Year round sports for kids??

[mbw12]

Do any of your kids do a sport or activity year round? and I am talking kids in the 6-12 age range. My son does one sport per season (Football in fall, wrestling in winter, and baseball in spring. He is 8 years old) I have found that with wrestling especially, we are running into parents that have their kids in a wrestling program year round. Do you think that this is too much or is this the way that things are now a-days? My thoughts on it are sort of....well, at 8, I would be afraid he might burn out and it is good to expose him to different things.....but than again...is he "falling behind" becasue of these kids that are 'specializing" in one sport or activity at such a young age? I am sort of conflicted and just wanted to get some varying opinions on this.
thanks!!!!

 

[kbkids]

My DD does gymnastics year round. Dance classes run fall, winter, and spring - they are out in the summer. And she does cheerleading in the fall, and soccer in the spring.


DS does by the season. Football in the fall, basketball in the winter, baseball in the spring.

 

[lyeag]

Yes, dd, age 7, has been doing karate for about a year and a half now. She only goes once a week for now. She still loves it. If she wanted to quit, I wouldn't have a problem with it.

 

[tikkipoo]

I go the muli-sport way. I guess if my DD (8) was just "in love" with one particular sport, and that's all she wanted to do, that'd be different. I think she's having more fun now trying many different things. She does basket ball in the winter, softball in the spring, and soccer in the fall. Works out for us well.

 

[aprilgail2]

My daughter does Taekwondo 4 times a week year round and has been doing it for 2 1/2 years now. She is working very hard for her brown belt test next month!

 

[EthansMom]

My DS4 takes swimming lessons year-round. We've tried to offer him gymnastics, martial arts and soccer -- but he just wants to swim.

My cousin was a pretty heavy jock in high school. He played baseball, basketball and football. He finally had to make a choice between sports around his sophomore or junior year of high school. He ended up choosing to play varsity football and got a football scholarship for college.

 

[stm61]

mine have always played baseball in the spring and then in the fall for the 9-12 yr olds. With all the new building going on the "in thing" for the upper-income bracket crowd is private lessons yr round and invitational teams. That's fine if it's what your kid really wants and you can afford it. The problem comes in when the priviledged kids still play rec ball along with the invitational teams (I know there's another name for them, can't remember what it is). They miss almost all of the practices and half the games because of the other commitments, but the parents are very involved and vocal and their kids are the ones on the all-star teams every yr. Try explaining to your 10 yr old that he can't have the private lessons and he'll never be an all-star no matter how hard he tries.

 

[kbkids]

I go the muli-sport way. I guess if my DD (8) was just "in love" with one particular sport, and that's all she wanted to do, that'd be different. I think she's having more fun now trying many different things. She does basket ball in the winter, softball in the spring, and soccer in the fall. Works out for us well.

That's how my DD is. I didn't mind letting her try alot of things so she could find what she likes the most, but so far, she doesn't want to quit anything. Her grades are great though, and she doesn't complain, so until she does, she can keep it up. She definitely never gets bored. Luckily, there are enough of us that we carpool often so the Moms don't go insane.

But the tumbling/dance/cheerleading all do sorta go together. We've all seen that the ones that are doing tumbling or dance seem to do better with cheerleading when football season rolls around.

Don't know where soccer came from out of the blue though. But she likes it. I tried to get her to do softball so I wouldn't be at two different places during the spring (baseball for DS, soccer for her), but she wasn't interested.

 

[daisyduck123]

DD11 & DS7 are both on year-round competitive swim teams.
In the summer they are on their year-round team & a summer team also.

They love it! Except for spending 6 days a week at the pool, there really is no downside to it.

DD11 never would have made it to the state championships last year if it were not for this swim team.

 

[mbw12]

The problem comes in when the priviledged kids still play rec ball along with the invitational teams (I know there's another name for them, can't remember what it is). They miss almost all of the practices and half the games because of the other commitments, but the parents are very involved and vocal and their kids are the ones on the all-star teams every yr. Try explaining to your 10 yr old that he can't have the private lessons and he'll never be an all-star no matter how hard he tries.

I guess that is sort of why I was wondering what everyone's thoughts on the year round thing were. I don't know about it just being the so-called "privileged" kids as you say....but I am wondering if it gives the kids an upper hand that do the year round....and than when the actual season rolls around, the kids that are just doing it for the season , are so far behind. Not that either is wrong or right......but just trying to deal with the different thoughts in my head on the subject!

 

[Sparx]

I'm not a sports person, but one of my friends, Dylan, is. I asked him if he was going to go to this place last weekend and he goes, "no. I've got practice" I go "...for what?" knowing that wrestling had ended. He said that it was post season stuff.

But we are a lot older than 8. And this is the only sport he plays (this year, next year I think he's gonna go football) I don't know if you would really "need" it when he is so young and does so much. Maybe when he gets into middle/highschool though.

 

[LadyBears]

Right now, my DD6 plays ice hockey year round - the main team is Sept - April, but she plays on 2 different pick up leagues from May - August so she doesn't lose her skill level. She has been doing this for the last 2 years & LOVES it. It averages to 3 days a week for her. If she wasn't such a "natural" at it, she would just do it during the winter. Because of her age, we have her at the Mite C level, but she has practiced with the kids in Mite A & has had no problem keeping up with them!! (If she keeps improving, she has a great shot at high school & college scholarships!! Though if you ask her coaches, they want to see her in the Olympics someday , LOL - I guess kids are never to young to start training. The coaches say you can't start learning to play hockey at 16 & expect to go far. Makes sense I guess )

She has dance class 2 hours per week from Sept - June, & Girl Scouts from Sept - June also.

