organized sports

SallyAnneS · June 2014

At what age did you/do you plan on starting your kid(s) in organized sports like soccer and tball?

A lot of the kids i know seem to be starting soccer at 3 y.o. for me that seems really young. I was planning on starting next year at 4 y.o. for Ds. I was talking to my mom about it today and she seemed concerned i hadn't signed him up yet as it is important for social skills, team building and making friends. I kinda figured that was what preschool was for, so wasn't concerned.

I did find an 8 week program for 3-6 y.o. that is 7 different sports for this summer which i have now signed Ds up for. I like that it has so much variety.

But anyways after this long babbling post, what do you think? What age do you think it right to start organized sports and why? Is my Ds going to be missing out because he isn't in soccer this year?

lyingliarlies · June 2014

that program you found sounds awesome! having watched 3 years olds play soccer & take skating lessons, i think "organized" is a very loose word to describe any sports activity for 3 year olds

rachie1019 · June 2014

We put DS in soccer 2 weeks after his 3rd birthday. Nope! He was the kid running in the wrong direction, playing with the orange cones and extra soccer balls...We took a year off and just had him in swimming lessons at 4, plus he got busier with preschool. This Fall he will be barely 5 and we will try soccer again. He has been to a couple of birthday parties this spring at Off The Wall Sports. The kids played soccer with a coachm he did great and loved it. So this September he should be ready.

Andrewsgal · June 2014

My kids both started at 3 and so will DS. I don't think it hurts to wait, but it also doesn't hurt to start young.we did it just to give them something to do and they enjoy it so why not?

SallyAnneS · June 2014

Thanks for all the feedback. I do see a problem with starting to young... it looks like a lot of fun. I just don't see it as necessary either though which is why I thought we would wait.

Here sports seem really expensive if you do it with teams outside of the city rec department. I just can't spend $200 + cleats and pads on a 3 year old to run around on the field for fun. That was part of what I was try to get across to my mom today when talking to her about it. I could go back to work f/t to be able to afford sports OR we could create different memories and social experiences and I could continue to work p/t.

I just don't want him to be missing out on something really important just because I am being cheap about it. I didn't realize until people started posting pictures on fb that organized sports were even a thing at 3.

redfallon · June 2014

We are a long way from that, but I would have thought closer to Kindergarten age. I didn't know it was a thing at age 3, either.

alli2672 · June 2014

lyingliarlies said:

that program you found sounds awesome! having watched 3 years olds play soccer & take skating lessons, i think "organized" is a very loose word to describe any sports activity for 3 year olds

I agree, LLL. It is worth a few laughs if it fits into your schedule, but I certainly wouldn't stress over it.

alli2672 · June 2014

I just saw your post above. We do it through the YMCA, and it's $15 including a t-shirt. There is no way I would spend $200 on 3 y/o soccer.

goillini823 · June 2014

DD started softball at 4. DS kept asking to play baseball every single day so we signed him up. He's 3. He absolutely loves it.

spring_time · June 2014

cjcouple said:

I started both mine in soccer at 3. It's was one hour (1/2 hr practice and 1/2 hr game) on Saturdays. My oldest was very shy so I felt he needed it, but my youngest I did just so he had something to do too. He sat at DS1 games/activities since he was a baby. So he really was excited to have his own team/sport. But I don't think there is anything wrong with starting at 4.

DS just started soccer at 4. The class is one hour with 5 kids in a group. The first half hour is playing silly games, the last half hour is 3 on 3 games on a short field, no goalie, and no scores. It is "coached" by high school students.

DS is really enjoying it, however I think he would have been too young at 3. We did a sports sampler class at 3.

I think it is very obvious who has older siblings/cousins and who does not. There are kids you can tell have seen the game played before and just get it. The rest of the kids are kind of figuring it out.

Just keep your expectations low. There are kids on DS's team who spend their time staring at the sky and picking flowers. There is also a kid who is such a dynamo at 3 years old, parents from other teams come to watch him. The ability gap is pretty wide.

SallyAnneS · June 2014

@amy052006: When I was telling DH the options through the city and times/dates his first thing was that it couldn't be on the weekend. Weekends are reserved for boating, fishing, going on day trips, general nonsense that they get into at the last minute. I am so glad we found a Tuesday morning program. It gives us a fun thing to do on an otherwise boring day and it was so much cheaper then leagues.

I am so glad you are mostly all saying it is not something to stress over and just for fun at 3 y.o. My mom had me thinking I was sort of failing at parenting for not getting him involved yet. We children my brother and I were signed up for everything and honestly I don't remember most of it. lol

Andrewsgal · June 2014

We live in a LCOL area and even sports at our YMCA are $100. My kids play for a city league ( we don't have rec centers) and we pay from $150-$200 per sport per team. There is no cheaper option.

