How late is your child at team (sports) practice on weeknights?

[npmommie]

Just curious. especially team sports which practice inside, such as basketball, gymnastics, etc.

 

[Tinker'n'Fun]

Just curious. especially team sports which practice inside, such as basketball, gymnastics, etc.

Everyday at 5:30 AM for the entire soccer season for one team and the other was anywhere from 7:00pm - 11:00pm, depending on the time they get the gym during the inside season (usually 2-3 hours), 2 to 4 evenings per week.

 

[sksjasams]

My DS13 is in 7th grade. His two latest nights are Monday and Tuesday. Monday night he has basketball practice until 8:15. Tuesday nights he has honor band until 8pm, but that is a 40 minute drive home, so actually a later night.

I do know that the 8th grade boys practice on Monday after the 7th grade, so they are not done until 9:30.

I know it doesn't sound that late, but by the time he gets home, showers and has a snack, it is past his bedtime. My DS is wiped out by Wednesday. He definitely needs his sleep!

 

[Aneille]

My DD is 10 (4th grade). Practice times vary.

Hockey usually ends at 8pm at the latest.Typical ending is 7-7:30pm.

We have had indoor soccer practice for our town end at 9pm.

 

[VickiVM]

My daughter is on dance (drill) team at her high school. Although not sports, the Spirit groups come under the wing of sports at our school. She takes drill dance class every day and it's considered a PE and/or Fine Arts credit. She also has two different dance classes twice a week from 7am to 8am. During football season, they also have a least one practice on the band pad a week, after school, and another one in the dance studio after school. Right now they are in competition season so they are practicing twice weekly in the evenings for 2 to 2 1/2 hours in addition to their twice weekly 7am dance skills class. Three Saturdays in Feb they are competing all day.

Phew...no wonder I'm alwas exhausted...that's a lot of windshield time I spend!

 

[4forMe]

Last year, my DS was on a 4th grade travel basketball team that practiced twice per week from 7-9 p.m. October through February.

Most of our indoor sports have ended around 9:00 p.m. Karate goes from 8-9 p.m., and swimming also ends at 9:00 p.m. My youngest (DS9) is in both of these activities. It's a quick shower and straight to bed on those evenings.

 

[sam_gordon]

DS(8) has YMCA (rec) basketball practice 6:30-8p on Monday and Wednesday. He has soccer conditioning on Wednesday from 5:30p-6:30p

DD(13) is in between sports right now, but school sports have practice after school until 5. Games go until 8-8:30 depending on which level you play. (8th grade was last game in bball, but will be first game in softball).

 

[minniebeth]

DD14 will have club volleyball practice 2x/week from 8:15-10:00 starting in the next couple of weeks running through the remainder of the year. We have 35 minute ride home on top of that. That's the schedule for all the high school girls since they are the older group.

Sometimes she has more than a few hours of homework, so those will be pretty late nights that I'm not looking forward to.

 

[DopeyDame]

I am absolutely astonished by these times! My DS is only 2, so we don't have any experience yet, but I was a very busy teen, involved in a ton of activities, and yet my parents insisted I was in bed by 10ish every night. Kids - even (especially!) teens need sleep! If you're in an activity till 10, even if you get home and go right to sleep it's still approaching midnight. Presumably school starts at 7:30 ir 8, right? And you have to get up and eat and travel to school, so there is no possible way a kid's getting 8 hours of sleep. Talk about setting them up for physical and emotional exhaustion!

A 4th grader in activities until 9pm? Not in my house...

Please note that I'm expressing shock and suprise - not judgement. I know each kid and family is different and that may very well work for some people. It just never crossed my mind that a youth-centered activity wouldn't have the good sense to end in time for kids to have some family time, do some homework, and get a good night's sleep!

 

[Tralliam]

My DS 8 (9 on sunday ) swims, his practice is currently done at 4:30, but it used to go until 6:45. I do know that the last practice ends at 9pm and that is for the top end kids that swim every day. His triathlon team is on Saturdays.

