January Sports / Activities

[dglvrk2]

Wow!  December seems both long and short.  Now that it's 2024, what are your families' sports and activity schedules like?

[dglvrk2]

So....after much back and forth over the last few weeks, DD1 decided to quit gymnastics. It's a bittersweet relief. She hasn't enjoyed it like she used to for several months. Even in September/October she kept saying this would be her final competitive season. She moved up a level this summer and practices dramatically increased in time and intensity. This became quite challenging. Until Thanksgiving, she planned to hold on for the season. An injury kept her out of most practices in November. When she returned, she found she lost a lot of skills and strength. Practices were much more grueling than rewarding. Her first real meet of the season would be in mid-January, so she decided to quit before the season intensified and she disliked it more. She seems very okay with this move. She's excited to focus on volleyball and music which will take a lot of time in the upcoming months.

DD2 is skiing 2-4 afternoons a week - assuming the little snow we have doesn't completely melt. She's also been in Tang Su Do (a Korean martial art) since May. She took November off, returned in December, and now wants to quit for good. She's given it six months. I need to run this idea by H tonight before we decide whether to just let her leave or encourage her to stick with it for longer. If she wants to, she can always pick it up again. She's also been talking about joining a swim team. She loves water. This - like just about every sport where we live - would involve a lot of driving. I'm thinking we hold off on swim team until ski season is over.

[mommyatty]

DS is still enjoying ninja class. He’s also doing Tuesday chess club at school, and I think pickleball club at school starts this month.

DD is really enjoying field hockey. I think she really loves that she’s the only kid at her school playing field hockey as a sixth grader. Now I just have to hope they keep field hockey as a sport because I just heard their upper school coach is taking the LSAT. So not sure how that’s going to pan out. I would like to sign her up for some sort of music class but I don’t know what or where.

[waverly]

Everything is still the same:

DD- indoor soccer, Girl Scouts (last year), band- not sure if she is continuing into 6th grade

DS- indoor soccer, Rec BB

[sdlaura]

DD had her first practice with the town league competitive softball team (since we switched back from a travel team) on Friday afternoon. She loved it! I think it will be really good for her to learn from different coaches. She was really excited to have played first base during the practice and felt really happy with how she did. She already says she wants to do all-stars in the spring with this team (vs the one with more of her friends on it). We’ll see how things go, but they seem to be off to a great start.

DS1 wasn’t happy when he came home from basketball last week. His coach takes things pretty seriously and I think is a little hard on the boys, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Main coach is out of town this week and I do think he’ll have more fun at practice with the less intense assistant coach.

[mae0111]

DD1 is still playing basketball for school. Practices resume tomorrow. She hasn't played in 2 weeks, despite repeated encouragement to work out... her coach loooooves to run them... she's going to be so sore... She has refused to play rec since the season started, and I'm not forcing her. It's just not worth it. Her coach is an ass, and not only does she not have any friends on the team, she doesn't have any nice kids on her team. So, totally content for her to sit out the season. She's still doing piano, and she'll be picking up guitar in music class this term. She taught herself the ukelele, and has fooled around with DH's guitar, so I think she will love it.

DD2... ooof. She's doing rock climbing as her winter sport at school 2 days a week. Town rec basketball has one practice and one game. Indoor training for club starts next week 1x week, and a second foot skills training will start soon too. Indoor league starts at the end of the month. Her travel team is also starting indoor training in 2 weeks, but that will just be every other Sunday. Because of rock climbing and indoor club training will conflict with piano, she's going to stop lessons until the spring. She has been very vocal that she wants to do the spring play a school, so I'm going to work on a sports waiver. Once club and travel soccer get going, she'll be playing 5x a week... I don't think she needs a school sport as well. The play rehearsal is during study hall, so if she doesn't have a spring sport, she can just stay after school for an hour every day while DD1 is at softball and work on her homework.

[186momx]

dglvrk2, hugs to your DD. That is a big decision.

Practices go back to normal today after 2 weeks of funky early practices/days for the holidays. We are deep into meet season and two this month. The first is this coming Sunday.

