Anonymous wrote:There are gyms that specifically help kids with delays master sports skills, ask on the special needs board if you are interested.

One of my sons has low muscle tone/poor motor skills and had several years of OT. He LOVES sports but was truly terrible. One thing that really helped him was classes at a ninja gym--I think the overall strength and balance work translated well to everything else, and he loved it so he was motivated (unlike doing push ups at home with mom or something). We also got a basketball hoop and set up some soccer goals at home. Some kids needs to practice 10x as much as other kids just to be in the mix.

For the sports your son wants to try, ask around to find out who the nicest rec coach is for that league, and request that team.

And your DH needs to step up. Who cares if he likes sports. Its important to your son to be good at it. A parent needs to be outside practicing skills with him religiously every day. Or you can hire an older neighborhood boy to come over and play with him. A kind middle school age boy would love a job like this.

I was going to suggest Ninja Gyms. My DS loves his, he is 8 and ok at sports, but the Ninja gym classes are great. They work on balance, strength, agility, and body control. There is running and fun. The coaches at his gym are great. Maybe look for a Ninja Gym near by and see if they have classes in your sons age range. There are also Ninja teams. The one at my sons gym doesn't seem to require you try out but that you are willing to pay for multiple sessions a week. The competitions are more individual then team based. I think the team concept simply means smaller classes.

NP here. I'm writing to say, it does get better! Unfortunately it could get worse before it gets better though, depending on the peer group.


My son is 17 and went through a similar dynamic for years.

What helped:

***Finding new cohorts of friends / expanding his social world.*** As an adult with a car and a bank account, you may have to do some social engineering to make this happen "organically" in a way a 5 yr old can't. ie, drive him to XYZ boy scouts/church group/art lesson in a distant neighborhood where the people are nicer.

—> Find groups that don't involve sports

*** Starting now, develop the hell out of any other skill-based passion he has, so he sees himself as very competent. This is important to boost self confidence. Art, complex lego kits, cooking, musical instruments, etc.

*** minimize the "sports nut" craziness that he's exposed to in your own home.*** [In our case, Dad is a big pro sports fan who highly values professional athletic ability and is a decent recreational athlete.] Do you -really- need season tix to the Nats? Why are you sitting down as a family to watch random hockey games on TV?

*** As your son matures and can handle frank conversations, be honest about innate ability and its limitations. I was never going to be an Olympic gymnast because I'm a 5'10" female. Not everyone is born with the potential to be Steven Hawking. Try your best, but understand that ceilings do exist.

THIS POINT IS CONTROVERSIAL but here it is:

I didn't shy away from telling my son from an early age that some people are a$$hole$. It's not you, it's him. And I didn't use touchy feely, equivocating language to describe the little kid's motivations.

There are gyms that specifically help kids with delays master sports skills, ask on the special needs board if you are interested.

One of my sons has low muscle tone/poor motor skills and had several years of OT. He LOVES sports but was truly terrible. One thing that really helped him was classes at a ninja gym--I think the overall strength and balance work translated well to everything else, and he loved it so he was motivated (unlike doing push ups at home with mom or something). We also got a basketball hoop and set up some soccer goals at home. Some kids needs to practice 10x as much as other kids just to be in the mix.

For the sports your son wants to try, ask around to find out who the nicest rec coach is for that league, and request that team.

And your DH needs to step up. Who cares if he likes sports. Its important to your son to be good at it. A parent needs to be outside practicing skills with him religiously every day. Or you can hire an older neighborhood boy to come over and play with him. A kind middle school age boy would love a job like this.

Anonymous wrote:

Are you and your husband athletic? If not, it's more than likely your kids won't be either, and that's perfectly ok.

Sorry, that line was a PP.^^^^

Yes, but the issue isn’t that he’s not good. The issue is that he’s bad enough that he’s getting made fun of in his own neighborhood. Poor kid. That’s not okay.

OP, I think you’re a great parent. Look up Soccer Starts at Home on Amazon. It will help you teach him ball handling skills at home. As a former teacher, I can say that soccer and kickball were extremely popular recess sports at my schools. I would focus on one or two sports that he really likes, rather than spreading his efforts so thin. Soccer is great for him, because height is less important than in other sports.