Age for group sports?

kpips20

At what age did/are you going to sign DC up for group sports? There are a few T-ball and soccer camps in our area for 3-6 year olds (one class for all ages) and I was thinking about signing DS up for one but DH thinks 3 is too young?

luvmagoldn

Someone gave us great advice - wait as long as possible.  You have YEARS of running kids around on week nights and Saturdays ahead of you.  Don't rush it.

That being said, we just signed the five year olds up for activities this spring.  One is playing T-ball and the other flag football.  So we will be running in different directions from the get go!

The three year old we are waiting on.  If we make it to five with him I think that will be remarkable.  I see us caving around four because he will see his older brothers doing fun things and he will want to do it to. 

macchiatto

I think we're going to try T-ball this summer. It's only twice a week and since there's no preschool in the summer we'll be looking for activities to do so I don't mind taking them there. I think they'll have a blast.

Sawyerplus1

DH and I were just talking about this re:DS. He'll be 4 next week, but we wont even consider putting him into something like soccer until next summer when he'll be 5. I do think it depends on the activity, the LO, and what you're looking to get out of it, but I also think there's no need to rush it. 

ss+el

We don't have our own experience yet, but a bunch of DS' friends played soccer last year at 3 and loved it, so we're signing him up this year. They're calling it a clinic and it's only 6 evenings total and inexpensive. I'm doing it more for the social interaction and maybe some listening skills. I don't actually like soccer, so I'd be more than happy to find out he doesn't want to play beyond the preschool years.

shouldbworkin

I think camps and classes at 3 y/o + are good, especially if you want to keep your kids active.  But, I don't like organized team sports until kids are older.  It can be really frustrating for some kids when they're younger.  I think tumbling is probably the best thing for a 3 y/o b/c it works on gross motor skills. I would skip t-ball until 5 y/o, it's boring for kids.

mavs_girl07

DD just started Blastball, which is kind of a modified "younger" version of T-ball.  They just hit the ball off the tee, then run to 1st base.  The base has a squeaker in it, so they jump on it to make it squeak.  Then that's it, no more bases to run to.  We weren't going to start anything like this yet, but her best friend was signing up for it and they were putting together an all girl team and they asked DD to sign up.  So we did and so far she loves it.  It's all for fun...they have a game each Saturday.  The coach holds a practice one night a week, but it's not mandatory to go.  They don't even keep score at the games, just go through the the players and give everyone a chance to hit the ball.  I think group sports at this age are perfectly fine, as long as none of the adults involved have any high expectations.  Every single adult involved with our Blastball league (from the organizers and coaches, down to the parents) all understand it's just for fun and nothing more. 

KathrynMD

eh - my friend took her almost 3 yo to soccer last summer - sounded like a big waste of money to me.  I'd probably wait until my kid asked and/or was closer to 5. 

regenab

I am waiting until almost 5 before starting the girls. First is the cost, since I have twins, I have to pay the cost for both of them. Second at this age, if they don't like the sport after a week or two they don't really understand they can't quit and they will just be miserable about going to the games because they don't want to be there. A 5 year old would get this more, we pay means you go to play. I decided to do our first paid group activity next month, which is swimming lessons for 4 weeks. If that goes well, I may consider doing a soccer camp for the 2 of them at the YMCA after they turn 4. It is not that expensive since we are members and it is only 3 weeks, 2x a week. I think they would be able to stick with 3 weeks for soccer fun. Also they seperate the ages 3&4's together and 5&6's together. So they will be with kids their own size and skill level.

I can sign them up in the fall for soccer through the local rec dept., but this is 8 weeks long with practice during the week and games every Saturday and group them 4-6 year olds, so they would be playing with bigger and more skilled (if you can call them skilled at this age) kids. My girls will be very young 4 year olds, so I think I am going to wait until the fall after they turn 5. They are July babies.

flyingsaucer

I have a very active 3 year old (he wi ll be 4 in a few wks) we started him in sports and 3 and it was always wonderful.  Where we live they have "mini" sports, which are mostly little activities thT the kids do WITH parent involvement (stations set up with different types of obstacles).  He just started. Soccer group a couple of weeks ago and it is the first time he is doing it without a parent playing WITH him.  The kids do games/activities with the coach and each other.  No competition, but lots of running around and kicking balls.  My son LOVES it and honestly I think it is great for him.  There are no official "soccer games" at this age.  I think it really depends on the class.  It is important that it is fun and developmentally appropriate. 

kpips20

Thanks everyone! I should have specified that it's not a team type thing with practices and games, but more along the lines of just learning the rules, taking turns etc. After showing DH the responses from here I think we'll probably wait another year.

WestCoastMommy

I just signed DS up for U6 soccer team that starts practice this July and games in August. My son will be 4 in June, We are all, even DS, so excited!

jlw2505

For me, it really has depended on the structure of the class.  For anything before kindergarten age (so 5 or 6), I want my kids to have fun, learn about teamwork and learn some basics of the sport - I do not want my kids competing or it being this strict sport.  I want my kids to have fun.  We have mainly done gymnastics and dance classes with the girls (now 4 and 5 1/2) but they have taken a soccer class which came highly recommended.  The class was totally focused and age apprioate.  They spend most of the time playing games that taught them how to kick a ball, how to be a member of a team and in the younger levels, they never even play a real soccer game.  In the class that is for the 4-6 year olds, every few weeks they break the class into teams and do a fun game - the coach is on the field helping the kids, making sure the kids understand the basic rules, making sure all the kids have a chance to do different things like play the goalie and kick the ball and throw the ball in and stuff like that.  We did drop out of the last class as it was all boys other than my girls and the coach was not great.  Some of the boys (the older ones) totally understood how to play the game and were making a huge competetion and my girls hated it and so did I - it was not what I signed up for and not what my kids were ready for.  I think there are some amazing programs out there for parents who want their kids to have fun with a sport, to learn the basics and all that but for it not to be a competition.  As someone else said, they have years to compete and be on teams where the focus is winning - at 5 and under, the focus should be on fun, learning some basic skills of the sports and learning how to intertact with the other kids not on winning/losing.  (and yes, my kids know all about losing - we don't always let them win when we play games and that stuff - we help them along and teach them the skills to play and win but we also teach them how to loss)