Anonymous wrote:Being smaller/lighter weight is a benefit for sailing, and if you live near an ocean, open water sailing definitely requires fearlessness.

Windsurfing! The most beautiful sport I have ever seen.

But, really, your kid could do any sport except hammer throw.

Anything he wants at the rec level.

For competitive, anything with weight classes

30th percentile is not super small, its on the lower end of average.

Ice Skating (ice dance or freestyle), tennis, gymnastics, tumbling, swimming.

Skateboarding
Breakdancing

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow. Some dumbass answers here. The difference between being in the 50th percentile or being in the 30th percentile is 1.5 inches.

He’s within the normal range of height. Most of the posters here have kids within the normal range of height and they play a variety of sports.

OP is looking for sports where height won't be a disadvantage, as 30% height in a male is about 5'7. We see many posts here for people looking for sports for their kids to try based on certain genetic factors. Like, a 5'7 male probably won't make the high school basketball or volleyball team, but they'd be okay in numerous other sports where being in the 30% is not necessarily disadvantageous, like soccer, tennis, fencing, track, sailing, gymnastics, wrestling, speed skating, figure skating, horse racing, diving, rock climbing, martial arts.

You can’t know the adult height of an 8 year old based on his current height. It’s a lot of guess work. She’s asking what sport he might be best suited for right now. Not in ten years but right now. She says he is fearless and not afraid to get right in there. That’s much more important than height. His height is not far off from the typical 8 year old so any children’s sports would be fine.

Let the kid live a little before everyone starts telling him he’s too small for this or too big for that or not skilled enough for a class he wants to take or not good enough for the math club.

Hockey

My small 8 yo plays soccer and baseball. My son is just over 4’ and weighs around 50 lbs. He is also going to do ski team this winter, if there is a spot open.

You say your son is fearless but does that also translate to athletic skill? If so, I think soccer is a good sport. My son has good ball handling skills and is fast and agile on the field. Baseball is more difficult for my son but he loves it so much that he is willing to work at it.

I don’t think you need to choose. Just go with what he likes.

Anonymous wrote:Being smaller/lighter weight is a benefit for sailing, and if you live near an ocean, open water sailing definitely requires fearlessness.

Agree if you have access. My DS is 12 and light/small for his age and as a result is able to zoom past a lot of kids in races because he's also strong and fearless.

Field hockey lol give me a break . Ice hockey is much rougher

Anonymous wrote:I agree with PPs recs for lacrosse and ice hockey. I played ice hockey as a small sized kid and honestly never got a significant injury. You wear so much equipment. I got far more roughed up playing field hockey and softball than ice hockey.

You are a woman, right? Assuming this based on the comparison with field hockey and softball. Full check hockey from 14U on up is a lot rougher than co-ed or girls/women's hockey.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow. Some dumbass answers here. The difference between being in the 50th percentile or being in the 30th percentile is 1.5 inches.

He’s within the normal range of height. Most of the posters here have kids within the normal range of height and they play a variety of sports.

OP is looking for sports where height won't be a disadvantage, as 30% height in a male is about 5'7. We see many posts here for people looking for sports for their kids to try based on certain genetic factors. Like, a 5'7 male probably won't make the high school basketball or volleyball team, but they'd be okay in numerous other sports where being in the 30% is not necessarily disadvantageous, like soccer, tennis, fencing, track, sailing, gymnastics, wrestling, speed skating, figure skating, horse racing, diving, rock climbing, martial arts.

You never know where he may excel. My less than 10% height HS freshman plays varsity volleyball. He is fearless and goes after every ball. Playing volleyball was his idea.

I agree with PPs recs for lacrosse and ice hockey. I played ice hockey as a small sized kid and honestly never got a significant injury. You wear so much equipment. I got far more roughed up playing field hockey and softball than ice hockey.

Tennis, swim, track are best. Don’t expect kid to play D1 college or pro, but these sports are fine for kids of any size that work hard; they can have a great high school sports record

Just piping in to say that if your son is coordinated, having "no fear" is a good thing. If not, it's a liability for everyone they're on the field with, and you should focus on individual sports.

My fearless kid is obsessed with gymnastics and rock climbing.