Last year DD didn't want Grandma doing the bulk of practice drop off during tax season, so she did this crazy carpool rideshare deal and it was insane. This year due to some school schedule changes that won't work great, and I just told her to make life easy we need to ask Grandma to drive her. Grandma lives 5 minutes away and WFH full time and can schedule a break. DD even agreed to just say practice starts at 4 each day and she needs her to pick her up at 3:45 and then be early the couple days practice doesn't start until 4:30.

[erbear]

Kids soccer starts this weekend. It's pretty low key -- DD1's high school team is playing indoor, which will be fun except that the games are Sunday mornings and 45 minutes away. DD2's team sucks and aren't playing over the winter, except to do "training sessions" on Sundays. She will not enjoy this that much. We're looking for new teams for both of them (long and complicated story) and I need someone to just tell me that it's ok to, for once, put my kid first and if her team folds without her, that is not my problem....

DD2 is also in the middle school show (her first theater experience ever!). She doesn't have a big part, which is good because that means she doesn't have to go to all of the rehearsals, lol. 

[dglvrk2]

sdlaura, I'm so glad softball is off to a great start for your DD! It was a big switch and seems like the right one

[waverly]

Jan 2, 2024 12:08:44 GMT -5 erbear said:

Kids soccer starts this weekend. It's pretty low key -- DD1's high school team is playing indoor, which will be fun except that the games are Sunday mornings and 45 minutes away. DD2's team sucks and aren't playing over the winter, except to do "training sessions" on Sundays. She will not enjoy this that much. We're looking for new teams for both of them (long and complicated story) and I need someone to just tell me that it's ok to, for once, put my kid first and if her team folds without her, that is not my problem....

DD2 is also in the middle school show (her first theater experience ever!). She doesn't have a big part, which is good because that means she doesn't have to go to all of the rehearsals, lol. 

Put your kid first. Around here there are many club soccer teams to choose from, so I assume that most are just looking for a good fit for their child. Most are not thinking that the team will fall apart. They are for profit businesses, so they either know how to coach/ run their business or they don’t.

Although I will say that for our winter league I don’t see a ton of older teams so not sure what happens in the winter for high school age? But I guess we will find out when we get to that age group.

[callmekd]

DD1 is still dancing competitively- she has 3 competitions this winter/spring and is in 3 routines.

DD2 and DS are in the midst of hockey season - 4 days a week plus DS2 also skates for figure skating. They will also start indoor soccer at the end of the month.

My H left for WDW to run Dopey and then he comes home for 3 days and then heads to DL to run the half and to earn the “coast to coast” metal.

[mae0111]

erbear, 10000% agree - put your kid first. It's not your problem that mismanagement will cause the team to fold. We moved clubs after 2 years and haven't looked back, and they did have to drop 2 teams because we weren't the only ones. They were hiring coaches with literally no soccer knowledge, just to have warm bodies to coach. It was a huge money grab, and it was wrecking DD2's confidence. I don't know that she'll be with her new club forever, especially since they're expanding and there's a good chance that she won't be placed with her buddies next year. But we'll stay as long as she's having fun and learning!

[soccermama]

Our schedule will be basically the same as last month's except....volleyball tournaments start this month! Finally. DD's first one is this Sunday, we are excited! She is still practicing two nights a week (ugh). I think she has about 7 tournaments spread out over the next couple of months.

DS isn't really signed up for anything until soccer start in late February. I'd like for him to be doing something else too, I'm just not sure what?!

[cjcouple]

Basketball is in full swing.

Both both are playing for the school teams (Freshman and Varsity). Then they attend the girls games when they can. Its a full schedule.

I'm also trying to get back into a healthy routine. Walking daily and being more strict with the mediteranean diet. I've been following MD for 4 years now but definitely blurring the lines a bit.

[librarychica]

DD1 is flailing wildly on what she wants to do. She has great plans to run track when the season starts but she hasn’t exercised much since school started so that might be a shock to the system. She also wants to try out for the dance team and has run hot&cold on trying out for basketball. Oh and restart taekwondo, which she had done for several years until the beginning of this school year. We shall see where she lands. For now, the two of us have signed up for a weekly aerial yoga class and I’ve suggested a few workouts on my rowing machine to get her started preparing for track try outs.

