Anonymous
Post 01/19/2026 17:17     Subject: Team sport for girl
Our CYO league has track and cross country for k-8th grade. Kindergarteners (6&U-10&U) run a mile.

I’m just saying that there are options without a ball, and they might be a good fit if she is scared of the ball.

Plus, I think everyone on here is just recommending ways she could stick with sports even if basketball isn’t a good fit. Funny how people would rather argue with other people’s comments on here instead of just giving the OP answers to their questions.
Anonymous
Post 01/19/2026 16:28     Subject: Re:Team sport for girl
Anonymous wrote:She’s 7! It sounds like she’s not the natural athlete, but you don’t know if she is going to be athletic just yet. Some kids develop early and some don’t. There were two really good athletes when my kids were that age, and now the other fairly athletic kids are catching up at 11. The one piece of advice I’d give parents whose kids go out to a sport and don’t naturally take to it is to practice! If she can learn to dribble at home, she will be way better than most kids her age. Parents too often compare their kids to older kids skills-wise or how good they thought they were at a certain age, and they are often wrong.
That being said, if she’s consistently scared of the ball, you may need to find a sport without a ball. Even though volleyball and softball are less physical, a ball is flying toward your head at a pretty fast speed. I’d recommend swimming or cross country, as endurance is something you can develop a bit. Let her try a lot of things and see if something clicks, but encourage her to practice at home! No one is very good at a sport if they just practice once a week on a rec team.


Cross country at 7? Really? As far as swimming, it's hugely popular but that's a lifestyle choice.

Not sure if you've seen 8u or 10u softball, the balls are not flying at high speeds.
Anonymous
Post 01/19/2026 08:11     Subject: Re:Team sport for girl
She’s 7! It sounds like she’s not the natural athlete, but you don’t know if she is going to be athletic just yet. Some kids develop early and some don’t. There were two really good athletes when my kids were that age, and now the other fairly athletic kids are catching up at 11. The one piece of advice I’d give parents whose kids go out to a sport and don’t naturally take to it is to practice! If she can learn to dribble at home, she will be way better than most kids her age. Parents too often compare their kids to older kids skills-wise or how good they thought they were at a certain age, and they are often wrong.
That being said, if she’s consistently scared of the ball, you may need to find a sport without a ball. Even though volleyball and softball are less physical, a ball is flying toward your head at a pretty fast speed. I’d recommend swimming or cross country, as endurance is something you can develop a bit. Let her try a lot of things and see if something clicks, but encourage her to practice at home! No one is very good at a sport if they just practice once a week on a rec team.
Anonymous
Post 01/18/2026 15:21     Subject: Team sport for girl
Not sure if 7 is too young but try out field hockey. Great community.
Anonymous
Post 01/12/2026 13:49     Subject: Team sport for girl
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Give softball a shot. Basketball, soccer, and other sports are just a mad rush to the ball at that age. You can still get hit by the ball in softball, but at least when it's her turn at bat it's her turn, no worries about her own teammates stealing the bat out of her hand. Smart kids do well at softball, lots of skills and strategy to learn.


Minimal exercise. If you want to be sedentary go for it


Agree. I would never suggest this as my idea. If my kid wanted to do it, ok.


Hm, my softball player was at an hour long strength and agility class this past weekend getting ready for spring season, and specifically got called out by the coach for outworking the other kids there, but you're welcome to your opinion.


PP here with a daughter being recruited to play D1 softball. She works out almost every single day year round and is fit and strong as hell. But you cannot try to argue that a kid gets as much exercise in an 8u rec softball game or practice as she would in a soccer, basketball, lacrosse, etc., etc., etc. game or practice at the same age. Of course a serious softball player is getting plenty of exercise. But it is not going to be some big source of exercise in 8u rec.


I mean, fair, but that doesn't mean it should be written off as entirely sedentary. Some 8U rec softball players go on to be your DD, some don't. Some U8 rec soccer players go on to be pros, some drop out, some continue to play but are not exactly the definition of fit and strong. You can't judge any sport by what happens to 7 year olds who play it.


PP here and I absolutely agree, but I think the "sedentary" comment might be worth considering for some parents who really need for their kid to be getting a ton of running around in. At 7, it is a bit sedentary at times!
Anonymous
Post 01/12/2026 11:41     Subject: Team sport for girl
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Give softball a shot. Basketball, soccer, and other sports are just a mad rush to the ball at that age. You can still get hit by the ball in softball, but at least when it's her turn at bat it's her turn, no worries about her own teammates stealing the bat out of her hand. Smart kids do well at softball, lots of skills and strategy to learn.


Minimal exercise. If you want to be sedentary go for it


Agree. I would never suggest this as my idea. If my kid wanted to do it, ok.


Hm, my softball player was at an hour long strength and agility class this past weekend getting ready for spring season, and specifically got called out by the coach for outworking the other kids there, but you're welcome to your opinion.


PP here with a daughter being recruited to play D1 softball. She works out almost every single day year round and is fit and strong as hell. But you cannot try to argue that a kid gets as much exercise in an 8u rec softball game or practice as she would in a soccer, basketball, lacrosse, etc., etc., etc. game or practice at the same age. Of course a serious softball player is getting plenty of exercise. But it is not going to be some big source of exercise in 8u rec.


I mean, fair, but that doesn't mean it should be written off as entirely sedentary. Some 8U rec softball players go on to be your DD, some don't. Some U8 rec soccer players go on to be pros, some drop out, some continue to play but are not exactly the definition of fit and strong. You can't judge any sport by what happens to 7 year olds who play it.
Anonymous
Post 01/12/2026 11:37     Subject: Team sport for girl
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Give softball a shot. Basketball, soccer, and other sports are just a mad rush to the ball at that age. You can still get hit by the ball in softball, but at least when it's her turn at bat it's her turn, no worries about her own teammates stealing the bat out of her hand. Smart kids do well at softball, lots of skills and strategy to learn.