My DD 6 is in competitive gymnastics. Monday until 7 Wed and Friday until 6:30. That is going to increase in the next 6-9 months as she promotes up to the next level. I know it's a lot but it's the only activity she is in and we make sure school work is done right afterschool before practice.

 

[VickiVM]

I have a high school senior, sophomore (my daughter in dance) and an 8th grader...late night school work is par for the course. I've long given up on trying to get them to shut down before 11pm.

It may not be the kind of schedule I would like to keep, but they are all good students, (senior is college-bound this fall), attend church and sunday school every Sunday and youth group on Sunday evenings. My daughter in drill also has confirmtion classes through May on Wed. evenings.

The alternative, of course, is not to participate in dance, orchestra, choir, church, etc. But I really don't believe that would enhance their lives overall. They are doing, after all, what they love and are passionate about.

 

[BernardandMissBianca]

DS15 has mandatory track/Cross Country practice Monday - Friday from 2:15 - 5, however Coach is also one of the honors biology teachers so he stresses academics. All runners have a mandatory study hall Tuesday and Thursday from 2:15 - 3:15.
We also have non-mandatory running on Saturday from 9am - 11am.
Meets are what kill us, indoor meets last hours!! Those usually run until 11, most are at or near Yale so over an hour drive for us. DS is lucky he runs first so he's only there for a few hours and then we bring him home. All kids do homework at their team station until it's their turn to warm up and run. During XC season it's a little easier he's usually home by 7. Big meets are on weekends and last all day.

At the same school Fencing is from 6:30-8:30. Football is from 2:15 - 5, Marching Band is from 5 - 8 or 9. The school is usually done with sports by 11 at the latest but the late kids go home first, their times start between 5 and 7. Swimming is in the morning and at night. Typically DS's classmate is at the pool by 4:00am and to school by 7am, afternoons are 2:15 - 6.

Middle school is until 4 for all sports, bowling, XC, track, basketball, and open gym.

 

[MELISAZACK]

Ds travel hockey 13/14 yr olds - latest we start is 9pm and get off ice by 10:30 so its late - and JV games can start as late as 10:30 at night...not fun..practice is 2-4 times a week depends on when all 3 teams he is on practices...ugghh.

 

[joyjoy]

Mine was a competitive gymnast and worked out 5pm - 9pm Mon - Fri and the 10a - 2p on Saturday. This was her schedule from age 9 on. Because she had such a rigorous physical schedule, her school allowed her an extra hour of study hall in what would have been a P.E. class or, in HS, an elective. Worked for us. During meet season there were additional dance practices, etc to perfect routines.

 

[design_mom]

My son is 11. His latest practice is ice hockey which is 7:40-8:40pm this year (he practices a couple of days per week, but only one day is that late). The 12 year old team practice right afterward (8:40-9:40), so I am guessing that will be our time next year.

On a normal school night, his bedtime is between 8:30-9pm. (He's always been a kid who needs a lot of sleep.) But, one night a week doesn't seem to be killing him.

 

[yanni2]

My dd's both do gymnastics.

DD 13 is M 4-8, Tues 4-8:30, Thurs 4-8 & Friday 3:45-7:30

DD 11 is M 4-8, Wed 4-8, Friday 3:45-7:30 and Saturday 9:30-1:30

 

[cornflake]

I am absolutely astonished by these times! My DS is only 2, so we don't have any experience yet, but I was a very busy teen, involved in a ton of activities, and yet my parents insisted I was in bed by 10ish every night. Kids - even (especially!) teens need sleep! If you're in an activity till 10, even if you get home and go right to sleep it's still approaching midnight. Presumably school starts at 7:30 ir 8, right? And you have to get up and eat and travel to school, so there is no possible way a kid's getting 8 hours of sleep. Talk about setting them up for physical and emotional exhaustion!

A 4th grader in activities until 9pm? Not in my house...

Please note that I'm expressing shock and suprise - not judgement. I know each kid and family is different and that may very well work for some people. It just never crossed my mind that a youth-centered activity wouldn't have the good sense to end in time for kids to have some family time, do some homework, and get a good night's sleep!

