Children’s sports

[amberpi]

I know a ton of you guys have kids in sports. My dh and I are not sports people. I was in our local swim league for years when I was young but that was it. Dh was forced to play tball for a year or 2 and hated it. Recently the boy (added - he is 3.5) has developed an obsession with tennis (my parents are avid and long term players) after being introduced to it briefly. So I bought them cheap little tennis sets. Then he got to see my dad play at the tennis club and now everyday at the park we play tennis (added info - he hits almost all of his own serves or at least the majority and 2 out of 3 that I throw him, more if DH is throwing - he can bounce the ball on the racket for 5 times - he's trying for 10 in a row - I can only do like 2 reliably...lol) . He asked for lessons so we’re about to enroll him in is his first tennis clinic. He watches YouTube videos, wants to play with the ball machine at my folks so we think a clinic would be great for him, but is this too young to start a child in a sport? We are not directing him just want to support what he seems really interested in for the first time. Any drawbacks to this? Dh and I are both a little uncertain so I thought I’d ask here.

Edited for typos.

 

[Party.Of.4-NY>>>FL]

...but is this too young to start a child in a sport?

You didn’t mention his age.

We are not directing him just want to support what he seems really interested in for the first time.

I think the answer might be in this ^ sentence .

 

[soccerdad72]

If the kid shows interest in something, there's nothing wrong with giving it a chance.

Our boys both started soccer at about age 3. Granted, the first couple years was little more than a mass of kids running after the ball, but they were having fun, so we let them play.

 

[sam_gordon]

I know a ton of you guys have kids in sports. My dh and I are not sports people. I was in our local swim league for years when I was young but that was it. Dh was forced to play tball for a year or 2 and hated it. Recently the boy has developed an obsession with tennis (my parents are avid and long term players) after being introduced to it briefly. So I bought them cheap little tennis sets. Then he got to see my dad play at the tennis club and now everyday at the parks we play tennis. He asked for lessons so we’re about to enroll in him is his first tennis clinic. He watches YouTube videos wants to play with ball machine at my folks so we think a clinic would be great for him, but is this too young to start a child in a sport. He are not directing him just want to support what he seems really interested in for the first time. Any drawbacks to this? Dh and I are both a little uncertain so I thought I’d ask here.

I agree w/PP, without knowing the age of the kid, it's hard to say if anything is "too young". But, if he's able to hold the racket, has the eye/hand coordination to hit the ball occasionally, and the strength to hit it some distance, I'd say he's not too young.

As far as drawbacks... money and time. That's with any sport.

My kids started soccer at age 4. The two younger ones still play (15yo about to turn 16 and 13 year old).

 

[amberpi]

The boy is 3.5. He’s a big for his age, like 97 percentile.

 

[Southernmiss]

Let him lead.

We did not start sports until about age 5 simply because we had 4 kids in 7 years and it was a lot for me to get them to practice and wrangle 3 other littles while we waited.

Anything the kids started, they had to finish at the natural break, though, not after a couple of practices or an I'm bored.

 

[fly girl]

If your child finds an interest in an activity that is not in front of a electronic device ... RUN! GO! SIGN HIM UP! ENCOURAGE IT!

They have lessons for all ages. You didn't put him in the clinic to be the next Roger Federer, you are letting him be active in a sport he finds fun. IMHO, I see absolutely nothing wrong with it. And it will be great for learning better hand/eye coordination. Now, if he wound up hating the lessons, but you forced him to take more, then there would be an issue. But that isn't the case. I have found that most issues with sports are when the parents become obsessed with it. Their obsession overshadows their child's desires.

 

[amberpi]

If your child finds an interest in an activity that is not in front of a electronic device ... RUN! GO! SIGN HIM UP! ENCOURAGE IT!

They have lessons for all ages. You didn't put him in the clinic to be the next Roger Federer, you are letting him be active in a sport he finds fun. IMHO, I see absolutely nothing wrong with it. And it will be great for learning better hand/eye coordination. Now, if he wound up hating the lessons, but you forced him to take more, then there would be an issue. But that isn't the case. I have found that most issues with sports are when the parents become obsessed with it. Their obsession overshadows their child's desires.

Lord no; we aren't pushing him to be a famous tennis player, we just want to support him, always. My husband is going to have to learn how to even score tennis. We're definitely not pushing. If we were pushing, he'd be on music lessons already, but we both feel like you let the kid chase their own thing. Who are we to say what that thing should be?

 

[Meriweather]

My DD started soccer at 3 and also karate at 3 (adult now).
DS started soccer at 6 and karate at 6.
They played a lot of sports over the years.

 

[sam_gordon]

Lord no; we aren't pushing him to be a famous tennis player, we just want to support him, always. My husband is going to have to learn how to even score tennis. We're definitely not pushing. If we were pushing, he'd be on music lessons already, but we both feel like you let the kid chase their own thing. Who are we to say what that thing should be?

Not at 3.5. I bet there are "introductory" clinics/camps for that age group. Ask at your tennis complex.

 

[amberpi]

Not at 3.5. I bet there are "introductory" clinics/camps for that age group. Ask at your tennis complex.

Yes, this is the intro class, it really teaches more of hand eye coordination than tennis for what I watched and from what mom and dad have seen and they are there 9 (dad) and 6 (mom) times a week. I meant score tennis, as in DH doesn't know the rules to tennis. We're not about to be trying to have him play an actual match. Lordy, no.

 

[mjkacmom]

Let him lead.

We did not start sports until about age 5 simply because we had 4 kids in 7 years and it was a lot for me to get them to practice and wrangle 3 other littles while we waited.

Anything the kids started, they had to finish at the natural break, though, not after a couple of practices or an I'm bored.

