Soccer
Littlejen22
member
When does your league start keeping score. Our league has an uner 4 that is not really teams but actual teams start at the under 5, meaning4yos. The reason I ask is that a friend of mine whose kids have never played called me to make fun of someone we know posting that kids 5yo kids teams won today and she was satin how they don't have real games and that when her DD was is tee ball they had different teams each week. I told her that this was not a rec league but an actual soccer league and they have teams and keep score, she acted like I could not be right and because her kids are older she always thinks she knows more (and c she was a teacher and her DH is a teacher and HS coach, not soccer).
I am not arguing IF they should keep score but rather when they actually do.
Re: Soccer
Even at U4 (so 3 yr olds) they had regular teams and played real games.
No one "kept score" unless there was a particularly obsessed or boisterous kid on one of the teams reminding everyone what the score was all the time.
Now at U6 (5 yr olds) there are no posted scores or standings within the leagues but the kids generally are aware of which team scored the most goals and "won".
Total score: 6 pregnancies, 5 losses, 2 amazing blessings that I'm thankful for every single day.
When DD was small, soccer in our area started at age 4. Score was not kept and there were no competitive teams for kids in preschool or in K. Once they were in first grade, scorekeeping started, but the games were really scrimmages -- everyone "won" in the end. Things didn't get competitive until second grade, which was also the earliest age when an all-girls team was available.
DS doesn't play soccer, but I believe that one of our area leagues now starts soccer at the ripe old age of 2. Since they now have toddler soccer, they may actually start scorekeeping at an earlier age as well. I don't know -- we have four leagues in our area in addition to the school system, and they probably all have different ways of doing things.
Sounds like the initial friend is reacting negatively (as many parents do) to the idea that sports for preschoolers have gotten so structured and competitive. Many parents think starting kids early is great, but some are frustrated with it. It's uncool of her to make fun of another parent for posting about a child's sports win, but I can understand what's probably behind her behavior.