We have asked her what she wants - she wants to continue with hockey, but wants to try Karate next year in addition to a shorter time of dance class.

 

[MELSMICE]

I guess that is sort of why I was wondering what everyone's thoughts on the year round thing were. I don't know about it just being the so-called "privileged" kids as you say....but I am wondering if it gives the kids an upper hand that do the year round....and than when the actual season rolls around, the kids that are just doing it for the season , are so far behind. Not that either is wrong or right......but just trying to deal with the different thoughts in my head on the subject!

Maybe I can help with your questions/thoughts as my DH & I just had a conversation about this. When we were in high school (80's) kids did the "one sport a season" thing. A lot of the same kids were on different sports teams in the different seasons. Now-a-days more & more kids are "specializing" in 1 or 2 sports.

One of my DD's has gone the basketball route. She pretty much plays year round. She is at her AAU team tryouts right now, will finish up with her school team next week, & will play in a few summer leagues this summer - both travel & house. She goes to camps, clinics & does do rec leagues for fun & extra practice. She dropped dance this year to concentrate on bball.

She just started with the AAU about 2 years ago & she was definitely very far behind the other kids at that point. She was put on the team so she could learn & rarely played in games. She has shown great improvement during the past 2 years, played freshman ball as an 8th grader & was a starter. This was all because of her commitment & the drive to be better.

I would have never thought that the year-round thing was a good thing. I was not a believer in it, however, if you have a child that really wants to play a sport, really wants to make the school team & enjoys it, those kids that play year-round, whether good or bad/right or wrong, do have an advantage.

We see it with all the sports teams at our school - both girls & boys. Name the sport & the kids that play travel, AAU, etc. are the ones that make the teams. I'm not saying this is right. In my opinion, however, this is the way it is.

My basketball DD is committed, wants to be better & is continually practicing. Another of my DD's doesn't have the drive that her twin sister does & decided swimming was the sport for her. No tryouts, everyone makes the team & you are competing against yourself. She did it year-round for one year & decided it was just too much. She does well, but she'll never be a star swimmer. She does it for fun.

If you're asking because your child wants to be better & make the teams, then my suggestion would be to get him involved in a good travel team or an AAU team. If he just wants to be recreational that is fine too, but I do have to say that I believe there is a difference when it comes right down to it.

(Adding - I'm not looking for a debate on the subject, this is just my opinion! )

 

[mbw12]

(Adding - I'm not looking for a debate on the subject, this is just my opinion! )

Me too.....I was hoping that this doesn't turn into a debate....I am just curious about it. Still not sure how I feel about it.....I can see both points....so it is good to get everyone's opinions.
Can I ask what age your daughter was when she started doing the year-round thing?

 

[LBAK]

My DD 10 does year round basketball and soccer. AAU basketball as well as a rec league and soccer is a travel team that trains year round. Summer she lives for sports camps.

My older DD, now 19, needed down time. she was a totally different kid. Her summers were relaxing and she did soccer in fall and spring and danced during the school year. She did not have a super competitive nature like my little one. You just have to know your child and how they feel and do what you feel is right for them. There is no right or wrong, it just depends on the child.

 

[PolyHereWeCome]

DS8 does soccer year round. Fall and Spring outdoor, Winter indoor (not sure he'll do soccer this summer or camp). However, in his case, we gave him the choice to play different sports in different seasons, and he just likes soccer.

 

[janet715]

My son is also 8. He would do every sport year round if it was offered. Right now he is in basketball and indoor soccer. In spring, he will do flag football, soccer and baseball. Sometimes he has games one after anothre and he absolutely loves every minute of it. I think if they enjoy it, go for it.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

In general I think it's best for a child to try different sports when they are young. If they excel at a particular sport I can see concentrating on that sport eventually, but many kids play one sport even before they've tried several different sports. I'm talking mainly about team seasonal sports. It's different with sports that tend to be year around, such as ice skating, gymnastics, and horseback.

I'm sticking with this plan for my youngest. He played t-ball last spring, soccer this fall, soccer again this winter, but it will be basketball next winter (basketball doesn't start here until first grade--he's in kindergarten). I do not want him to get too involved with any one sport until he's hopefully 10yo, but I would consider it at 8yo if he excels in one.

His older brother started playing select baseball at 7yo. Zachary was and is a very good baseball player, but I wish that he had of had more exposure to a variety of sports. The only other sport he plays is basketball in winter. Baseball practices start in January, the regular season the end of March and it goes through October, with August usually off. That's a lot of baseball! He likes it and doesn't complain much about it, but a lot of kids would be burned out by 12yo and MANY kids give up a sport about about this age. Hopefully he will continue into high school.

 

[Living with the Land]

We do gymnastics year round and soccer year round. When we signed up for soccer I really wasn't aware of this but you have 2 sessions of indoor soccer, 2 sessions of outdoor soccer, and soccer camp every year. DD is 6.

Holly

 

[MELSMICE]

Can I ask what age your daughter was when she started doing the year-round thing?

She was 11 1/2. It was January of 6th grade that she tried out for AAU. Many of the girls on her team went to private schools & had been playing since 4th grade. She was very far behind in her skills, even though she had played bball in some rec leagues. She had learned a lot, just not enough.

Good luck with your decision.