Lol we had 5 in 6 1/2 years, they were enrolled in everything. As a SAHM, I liked the social interaction for me (dd16 and ds16, the youngest, play varsity soccer, club soccer, winter and spring track). OP, it’s just an activity, why not? My boys played soccer, baseball, basketball, flag football, swimming, track, plus ds21 played ice and roller hockey, most all through grade and middle school, but ended up with soccer and track in HS. Ds21 still plays club soccer and intramural volleyball in college.

I was lucky to have a very involved DH (coached dozens of teams), and involved grandparents in town (both drove minivans for carpooling). Now that I think of it, all did a few sessions of tennis at parks and rec and HS summer clinics. Two of my girls also danced for 10+ years.

 

[amberpi]

Lol we had 5 in 6 1/2 years, they were enrolled in everything. As a SAHM, I liked the social interaction for me (dd16 and ds16, the youngest, play varsity soccer, club soccer, winter and spring track). OP, it’s just an activity, why not? My boys played soccer, baseball, basketball, flag football, swimming, track, plus ds21 played ice and roller hockey, most all through grade and middle school, but ended up with soccer and track in HS. Ds21 still plays club soccer and intramural volleyball in college.

I was lucky to have a very involved DH (coached dozens of teams), and involved grandparents in town (both drove minivans for carpooling). Now that I think of it, all did a few sessions of tennis at parks and rec and HS summer clinics. Two of my girls also danced for 10+ years.

They both do gymnastics, but honestly, that's just monkeying around. The 5yo girl is in ballet, but again, totally not passionate about it. Their mom drives on those, but we're happy to pay our part and go along. This is the first time the boy (honestly either of them) has seemed really passionate (if you can be at 3) about anything, but I didn't know if 3.5 was just too young for a kid. We're trying to be supportive without being pushy and giving them time to just be kids and simply play with the ball and bubbles at the park across the street from our house or play with playdough and sidewalk chalk all afternoon once they've had some workbook time, you know? I try so hard to be the best stepmom I can be and honestly I'm the adult that spends the most time with them in their little lives, so I'm going to keep trying to get it right. Even if I sound dumb, I'll keep asking for opinions/advice and hope it makes me an even better stepmom than I was yesterday

 

[Southernmiss]

Lol we had 5 in 6 1/2 years, they were enrolled in everything. As a SAHM, I liked the social interaction for me (dd16 and ds16, the youngest, play varsity soccer, club soccer, winter and spring track). OP, it’s just an activity, why not? My boys played soccer, baseball, basketball, flag football, swimming, track, plus ds21 played ice and roller hockey, most all through grade and middle school, but ended up with soccer and track in HS. Ds21 still plays club soccer and intramural volleyball in college.

I was lucky to have a very involved DH (coached dozens of teams), and involved grandparents in town (both drove minivans for carpooling). Now that I think of it, all did a few sessions of tennis at parks and rec and HS summer clinics. Two of my girls also danced for 10+ years.

Dh traveled for work some and I worked part-time in the evenings and we didn't have grandparents to help. And dh and I being introverts, we didn't want the extra chatty interaction lol!

Dh coached soccer from when our 25 year old was u5 to u16 and referees club,travel and high school soccer still and my part time job was religious education coordinator/youth minister. So we were around kids all the time, whether they were ours or other people's! Our introverted selves knew our limits. Ha!

Our boys played tball, baseball and one was a gymnast. All took swim lessons and played soccer from about age 5 through high school and picked up competitive high school marching band.

Our youngest is 17 and still plays travel and high school soccer. She's also played varsity volleyball and tennis with her high school soccer. I joke and say after 3 boys dh got his athlete.

It's a lot of fun. But dh and I realize that after this year, we will suddenly find ourselves with free time we've never had before. And we will have to reinvent ourselves.

 

[amcnj]

I can’t see any reason not to, since he wants to do it. Other sports also start some kinds of activity around that age.

 

[Floridaman999]

Just be willing to let him stop if his interests change.

 

[Klayfish]

At that age, give them options and let them explore different sports and see what they like. You may also want to sign them up for things you want them to at least try because they're too young to really understand all the different options out there. They'll find what appeals most to them as they grow. At 15, 11, 11 (the twins turn 12 in a few days) they have focused in on full time lacrosse (DS11 still plays football though). However, before that, from the age of 4 we have tried: soccer, wrestling, football, dance, cheer, karate, basketball and others I'm sure I've forgotten.

 

[amberpi]

At that age, give them options and let them explore different sports and see what they like. You may also want to sign them up for things you want them to at least try because they're too young to really understand all the different options out there. They'll find what appeals most to them as they grow. At 15, 11, 11 (the twins turn 12 in a few days) they have focused in on full time lacrosse (DS11 still plays football though). However, before that, from the age of 4 we have tried: soccer, wrestling, football, dance, cheer, karate, basketball and others I'm sure I've forgotten.

Yep. They’ve had swim for 2 years now, they’ve done gymnastics and ballet as I mentioned. We continue to offer them whatever they might want (we really want to get them into music lessons, but again, trying not to push). We suggested soccer to the kids but they were “meh” about it. We’ve exposed them to the ballet with the nutcracker and sleeping beauty and like I said this was a random thing we exposed them to, so I think we’re going to go with it. If it doesn’t work out, no sweat.

 

[low-key]

my daughter wasnt really good at any sport. Then at age 8-9 took her to a dance class, she was the bes tin class with in a month, and spent every waking minute of her life dancing after that, she now runs a studio . But if your kid finds a nice flame it

 

[Disneybuckeye]

I am glad you have them in swimming. That is the one thing I wish all kids wer.e made to at least be competent. As far as the tennis I agree to let him try. Hand eye coordination, taking direction and learning, and social interaction with other kids are great benefits in addition to learning the game. I’m in my mid fifties and still play occasionally for fun.