Honestly, how would that work though? I mean... I don't know many high schoolers in bed by 10. I dunno how you were - I certainly never was! But wrt sports... if it's not school-based, it'll likely start after work. They all can't start at the same time so lots of games start after dinner. So... even if it's just pre-dinner practice that starts at 6, 2 hours, that's 8.... something competitive or if the kids are at a higher level is more hours of practice.

I'm not ragging on you or anything, I realize it wasn't your experience and you were just surprised, no big deal or anything but... ending in time for family time and then homework and then in bed by ten just seems way unrealistic for anything. Besides, if it's high school, they're not spending their evenings sitting around having family time anyways!

Watch out for hockey - unless you want to be at a rink at 4:30am!

 

[packofjedis]

My DS15 is playing indoor futsal right now. Games for his age bracket are Mondays and Tuesdays. The latest start time is 10:10pm, 45 min game plus a 30 min drive home - so home 11:30 or so. Luckily for us the latest we got assigned was 9:40. Makes me tired just thinking about it. He'll do fine...me not so much!

 

[VickiVM]

Honestly, how would that work though? I mean... I don't know many high schoolers in bed by 10. I dunno how you were - I certainly never was! But wrt sports... if it's not school-based, it'll likely start after work. They all can't start at the same time so lots of games start after dinner. So... even if it's just pre-dinner practice that starts at 6, 2 hours, that's 8.... something competitive or if the kids are at a higher level is more hours of practice.

I'm not ragging on you or anything, I realize it wasn't your experience and you were just surprised, no big deal or anything but... ending in time for family time and then homework and then in bed by ten just seems way unrealistic for anything. Besides, if it's high school, they're not spending their evenings sitting around having family time anyways!

Watch out for hockey - unless you want to be at a rink at 4:30am!

I will admit, I am impressed that my kids (and all our - collective - kiddos) are so disciplined. No, my high school days was not anything like this. But one of the things my kids don't have time for is...dating. They have social lives, but no time for anyone in particular. I sort of like that. Drill in particular is as disciplined as sports in that they can't be tardy, miss classes, conduct themselves inappropriately, cannot participate in performances/competition if their grades drop below 75...they must go to mandatory morning tutoring. The discipline required has actually improved my daughters grades tremendously. She used to be a straight B student with occassional C's, but not is all A's with occasional B's.

 

[Southernmiss]

Honestly, how would that work though? I mean... I don't know many high schoolers in bed by 10. I dunno how you were - I certainly never was! But wrt sports... if it's not school-based, it'll likely start after work. They all can't start at the same time so lots of games start after dinner. So... even if it's just pre-dinner practice that starts at 6, 2 hours, that's 8.... something competitive or if the kids are at a higher level is more hours of practice.

I'm not ragging on you or anything, I realize it wasn't your experience and you were just surprised, no big deal or anything but... ending in time for family time and then homework and then in bed by ten just seems way unrealistic for anything. Besides, if it's high school, they're not spending their evenings sitting around having family time anyways!

Watch out for hockey - unless you want to be at a rink at 4:30am!

I agree with cornflake. This is pretty much how it is for us.

To DopeyDame never say never...

This is our schedule right now at other times of the year add in marching band...

Oldest DS just finished High School soccer and on game nights he would get home between 10 and 11 p.m. depending on home or away. Then homework.

The younger 3 (9th grader, 7th grader, and 4th grader) have soccer 2 times a week each from 5:30 p.m. until 8 p.m. then home, dinner, bath and bed. I am at the soccer field 4 out of 5 week nights (only 2 practice on same night ) and then again on Saturday for games.

Sadly, this is the norm now in our area and we limit our kids to one activitiy per kid per season and are not as overscheduled as other families.

I have to say, even as a younger child oldest DS who is now 17 was a much better behaved/accomplished kid all around when he had some extracurricular activity going on. He's the type of kid who needs activity all the time. I am not that type mom and like my time at home! But I have had to adjust to his needs.