DD2 is still in the neverending play and she has started learning the piano. She mostly sticks to bike riding and skating around to stay active.

[186momx]

DD qualified for the state meet. She needed a 33 all-around score and got a 33.7. She also placed 3rd in her division on beam! 3 out of the 4 events went well. Her steps got messed up on vault and I have the funnies video of her having a horrible vault but the look on her face was priceless and I have no idea how the judge kept a straight face. The best news was that she connected her bar routine! Up until now she has just been doing the routine one skill at a time and was losing a whole point on not having it connected.

[sdlaura]

Congrats to your daughter 186momx ! That's very exciting.

DD had her first softball games with the new team yesterday, and they went really well. I think she made a great first impression. She played outfield, 2nd base, and catcher. We were thinking she wouldn't really play catcher at all on this team since the coach's daughters are both catchers, but he put his older daughter in outfield and on the bench for some innings so DD could play catcher - that was a pleasant surprise.

I think socially DD will be less close to the girls on this team, given the age difference. A few are already 13 and I think won't really be inviting an 11-year-old to their birthday parties or whatever. But that's OK - they still seem very sweet, and DD has plenty of other friends.

[mommyatty]

At DD’s field hockey last night, I learned there are crazy field hockey parents. Like “I may let my daughter who is currently in 7th grade go live with relatives in another state starting in 9th grade so she can be on more competitive field hockey teams so she will get more/better scholarship offers.” And “My daughter goes to X and Y clinics so she gets on the radar of U.S Field Hockey so she will be invited to Olympic trials down the road.” Hooolllleeeee shit. Crazy. These are mostly 7th and 8th graders.

[waverly]

mommyatty, Yikes. I was evaluating DS at his recent game to see whether he should try out for middle school soccer, and I am thinking well they aren't the A league and he's at the bottom half of this crew, so maybe not.

Every sporty kid dreams of being a star, and I am happy to not stand in the way of dreams, but I am 99.9999% sure he isn't going to be a soccer star. Sorry DS, but he just doesn't have that much talent.

[mae0111]

mommyatty - DD1 has a friend that is in Olympic development for soccer and plays on a nationally ranked club team. The family is traveling 5-6 times this year for tournaments, missing several days to a week of school each time. She trains 4-5 days a week at a facility that is over an hour away (without traffic, and since she’s going after school, I imagine it’s closer to 90 mins in rush hour).

She is… 12.

I don’t know if it’s because I lack commitment, or if it’s that I know my kids don’t have the talent (or, frankly, the drive) to do this, but I just could not imagine. The investments of time, money, emotion… she doesn’t seem to have a ton of time to just be a kid. Not to mention her brothers that are also missing school and being dragged along… I don’t know how this starts to work when they all hit high school.

[sdlaura]

mae0111 we have a good friend who is in the same situation. The girl (age 11) is crazy talented. DD was on a soccer team with her when she was like 5 years old and she was already incredible. It seems like the parents are doing a decent job of trying to balance the development stuff with trying not to have it take over their lives.

I grew up with a kid through middle school who now has had a long career on MLS teams. His family just picked up and moved from Maryland to Florida for his soccer when he was probably 12 or 13.

I think so much depends on the kid. If your kid is a standout and they really love it and want to do it all the time, I'd support it. But more often I see parents who have a dream for their kid and the kid is more like "eh."

Also, this is one reason we've ended up with DD playing four sports with plans to take up a fifth (she currently plays softball, flag football, basketball and soccer and plans to try out for field hockey next year). I feel like there's not a direct correlation between what she's most skilled at and what she has the most fun doing. So assuming we can make it work and still be fair to others on the team and our other kids, we're like "sure."

[mae0111]

sdlaura, I wish DD2 would explore more sports. She loves soccer so much, and I can see her playing varsity in HS, but I think that's where her career will end. She is loving rock climbing and I feel like that's a lifelong sport, or at least well into adulthood. But as far as team sports... we can't seem to find her sports in other seasons that she really likes. I think she would be an amazing ice hockey player, but around here, that's just a different level of commitment and I can't bring myself to do it. She doesn't seem to like basketball, but is maybe getting a bit more into it? Doesn't like lacrosse. Hates softball. I'm trying to talk her in to track because I think she'd be amazing at the 400 - she's fast and has endurance. But she wants to do yoga in the spring at school... and honestly, the kid needs some yoga in her life.