Spin313 · June 2014

Most of the camps and leagues start at 4/5 here. DS did a soccer camp last summer at 5 years old. He played his first season this year at 6.

bhuffman · June 2014

Our boys began sports at 3. I have two extremely active boys so it was a great way to get energy out.

cactus5 · June 2014

We started sports at age 3. Not every kid is ready that early though. I think 4 is better and will probably be the age I start my younger two kids.

Soccer and T ball are through the Y and are only $75. Gymnastics is the expensive one, but I love the program.

Mrs.Hizzo · June 2014

A dad of one of the kids in my preschooler's class and I were talking about this. He coaches high school football, and also intramural football leagues through the city. He said in his opinion, no kid should start organized sports until age 7. He was all for getting younger kids outside and tossing/kicking a ball around, teaching them to swim, handing them a racquet and taking them to the tennis court to mess around, etc., but he swore up and down that a lot of promising kids are soured and ruined for sports by the time they're ten because the parents forced it down their throats too young. I don't know if he's right or not, but I though it was an interesting perspective.

Andrewsgal · June 2014

amy052006 said:

I don't really think COL is a good gauge of what these things cost. There are more affluent people in LCOL areas, and they can still pay a lot for more elite level activities. Especially in areas where people put high value on competitve sports.

I agree I was just putting it out there that it's not that we choose to pay hundreds of dollars it's that we don't have options. None of the prices I listed are competitive. Our competitive leagues can cost up to $900 a month at least that is the most expensive one I have known someone to play.

spring_time · June 2014

Mrs.Hizzo said:

A dad of one of the kids in my preschooler's class and I were talking about this. He coaches high school football, and also intramural football leagues through the city. He said in his opinion, no kid should start organized sports until age 7. He was all for getting younger kids outside and tossing/kicking a ball around, teaching them to swim, handing them a racquet and taking them to the tennis court to mess around, etc., but he swore up and down that a lot of promising kids are soured and ruined for sports by the time they're ten because the parents forced it down their throats too young. I don't know if he's right or not, but I though it was an interesting perspective.

Not to mention the injuries that come from focusing on one sport from such a young age.

Andrewsgal · June 2014

Should I wait until Friday to admit this in the FFC? Part of enrolling my three year old in soccer it because it makes DH and I laugh our asses off weekly. Seriously herding cats.

Arnegard · June 2014

3-6 is a huge age split when it comes to sports!!

Our town starts at kindergarten, so we start then with the exception of gymnastics.

kcisthebombdotcom · June 2014

Andrewsgal said:
Should I wait until Friday to admit this in the FFC? Part of enrolling my three year old in soccer it because it makes DH and I laugh our asses off weekly. Seriously herding cats.

Lol ds started tball this year and at four they're not a whole lot better. its lots of every kid on the field running for the ball along with lots of nose picking while staring at the sky. yeah, anyone who thinks a kid needs to be in team sports before school age is off their rocker.

Andrewsgal · June 2014

KC_13 said:

Should I wait until Friday to admit this in the FFC? Part of enrolling my three year old in soccer it because it makes DH and I laugh our asses off weekly. Seriously herding cats.
Lol ds started tball this year and at four they're not a whole lot better. its lots of every kid on the field running for the ball along with lots of nose picking while staring at the sky. yeah, anyone who thinks a kid needs to be in team sports before school age is off their rocker.

lol DS's coach at that age must have yelled no tackling in t-ball like 100 times a game.

SallyAnneS · June 2014

Arnegard said:
3-6 is a huge age split when it comes to sports!!

Our town starts at kindergarten, so we start then with the exception of gymnastics.

I was thinking the same thing. And Ds has just turned 3.

AKB090609 · June 2014

I'll be honest and say I will put DD in any 'organized' sport where I don't have to be the one running after her as soon as she is old enough to be in it. My kid exhausts me and I will happily pay someone to let her run around for an hour and let me sit on the side.

catycate · June 2014

We put DS in at 3.5 and it was sort of a disaster. First of all we had an incredibly rainy few weeks, so we would play for a week and then have 2 off. The first game we actually got to play just happened to be the same day as pictures so his introduction was a bunch of parents screaming "smile. Say cheese!!!!!". It got to be fun but he was on a time with all the kids in our mommy group- that has been together since they were newborns. I'm not sure it would have gotten easier had we not all been comfortable together. It was fun but I wouldn't take it too seriously- we pretty much just laughed and chased each other. And he is so so proud of his medal!( which was $3.25).

Court0026 · June 2014

O did t-ball at 4 and soccer at almost 5. Soccer was/still is jamboree style and they do mostly drills and small group practicing and "games" (3 on 3) without keeping score. It is a great intro IMO. I hope to have M start in the fall when she is 4.

mrsrobinsontobe · June 2014

Daughter started dance at 3 -- parents couldn't watch, so it was very organized. She loved it! Son started t-ball at 3 and clung to our legs the whole time. He's almost 6 now and loves being on any sports field! Depends on the child!

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