Navigating youth sports: So your child is playing sports for fun …
Jessika and Justin Mayer expect their three children to be involved in a sport each season.
So Sam, 8, chose to play soccer in the spring and he’s currently taking swimming lessons. Sam, who is perpetually smiling, loves playing with his teammates and having fun.
Asked why he chose swimming lessons, he said, “I just like to swim, and it’s fun.”
Asked if he’s ever considered playing college sports, he said no.
“We’re more into them having fun, learning skills of sportsmanship, getting along, putting team before themselves,” Jessika Mayer said. “If Sam wanted to do a more competitive level, we’d let him. He’s shown no interest in that.”
There are many options for any child playing for fun — or simply wanting to learn a new sport.
“Sports teach kids about tactics and strategy,” said Marilyn Price-Mitchell, a psychologist who is a positive youth development expert based in Seattle. “It teaches them about working with a team, how to collaborate with other kids. It teaches them that in order to get to where I am to where I want to be, that I have to develop a number of skills and those skills need to get better as I try harder and harder.”
But what if you, as the parent, believe your child would succeed at a higher level of competition? Should you change teams? Change organizations? Look for more challenge?
Northwest volleyball coach Craig Smith has a simple suggestion.
“Know your own child,” Smith said. “Know what’s best for that child.”
It’s OK to challenge young athletes, but listen to whether they want to play more competitively.
“Play for fun,” said Tom McCurdy, Wichita State’s women’s golf coach. “If the child enjoys the Y, play at the Y. If she likes church leagues, play in them. The key at this age is to let the child find what it is that they enjoy and feed it to them. Expose them to many different sports and activities and see what sticks. Let the child decide what they’d like to continue with.”
Putting them into sports through the Wichita Parks and Recreation department or the YMCA is a solid option, whether they are around 5 or even picking up a new sport at 10, according to Derby softball coach Christy Weve. The cost is low at both places, and there’s the expectation that every participant plays at least half the game.
If you love football but not the huge time commitment, the YMCA offers flag football, while the Parks and Rec department has added a recreational contact football league in addition to its already competitive league.
If your child has aged out of either program or didn’t make the middle school or high school team, the YMCA has basketball and volleyball leagues for students through high school and beyond. Baseball, flag football, softball and soccer age limits are 12.
This story was originally published July 18, 2015 at 3:25 PM with the headline "Navigating youth sports: So your child is playing sports for fun …."