar boat too. But if you understand that your kid is naturally behind due to a lack of experience you can manage frustration and expectations which is important to making sure the kid is having fun and learning.