[mommyatty]

mae0111, one of the girls lives 30 miles away from where we train. I asked if they were going to the tournament in Florida. Yes, but with the team she plays with near where they live. So this girl plays for her school team, a club team near them, and signed up to play with this group because “She didn’t have training on Sundays at the time, so it was another training opportunity. But now both clubs train on Sundays so it’s a really intense day for her.”

Another girl trains with this team, is a pretty hardcore ballerina (just finished up Nutcracker performances, which is a really big deal here), and goes to some training facility that trains Olympic hopefuls. Her mom is mad because the trainers there keep trying to get her interested in track. They are the ones who may let her leave at 14 to go live with relatives because there’s better field hockey in other states.

When do they just get to doodle hearts in their notebooks and read and think about books or television or art or whatever? I’m kind of sad for them.

[traveltheworld]

I know this sounds silly, but I wish DD (8) would like something enough to stick with it. So far she has tried anf rejected the following: hockey, soccer, ski racing, dance, swimming; and is on the verge of rejecting gymanstics. She has done each for at least a year so it's not like she doesn't know what those are about.

I told her she has to do at least one sport - we literally sat there and looked over a long list of sports and she couldn't pick a single one that she wants to try next.

[sdlaura]

mae0111 I’ve seen a lot of value in team sports, but I didn’t play team sports growing up, and I’m more athletic/committed to exercise than most adults I know 🤷‍♀️

[waverly]

traveltheworld, I wasn’t a sporty kid at all but I did do dance. I keep going back to tennis, golf or horseback riding.

If she isn’t doing a sport would you settle for “active” - hiking, biking the neighborhood, disc golf comes to mind. I feel like tennis and golf are lifelong sports although I don’t golf. Do a few lessons and then hit the court whenever lowers the commitment aspect.

Is there a roller rink near you? We don’t have one, but when I was a kid we went weekly because it was cheap and close by.

[mommyatty]

traveltheworld, why specifically a sport? We require one activity (and cap it at two). So musical theater? Okay. Guitar? Great. Chess club? You got it. Pickle ball? That’ll work.

[traveltheworld]

Jan 8, 2024 20:52:56 GMT -5 mommyatty said:

traveltheworld, why specifically a sport? We require one activity (and cap it at two). So musical theater? Okay. Guitar? Great. Chess club? You got it. Pickle ball? That’ll work.

Both DH and I grew up as music kids, and while we think music is super important (and both of our kids do piano), I feel like it took us longer to get into the habit of being physically active. So I just want her to have a sport that'll keep her active.

[mae0111]

traveltheworld - as I mentioned, DD2 is loving her rock climbing experience. It’s individual, but can also be team-relates when she gets older and is allowed to learn how to belay. She’s annoyed that you have to be 13 at her current gym and she’s only 10. Something like climbing/ninja/CrossFit? There’s a gym in my town that has a kids’ CrossFit class.

Also DD1 LOVED boxing. She went to classes with a friend for a couple of years before/during COVID, but other sports just kind of overtook the time slot. The classes were sort of a CrossFit/boxing combo.

I look for team sports for DD2 because I see that she is like me - likes to be alone. I don’t want her to isolate too much so I push experiences where she’s working with a team but can then withdraw a bit when it’s over.

[waverly]

I thought I asked this before, but I don't see it in the December thread.

If your child is missing practice do you always let the coach know? DS's club soccer is lacking in communication. All we really get is an email about practices and games, and they always come last minute like the day before. I have to look at the indoor soccer facility's website to actually find out the games ahead of time and put them in my calendar. And not all parents know to do that.  DD's club is much better, and has an app that they use with an RSVP system.

Anytime, I email the coach to let them know DS is not attending, they never respond, and don't really seem to care. So do I keep emailing them or can I quit it? What do you all do?  They do ask that we let them know about missing games, but they have never actually said email us about missing practice.