Minimal exercise. If you want to be sedentary go for it


Agree. I would never suggest this as my idea. If my kid wanted to do it, ok.


Hm, my softball player was at an hour long strength and agility class this past weekend getting ready for spring season, and specifically got called out by the coach for outworking the other kids there, but you're welcome to your opinion.


PP here with a daughter being recruited to play D1 softball. She works out almost every single day year round and is fit and strong as hell. But you cannot try to argue that a kid gets as much exercise in an 8u rec softball game or practice as she would in a soccer, basketball, lacrosse, etc., etc., etc. game or practice at the same age. Of course a serious softball player is getting plenty of exercise. But it is not going to be some big source of exercise in 8u rec.
Anonymous
Post 01/12/2026 09:47     Subject: Team sport for girl
Have you considered volleyball? It’s a great team sport with no contact with other players. Many girls on dd’s team played basketball but hated the physical contact and switched to volleyball and have not looked back. True actual teams start at age 10 but there are plenty of clinics to get the skills so she’s ready by then.
Anonymous
Post 01/12/2026 09:18     Subject: Team sport for girl
Anonymous wrote:DD7 is trying her first team sport, and she picks basketball. She is clumsy and cries at first practice (ball hit her). She is not a sporty type, and she only has done dance, gyynmastic and c swimming in the past with zero body contact. Is basketball a bad pick for an unalthetic girl?


Our rule was that you had to do one physical activity each season. Did not have to be a team sport. Could be yoga, running, dance, swim lessons, weights, or doing regular workouts (like position coaching for a sport she wasn't good at to get better). . . . whatever. We hoped for a team sport as we thought that teaches some good lessons but were not pushing it.

My kid for YEARS did sports and physical activities of all sorts and was, generally, the skinny kid doing cartwheels and picking dandelions during meets or games. She's now in college and is playing a sport. She was a rockstar in her sport by junior and senior year and received many accolades.

Don't give up. Just be patient and let her try lots of different things. It wasn't until maybe 6th grade that she found it.

That said, I'd steer away from oversaturated sports like soccer. I'd try things like track, field hockey, tennis, golf. . . . even gymnastics. We had several former gymnasts on our travel teams and their strength, body control, and athleticism makes them transition easy to lots of sports, imo.
Anonymous
Post 01/12/2026 09:04     Subject: Team sport for girl
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Give softball a shot. Basketball, soccer, and other sports are just a mad rush to the ball at that age. You can still get hit by the ball in softball, but at least when it's her turn at bat it's her turn, no worries about her own teammates stealing the bat out of her hand. Smart kids do well at softball, lots of skills and strategy to learn.


Minimal exercise. If you want to be sedentary go for it


Agree. I would never suggest this as my idea. If my kid wanted to do it, ok.


Hm, my softball player was at an hour long strength and agility class this past weekend getting ready for spring season, and specifically got called out by the coach for outworking the other kids there, but you're welcome to your opinion.
Anonymous
Post 01/12/2026 09:03     Subject: Team sport for girl
Anonymous wrote:Agree with another PP about practicing a bit outside of practice. She will see quick improvement. Also, honestly, if you watch the girls at that age, on most rec teams, there are a couple really good girls and others are not. She's not behind and will do great! (The only downside to basketball long term is that there are only a few spots on a HS team. If that is a goal and you're in a tough school district, then just something to think about.)


And to all the softball haters, there are usually around 18 slots on a high school team (more than volleyball or basketball, similar to soccer) and often - with some notable exceptions in the area - fewer girls competing for those slots. Plenty of rec-only girls make high school softball teams around here.
Anonymous
Post 01/11/2026 21:20     Subject: Team sport for girl
Agree with another PP about practicing a bit outside of practice. She will see quick improvement. Also, honestly, if you watch the girls at that age, on most rec teams, there are a couple really good girls and others are not. She's not behind and will do great! (The only downside to basketball long term is that there are only a few spots on a HS team. If that is a goal and you're in a tough school district, then just something to think about.)
Anonymous
Post 01/11/2026 21:18     Subject: Team sport for girl
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Give softball a shot. Basketball, soccer, and other sports are just a mad rush to the ball at that age. You can still get hit by the ball in softball, but at least when it's her turn at bat it's her turn, no worries about her own teammates stealing the bat out of her hand. Smart kids do well at softball, lots of skills and strategy to learn.


Minimal exercise. If you want to be sedentary go for it


Agree. I would never suggest this as my idea. If my kid wanted to do it, ok.
Anonymous
Post 01/11/2026 14:19     Subject: Team sport for girl
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Give softball a shot. Basketball, soccer, and other sports are just a mad rush to the ball at that age. You can still get hit by the ball in softball, but at least when it's her turn at bat it's her turn, no worries about her own teammates stealing the bat out of her hand. Smart kids do well at softball, lots of skills and strategy to learn.


This is my vote, too! (From a mom of a daughter currently being recruited to play D1 softball!!!)


Hey congrats to your daughter! May she have a great recruiting journey and love where she lands.
-fellow softball mom whose kids will never be recruited


Thank you!! She is over the moon about all the interest she has had!! <3
Anonymous
Post 01/10/2026 11:41     Subject: Team sport for girl
My now 12yo was definitely a kid many would describe as unathletic at 7. We had her try field hockey and swim team and she loves both. She still isn’t the most coordinated or competitive but she’s fast and has fun. Sports are just one of the many things she’s into. If your daughter is having fun just let her keep going and enjoy this stage!